法苑珠林 72.42

72.42

The Jin dynasty śramaṇa Zhi Dun, whose courtesy name was Daolin, was a man of Chenliu. His bearing was outstanding and extraordinary; he was a leading figure in the elegant synthesis of Daoism and Buddhism. He regularly debated with his master regarding the categories of living creatures, claiming that a chicken's egg is not yet fully equipped for life, so breaking it does not incur the same penalty as killing creeping things. Soon after, his master died. Suddenly, his master's form appeared before Dun, holding a chicken's egg in hand and throwing it to the ground so that it broke, whereupon a chick emerged from the shell and walked. Dun immediately came to an awakening and regretted his former words. In a moment, his master and the chick both vanished and were seen no more. (This one account comes from the Mingxiang ji).