法苑珠林 76.67

76.67

During the Yongjia era of the Jin dynasty, there was a man from India who crossed the Yangtze to the south. His speech was communicated only after interpretation. He possessed magical arts: he could cut his tongue and join what was severed, spit fire, and perform transformations. Wherever he was, men and women gathered together to watch and test him. When he was about to cut his tongue, he first stuck it out to show the guests, and then cut it with a knife, blood flowing and covering the ground. He then took [the severed piece], placed it in a vessel, and passed it around to show the people. They looked at the tip of the tongue, and observing inside his mouth, saw that only half a tongue remained. Soon after, he took it back, put it in his mouth, and held it there. After a short while, he spat it out to show the people, and his tongue was restored as before. When he joined severed pieces of silk or cloth with others, each held one end; after it was cut in two across [the middle], he took the two pieces, held them together, and chanted an incantation over them. They then reunited, no different from the original. The people of the time were largely suspicious, believing it to be trickery, and secretly tested it; it was indeed their own silk. As for his spitting fire, he first had medicinal powder in a vessel, took a piece of it along with millet husks, and held it in his mouth. Blowing and puffing repeatedly, he opened his mouth and fire came forth. Taking it over to a warm stove to cook with it, the fire then flared up brightly. Furthermore, when things like writing paper, ropes, and threads were thrown into the fire, the crowd looked carefully and saw them burning, completely destroyed and reduced [to ashes]. He then stirred the ashes, picked [the object] up, and brought it out; it was still the former object. Magicians who performed such arts were not few. At that time, as the realm was just falling into disorder, it was said that Mount Huo in Jian'an could be used to escape the world; he then entered Dongye, and his whereabouts became unknown.