法苑珠林 7.58

7.58

The Jin śramaṇa Zhi Faheng was a man of the early Jin dynasty. He fell ill for ten days and died, but revived after three days. He related that when he died, someone led him away, and he saw several places resembling government bureaus, but none would accept him. Soon he saw an iron wheel with iron claws rolling in from the west; no one was driving or pulling it, yet it rolled as swiftly as the wind. An official called out to sinners to stand before the wheel, and the wheel rolled over and crushed them, turning around again and again in this manner until several people were smashed to pieces. The official called to Faheng, 'Śramaṇa, come stand before the wheel!' Terrified, Faheng blamed himself, regretting that he had not been vigorous: 'Must I now face this wheel?' When the words were finished, [the official] said to Faheng, 'Śramaṇa, you may go.' Thereupon he looked up and saw a hole in the sky, and without realizing it, he soared upward, poked his head through the opening, and braced his hands on both sides. Looking in all four directions, he saw palaces of the seven treasures and various heavenly beings. Faheng was overjoyed, but unable to climb all the way up, he became exhausted and fell back down. The person who had led Faheng away laughed and said, 'What kind of thing did you see that you could not climb up?' Thereupon, he handed Faheng over to the Boat Bureau. The Boat Bureau sailed boats and made him serve as a helmsman. Faheng said, 'I cannot handle a helm,' but they forced him. There were several hundred boats following behind Faheng. Faheng did not know how to hold the helm, and his boat ran aground on a sandbar. An official interrogated Faheng: 'You lost the course; by law, you should be beheaded.' They led Faheng ashore, and with thunderous drums, they were about to execute him. Suddenly, two five-colored dragons pushed the boat so that it floated again. The official then pardoned Faheng's offense and carried him north for about thirty leagues. They saw a fine village on the bank with tens of thousands of households, said to be exiled people. Faheng secretly went ashore; the village was full of dogs that tried to bite him one after another. Faheng was greatly terrified. Looking northwest, he saw a lecture hall atop which were very many śramaṇas, and he heard the sound of sūtra chanting. Faheng ran hastily toward it. The hall had twelve steps; just as Faheng stepped onto the first step, he saw his deceased master, Fazhu, seated on a folding chair. Seeing Faheng, he said, 'You are my disciple; why have you come here?' Turning and standing near the steps, he struck Faheng's face with a hand towel, saying, 'Do not come!' Faheng desperately wanted to ascend and took another step up, but Zhu pushed him down again; this happened three times before he stopped. He saw a well on level ground, thirty to forty feet deep, its bricks fitted without any gaps. Faheng thought in his mind: 'This well is spontaneous.' A person beside the well said to him: 'If it were not spontaneous, how could a well be formed?' He only saw Fazhu, who looked toward him from afar, telling Faheng: 'You may return by the road you came; the dogs will not bite you.' Faheng returned to the water's edge, but could no longer see the boat from earlier. Faheng was thirsty and wished to drink water, so he fell into the water, and thereupon he revived. After this, he renounced household life, held the precepts, ate only vegetarian food, and day and night reflected with vigor, becoming a śramaṇa of supreme conduct. Bhikṣu Fāqiáo was Faheng's disciple.