A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden Volume III

Fascicle 18

Miracle Stories

(Forty-one stories are selected:) Miracles [related] in the Han fa[ben] neizhuan jing. Jin dynasty (265-419 C.E.): Layman Ding Dezhen; Layman Zhou Min; Layman Dong Ji; Layman Zhou Dang; Layman Xie Fu; Monk Shi Dao'an; Shi Sengsheng. Wei dynasties (220-265; 386-534 C.E.): Zhu Shixing; Shi Zhizhan; a monk of Wuhou Temple; the castrated servant of the inner quarter of Taihe period (477-499 C.E.). Song dynasty (420-479 C.E.): Monk Shi Huiyan; Nun Shi Zhitong; Monk Shi Huiqing. Qi dynasty (479-494 C.E.): Monk Shi Huishi. Liang dynasty (502-557 C.E.): Layman He Gui. Zhou dynasty (557-581 C.E.): The ancestral ruler Emperor Wu (560-578 C.E.). Chen dynasty (557-589 C.E.): Yan Gong of Yangzhou. Early Sui dynasty (581-618 C.E.): An unknown monk in Yangzhou. Sui dynasty (581-618 C.E.): Monk Shi Huiyi; Monk Shi Fazang; an unknown visiting monk. Tang dynasty (618-907 C.E.): Monk Zhiyuan; Monk Shi Daoji; Monk Shi Daosu; the magistrate of Longzhou, Gu Yuangui; Shi Heshi of the Southern Suburb; a student in Yizhou, surnamed Gou; Monk Shi Tanyun; Commissioner of Waterways Su Chang; Madame Toulu; Adjutant of Xingzhou Liu Jian; Zhao Wenxin of Suizhou; the Vice Magistrate of Pengzhou, Liu Bi; Gu Daoxian of Luozhou; Lu Huaisu of Wu Commandery; Adjutant of Henei Ma Qiaoqing; Sun Shou of Pingzhou; Li Qian of Zhengzhou; a miracle in the Jiyin district of Caozhou. The Han faben neizhuan says:

Emperor Ming of the Han (r. 57-75 C.E.) sent Cai Yin, Qin Jing, Wang Zun, and others, altogether eighteen people, to India and they brought back Mateng (Mātaṇga?) and Falan (Dharmaratna?) as well as Buddhist scriptures and buddha images. The emperor asked, "If a Dharma King appeared in the world, why did the influence of his teaching fail to reach here?" Mātaṇga answered, "The kingdom of Kapilavastu in India is the center around which ten billion suns and moons of the threefold-thousand great cosmic systems turn. The buddhas of the past, present, and future 185

416c

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III 417a

all first appear there. Among the gods, dragons, human beings, and ghosts, all those who are capable of making vows will be born there and receive the correct teaching of the Buddha and attain enlightenment. Beings in other places lack the proper karmic conditions to be affected by the Buddha's teaching. The Buddha therefore does not go to those places. Even though the Buddha does not go [to other places] his halos [of his images] reach these places, and after five hundred years or one thousand years or more than a thousand years, holy beings will transmit the Buddha's teaching in all these places and carry out conversions." The emperor was delighted [on hearing this].

On the first day of the first month of Yongping 14 of Han (71 C.E.) six hundred and ninety Daoist monks of the Five Peaks presented a memorial to the court: they petitioned that a public debate with Buddhist monks from the Western Region be held to determine the relative superiority of [the Daoist and Buddhist] teachings. The court ordered the Director of Imperial Secretariat Song Xiang to call the parties in and announce the following: on the fifteenth day of the same month there would be a large gathering at the southern gate of Baima Monastery. Three altars would be set up. Daoist monks of the Five Peaks and the Eight Mountains would bring three hundred and sixty-nine rolls [of their scriptures] and place them on the western altar. Works of the twenty-seven philosophers, three hundred and thirty-five philosophical works, would be placed on the central altar. Food offered to one hundred deities would be on the eastern altar. Emperor Ming set up a temporary residence west of the road leading to the monastery, and placed there relics of the Buddha and scriptures. The Daoist monks burned branches and twigs around their altar. They wept tears in front of the scriptures, saying, "The ruler has placed his faith in wrong teachings and the influence of the profound Daoist teaching has been lost. We challenge this by spreading our scriptures on the altar and setting fire to them to prove their authenticity." They then set fire [to the scriptures]. The texts turned into ashes. The Daoist monks turned to each other in embarrassment. Wishing either to fly up to heaven or to disappear into the ground, they tried a variety of magical tricks but none worked. They were greatly humiliated. Grand Mentor Zhang Yan said, "You could not demonstrate anything today. You should follow the Buddhist teaching 186

Fascicle 18

of the Western Region and shave your head." The followers of non-Buddhist teachings Chu Shanxin and others had no answer. The Daoist monks of Nanyue, Fei Shucai and others, died of rancor. The relics of the Buddha emitted five-colored light that covered the sky like an umbrella over the sun and illumined all who were gathered. Mātaṅga flew up high into the sky and performed miraculous deeds. Then heaven rained down flowers miraculously. Dharma Master Dharmaratna preached to the assembly, carrying out conversions on an unprecedented scale. Minister of Works Liu Jun, Lady Yin of the Inner Palace in the capital city, the Daoist monk of the Four Mountains, Lü Huitong, and others, altogether over a thousand people, chose to renounce the householder's life [and become Buddhist monastics]. The emperor approved their requests and established ten monasteries: seven monasteries outside the city wall for monks and three monasteries inside the city wall for nuns. After this the Buddhist teaching was promoted widely, and many monasteries continue to be established to the present time. (Note: The above passage is found in the Han faben neizhuan.)

Jin Dynasty

A person from Jiyin with the surname Ding and the personal name of Dezhen served as Director of Ningyin during the Jian'an period (Jianyuan 343-344 C.E.?). At that time a woman who lived in the northern district went outside to collect water from a well. A foreigner with a long nose and deepset eyes passed by the well and asked the woman for a drink of water. As soon as he drank the water he disappeared. The woman was attacked by stomach pain and her body twisted as she screamed in pain. After a while she suddenly sat up and began to give instruction in a foreign language. People from dozens of families in the village saw this. The woman asked for paper and pen, wishing to write down what she wanted. Given a pen, she produced writing in a foreign script. It was written horizontally; some letters looked like the character yi and others looked like the character si. She filled five sheets and then threw the papers on the ground, ordering people to read them. Nobody in the village could read them.

A boy, over ten years old, was there. The woman pointed to the boy and said that he could read what she had written. When people gave the papers 187

417b

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

to the boy, he immediately read them in the foreign language. Those who saw this were taken aback and did not know what to say. The woman told the boy to get up and dance. The boy immediately stood up and raised his legs and clapped hands along with them. After a while he stopped. People reported this right away to [Ding] Dezhen, who then called on the woman and the boy to inquire about it. By then they did not remember anything. Dezhen wished to test the validity of this miraculous turn of events, so he sent the document to a monastery, where it was shown to an old foreign monk. The foreign monk was amazed, saying, "There is a missing section in a Buddhist scripture. Because I brought it from such a long distance, I was distressed that we wouldn't be able to recover it. Even though we recite the scripture the recitation remains imperfect. This document is the original text [of the scripture]." He kept and copied it.

Zhou Min was from Runan and served as Protector-General of Jin. His family honored Buddhism over many generations. At the time Su Jun rebelled (327 C.E.), people in the cities and villages fled in all directions. Min's family owned a copy of the Larger Perfection of Wisdom Scripture. It was written on a sheet of silk, half-length in width and eight zhang long. There were several bags containing other scriptures as well and the copy of the Larger Perfection of Wisdom Scripture was mixed in among them. When the time came for him to flee he was alone and could not carry all the bags with him. Zhou Min particularly valued the Larger Perfection of Wisdom Scripture, but he did not know which of the bags contained it. The man in charge of the storehouse also had to leave, and he refused to look for it. As Zhou Min looked in the bags in distress suddenly the Larger Perfection of Wisdom Scripture appeared outside of the bags. Bin was delighted and took it with him. The Zhou clan subsequently treated the scripture as its family treasure, and it is said to still exist.

According to one tradition, the wife of Zhou Song of the Humu clan owned a copy of the Perfection of Wisdom Scripture written on silk. The piece of silk was five cun wide, and the entire Larger Perfection of Wisdom Scripture was written on it. She also owned a piece of a relic contained in a silver jar. Both were sealed inside a deep box. When the disturbances of the Yongjia period (307-313 C.E.) occurred the Humu woman tried to flee southward to 188

Fascicle 18

escape the invading soldiers. Both the scripture and the relic spontaneously came out from the box [where they had been stored]. She took them and crossed over to the eastern side of the Jiang River. Later there was a fire. She did not have time to get the scripture out and the house completely burned down, yet she found the scripture beneath the ashes in exactly the same condition as before. The Prince of Kuaiji, Daozi, is said to have asked [Zhou] Song [to show him] his copy of the scripture so that the prince could worship it. Later it is said to have been kept at Xinzhu Monastery. Liu Jingshu said, "I myself once saw this scripture. It was written very neatly and legibly in small characters the size of flax seeds." Xinzhu Monastery is the present Tian'an Monastery. A copy of this scripture was made by the monk Shi Huize. According to one tradition this scripture was once at Jianjing Monastery and the nun Jingshou recited from it.

Dong Ji was from Yuqian. For three generations his family had honored the Buddhist teaching, and Ji was particularly diligent in practice. Always careful in thought and conduct, he recited the Shoulengyan jing (Śūraṃgama-sutra, T. 642). Whenever there was sickness in the village Ji was asked to read the scripture and many of the ill were cured.

He Guang of the same district was also one who honored the Buddhist teaching. In the Xianhe period (326-334 C.E.) he suddenly became ill from mountain poison and was in distress. Guang's elder brother came quickly to [Dong] Ji to ask for help. The distance between Dong [Ji]'s house and that of He [Guang] was sixty to seventy li, and a large mountain valley also lay between them. Heavy rain fell during the fifth month. The water had not yet reached the valley when Guang's elder brother crossed it. Ji agreed [to help] and came around the time of the midday meal, but [by then] a massive volume of water was rushing down violently and they could not cross the valley. Unable to swim, Ji paced about, sighing. He sat on the riverbank for a long time, wanting to go on but not daring to cross the river. Ji was a man of strong faith, determined to get to the destination. Taking pity on the ill, he made a vow, "In coming to rescue the acute suffering of others, I do not care about my own life. I sincerely wish that the great being Tathāgata will truly protect me." Then, he took his clothes off, wrapped the scripture in the clothing, 417c

189

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

placed the bundle on his head, and walked into water. Measuring its depth, the water should have come up to his neck, but when Ji actually entered the stream and began to cross it, it reached only to his knees. When he got to the other side of the river he realized that he had lost the wrapped scripture. Greatly distressed, he went on to [He] Guang's house. Expressing repentance to heaven, earth, and human beings, he wept, blaming himself. Then he looked up and saw the bundle containing the scriptures on a high seat. Torn between sorrow and joy, Ji took it and looked: the bag was wet but when he opened it, the scripture inside was dry. Everyone in the village then chose to honor the Dharma.

Northwest [of the village] where [Dong] Ji lived there was a tall peak; many monsters lived there and harmed the villagers. Ji decided to vanquish them through the power of the scripture and the precepts. At a place on the side of the mountain, four or five mu in size, Ji built a hut, cutting down trees for lumber with his own hands. He set up a high seat where he recited the Shoulengyan jing. For over a hundred days he sat in quietude; no sound was heard. The harm to the villagers stopped. Later several people came to Ji's place and were talking among themselves for a long while. Ji thought that the people were not hermits and wondered why they had come to this remote spot on the mountain. Suspecting that they might be ghosts, Ji said to them, "Are you the ghosts who live here?" They answered, "Yes, having heard about the purity and loftiness of your virtue and conduct, we came to see you. There is also one thing that we wanted to propose to you. We have had this mountain entrusted to us over generations. Since you came here, however, we have been worried about running into conflict with you and cannot live in peace. We now want to divide the territory and mark the boundaries by felling some trees." Ji said, "I enjoy the quietude of this place and read scriptures. I shall not commit offenses against you. I shall be a friend to you and offer my help." The ghosts said, "We will count on your promise to not attack us." So saying, they left. Overnight the trees on all four sides of the field of grass [where Dong Ji had built a hut] died. It was as if they had been burned in a forest fire. Ji died at the age of eighty-seven.

Zhou Dang was from Shan in Kuaiji. His family had honored the Dharma for generations. As soon as he reached the age of sixteen Dang became a 190

Fascicle 18

vegetarian and took all his meals before noon [like a monk]. He chanted the Chengju (T. 630). At one time he arranged for the reading of scriptures. When the long period of retreat in the first month of the year ended, he invited the monks to a meal. He went to the monastery in town and extended an invitation to his teachers Zhu Fomi and Zhi Fajie. Zhu Fomi had a copy of the Shorter Perfection of Wisdom Scripture brought out for the abbreviated reading on the day of the feast. When the day arrived, three monks came to the meal but they forgot to bring the copy of the Shorter Perfection of Wisdom Scripture with them. They realized this only when the meal was finished and they were about to start reading. [Fomi] was despondent.

Zhou's house was located in Fanyi village, thirty li from the monastery. It was not possible to send someone to fetch the scripture. By the time people offered incense, everyone in the household was unhappy and Zhu Fomi was in even greater distress. Then someone knocked on the gate, saying that he had brought the Shorter Perfection of Wisdom Scripture. Zhou Dang was amazed and delighted. Opening the gate, he saw a youth dressed in singlelayered clothes and a cap. He did not recognize him, and it was not a time [of the day] when people typically walked about. Suspecting a miraculous visitation, Zhou Dang kneeled and received the scripture. He urged the youth to sit in the front row but the youth would not proceed to the front, [mentioning] his young age. He promised that he would come back in the evening to listen to the recitation of the scripture. When this young man of the Way went out of the gate he suddenly became invisible. Fragrance filled the entire residence. Upon closer examination, the copy of the scripture that he had brought proved to be Zhu Fomi's own copy. Everyone, both monks and laypeople, were surprised and delighted. This copy of the scripture had been locked up in the kitchen [of the monastery]. When the monks returned they found the lock untouched. As a consequence, all the families in the village, more than ten altogether, came to honor the Buddha's teaching and love Zhou Dang. Zhou Dang eventually left the householder's life and took the monastic name Tanni. He chanted numerous scriptures, twenty thousand characters in all. Xie Fu, personal name Jingxu, was a man from Shanyin in Kuaiji. He was the son of elder brother General You. From his youth he had a spiritual temperament and sequestered himself in the eastern mountains. Possessing strong 191

418a

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

faith in the great teaching, he was diligent and tireless in religious life. A copy of the Shoulengyan jing (Śūraṃgama-sūtra) that he had copied with his own hand was in Baima Monastery. A fire destroyed everything in the monastery, including copies of other scriptures, yet only the cover and edges of this copy of the scripture were burned. The writing was not damaged at all. When Fu died his friends were skeptical about his spiritual attainments, but when they heard about this miraculous scripture they all marveled. In Yuanxi 8 (431 C.E.) there was a massive fire in the city of Pufan in the Hetong region. The fire crossed the Yellow River and nothing escaped destruction. The residences of local barbarians were all burned down; only the monasteries and stupas remained untouched by fire. Many small buildings in the villages that housed scriptures and images also escaped the fire. Sometimes intact pages of the scripture were recovered from among the ashes of destroyed buildings . Everyone in the city marveled at this and joined together in paying respect to the teaching.

(The above five stories are from the Mingxiang ji.)

Eastern Jin Dynasty

Before the reign of Emperor Xiaowu (372-396 C.E.) the monk Dao'an of Changshan fled to Xiangyang to avoid the disturbances caused by the Shi clan of Chao. There he wrote commentaries, altogether over twenty rolls, on the Perfection Wisdom scriptures, the Daoxing (T. 224), and the Miji jingang (T. 310), resolving doubtful points and explaining the meaning [of scriptural passages]. Fearing that he may have departed from the truth he made an oath, "If what I have said does not deviate from the truth, let there be an auspicious sign." He then had a dream in which a foreign monk, with white hair and a long beard, told Dao'an, "Your commentaries agree with the truth of the Way. Not being able to enter nirvana I remain in the Western Region. Let us work together to spread the teaching. You should set down food for me at specified times." Later the Sarvāstivāda-vinaya was brought to China and Huiyuan (334-416 C.E.) said, "The monk our teacher saw in his dream a long time ago was Piṇḍola-Bharadvāja." Because of this, Huiyuan set up a seat and served food to Piṇḍola. This became a permanent practice. (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:426b28-6; ref. Gaoseng zhuan, T.2059:353b17-23; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:338b26-c4.) 192

Fascicle 18

Western Jin Dynasty

The monk Sengsheng of Shu Commandery left the householder's life at an early age and, having undergone austerities, became the head of Sanxian Monastery in Shu. He recited the Lotus Sutra. He did the practice of reciting the scripture on a mountain. At night a tiger came and crouched in front of him, listening to the recitation. When a section was finished, the tiger would leave. Whenever Sengsheng chanted four attendants were seen on both sides. Even when he grew old he is said to have practiced diligently until the end of his life. (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:426c7-10; ref. Gaoseng zhuan, T.2059:406c27-407a4; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:338c6-9.) Former Wei Dynasty

In the year Ganlu 5 (260 C.E.) of Emperor Feidi, the monk Zhu Shixing lectured on the Shorter Perfection of Wisdom Scripture (Daoxing). Dissatisfied with the abbreviated nature of this scripture, he left that same year to travel to the Western Region and obtained [the more extensive version of the scripture]. He encountered obstacles and was not permitted to leave for the East (China). Shixing took the scripture and declared in the king's courtyard, "If the great teaching is not to be transmitted [to China], let [this scripture] be burned by fire!" Then he took the palm-leaf scripture and threw it into the fire but the scripture was not harmed at all. Everyone in the country marveled. Shixing was immediately allowed to travel eastward to China. This was the Fangguang jing (T. 221).

Zhu Shixing passed away at the age eighty. His corpse was committed to fire but did not burn. Monks, nuns, and lay supporters were all amazed. They pronounced a spell, "If [this monk] has truly attained the Way, let the corpse break up!" As soon as the spell was uttered the corpse began breaking apart. The pieces were collected and a stupa was raised [in which to enshrine the relics]. (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:431b25-c3; ref. Gaoseng zhuan, T.2059:345b15-c12.)

Toward the End of the Later Wei Dynasty

Shi Zhizhan of Qizhou stayed at Xiancao Monastery, located in a deep valley on Mount Rentou north of Mount Tai. He minimized his activities and spoke little, not disturbing other people and birds. He [occupied himself with] reciting the Lotus Sutra, and others had little idea about his earlier life. When 418b

193

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

he was approaching death the miracle-working monk Baozhi said to the Liang Emperor Wu, "In the north a holy monk, a stream-winner, is about to achieve extinction today." While dying Zhizhan experienced no suffering. One finger of each hand was extended. A foreign monk said, "This is a sign of a person who has achieved the first fruit [of stream-winner]." He was buried on the mountain. Later his tomb was opened and people saw that only his tongue was unchanged." So, a stupa was raised and a memorial was presented to the court. The stupa still exists. Birds and animals do not disturb or soil it. (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:427b9-15; ref. Xu gaoseng zhuan, T.2060:686a2-17; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:339b5-11.) Later Wei Dynasty

A monk (name unknown) at Wuhou Monastery in Fanyang recited the Lotus Sutra as his regular practice. When he died, his corpse was first exposed on a riverbank and was then buried. [By then] his skeleton and bones had dried up but his tongue was unchanged. (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:427b16-17; Xu gaoseng zhuan, T.2060:686a13-15; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:339b12-13).

There was also a monk in Yongzhou who recited the Lotus Sutra. He lived as a hermit on Mount Bailu. A miraculous youth appeared and tended to his needs. When he died his corpse was left under a cliff. The whole skeleton dried out but the tongue did not decay. (Xu gaoseng zhuan, T.2060: 686a15-17; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:339b13-15). [Northern] Qi Dynasty, Under the Reign of Emperor Wuling (Wucheng, 561-565 C.E.) Someone visiting a mountain east of Bingzhou dug in the ground and found yellowish-white soil. He also found an object that looked like lips; inside was a tongue of fresh pink color. He reported this to the court. The emperor questioned the monks, nuns, and lay Buddhists. The monk Fashang said, "This is from a Lotus Sutra practitioner, whose six sense organs are intact. This is a sign that he had recited the sutra one thousand times." Practitioners of the Lotus Sutra gathered around and recited the scripture. When they began their recitation the [disembodied] lips began to move at the same time. Observers' hair stood on end and they memorialized this miraculous event at court. The object was placed and sealed in a stone box. (Ji shenzhou 194

Fascicle 18

sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:427b19-25; Xu gaoseng zhuan, T.2060:686a17-28; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:339b16-21.) (Note: The above six stories are found in the Liang gaoseng zhuan and other miscellaneous records.)

Later [Northern] Wei Dynasty

During the Taihe period (477-99 C.E.) of Emperor Gaozu (Xiaowen, r. 471-499 C.E.) a palace eunuch deplored the punishment he had received and requested the court for permission to go into the mountains as a hermit. The court agreed. He brought the Huayan scripture with him and recited it day and night, and performed repentance rites ceaselessly. Before the summer was over, toward the end of the sixth month, his beard grew out and he acquired a masculine appearance. This was reported to the court and [thereafter] the emperor respectfully assigned important duties [to him at court]. Everyone in the country paid respect to the Huayan scripture. (Recorded in Hou [Bai]'s Sujing yiji; Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:427b26-c1; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:339b24-26.)

Song Dynasty

Shi Huiyan was a monk at Dong'an Monastery in the capital city. He disliked the verbosity of the Great Nirvana Sutra and produced an abbreviated version, in several rolls, and prepared two or three copies to show to likeminded friends. Then, while asleep he saw a man, over two zhang tall, who had a powerful presence; the man said to him, "The Nirvana Sutra is the source of canonical scriptures. Why did you casually revise it according to your petty understanding?" Huiyan was despondent but did not fully understand. He was still committed to his project and sought [help from] learned scholars. The next evening he went to sleep and again saw the man from the previous night. The man was very angry and said to Yan, "If you make a mistake but correct it when you realize, that does not count as a mistake. I told you about your fault last evening but you still have not stopped. The truth is no longer in this [version of the] scripture. Calamities will come to you soon." Huiyan was alarmed, realizing his mistake, and before dawn arrived he quickly sent out messengers requesting the return of the manuscripts. He burned all of the returned manuscripts. The monk Daoyan of Chenwai Monastery recollected and told this story in detail. 195

418c

419a

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

The nun Shi Zhitong was a nun at Jianjing Nunnery. She was young and attractive, and not firmly committed in faith and practice. When her teacher died in Yuanxi 9 (432 C.E.) she left the nunnery. She married Yuan Xifu of Wei Commandery and gave birth to one son. The boy grew up to the age of seven years old. The family was very poor and there was nothing that could be used to make clothing for the boy. Zhitong [acquired] several rolls of silk on which the Pure Land, Lotus, and other sutras had been written. She turned these rolls into clothing for her son. After a year the boy became ill. He was in a strange mental state and his pulse was irregular. His body was covered with ulcers, like burns. Small white worms came out, more than a sheng each day. The boy screamed day and night from extreme pain. A voice was heard in the sky, "For destroying scriptures to make clothing [you are] receiving this extreme suffering as punishment." More than ten days later the boy died. (Note: The above two stories come from the Mingxiang ji.) The monk Shi Huiqing was from Guangling. After renouncing the householder's life he stayed at the monastery on Mount Lu. He studied the sutras and vinayas and maintained purity following the precepts. He could recite the Lotus, Daśabhūmika, Siyi, and Vimalakīrti sutras. He would chant them every evening, and the sound of snapping fingers and voices of praise were often heard in the darkness. Once while traveling on water he encountered wind and waves. Huiqing just continued reciting a sutra without a break. He felt as if someone was pulling the boat through the waves, and suddenly it reached the shore. Thereafter he continued practicing Buddhism even more diligently. Huiqing died at the end of the Yuanjia period (424-453 C.E.), at the age of sixty-two. (Gaoseng zhuan, T.2059:407b4-9.)

Qi Dynasty

The family background of the monk Shi Huibao of Taiyuan is unknown. He recited two hundred rolls of scriptures. His virtues were superior to those who preceded him, and he was widely known in his time. In Wuping 3 (572 C.E.), while traveling from Pingzhou to Ye, he lost his way at Aizhou. Looking for a path he went into a mountainous area and spent the night under a rock ledge. It looked as if someone lived in the cave but he did not see anyone in the whole area. Huibao sat in front of the cave and looked up into a pine tree. 196

Fascicle 18

He saw the musical instrument qing hanging down from a branch, more than a zhang high above the ground.

In the second watch of the evening (11:00 P.M.) a man clothed in grass came in from outside, saying, "Why is there worldly air here?" Huibao immediately spoke up and paid respect, and they talked together. [The man] asked Huibao, "Which clan is in power today?" Huibao answered, "The Gao clan. The dynasty is called Qi." Huibao asked, "When did you, Honored Teacher, come to reside on the mountain?" [The man] answered, "I came during the time of the Later Han. What scriptural practice have you acquired?" Huibao could recite [scriptures] extensively and he was very proud of this accomplishment. The mountain monk said, "The cultivation of the Way should not be like this. Which scripture do you want me to recite?" Huibao said, "I take pleasure in listening to the Huayan scripture." The monk recited it for a short time. The melody of his chanting was otherworldly. Huibao asked him to recite other sutras and the chanting was similarly extraordinary. Huibao marveled at this and asked, "How do you manage to recite lengthy scriptures so quickly?" The monk answered, "Mentally you try to do something. Mentally I do not try to do anything. If you forget yourself in the middle of the myriad things, both object and subject materialize spontaneously." Huibao realized that this was a supernatural monk and requested permission to stay [with him]. The mountain monk said, "You are attracted by the material comforts of the world. How can [such a person] achieve spiritual peace? You have not let go of emotional bonds. Staying here won't help you." At dawn Huibao left, returning the way he had come. He did not know where the place [he had visited] was located. He reproached himself for his shortcomings. Later he reached Ye and told this story. (Note: The above two stories appear in the Liang gaoseng zhuan; ref. Xu gaoseng zhuan, T.2060:649a16-b4).

Liang Dynasty

The following story is about He Gui of Nanhai Commandery in Guang zhou. The planet Jupiter was in the Xieqia constellation and the moon was in position matching the huangzhong musical note. On the twenty-third day of the tenth month of Tianjian 14 (516 C.E.), He Gui was collecting herbs on Mount Huyi in Yuzhang. Fortunately, he was not a rejected son or an 197

419b

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

expelled minister but was among those who sought the immortals or hermits. He climbed and visited the hamlets around the ten peaks. Suddenly he felt that he had come to the right place. Following a winding path, he came to a creek in a valley. The [flow of] water seemed to be stopped in a pool. Then there was a clear stream, and he began to cross it, raising up the bottom of his clothing. Before he finished crossing, an elderly [monk] appeared suddenly and unexpectedly at the western corner of the valley and told [He] Gui not to cross. Gui stopped. The man's face was green, he was bare-footed, eighty or ninety years old, and his face was deeply wrinkled. His beard was five or six cun (inches) long, and his moustache was half the length of his beard. His ears stood higher than his eyebrows. The brows, two or three cun long, turned downward and flowed in the wind. His lips were bright red and his voice clear. His hands and nails were yellow, and the hair on his fingers was two to three cun long. He was wearing red clothes under his upper garment. The monk took up a book in one roll, and threw it from a good distance to Gui. Gui held the book and paid respect toward the man. The man told Gui, "Give this book to Jian'an," naming the prince by surname and style, [and further,] "Anyone who receives this scripture should prepare a twentyone day feast. Those not familiar with the ritual for the feast should ask Master Fu of Xialin Temple. Dharma Master Fu observes the precepts rigorously, dwells in quietude and nonaction, has let go of preferences and desires, and treats the powerful and humble equally. Fully satisfied with eating vegetables, he is diligent in practicing meditation." After saying this, the elder left; after he had walked ten steps or so he suddenly disappeared. [He] Gui opened the scroll. It bore the title "Sutra of the Wisdom Seal." The message of the sutra was that the essence of the ultimate Dharma body is formlessness. The principle is derived from one hundred negations. The meaning transcends names and forms. Quietude is the form of the Dharma. The subtle reality is true thusness. One calls this wisdom illumination. This principle has the wholeness seal. The mind mysteriously coalesces in quietude. This is the reason the teaching is called samādhi. (Note: This story is found in the Hongming ji of Vinaya Master Sengyou of the Liang dynasty; ref. Chu sansang ji ji, T.2145:50c3-22.)

Zhou Dynasty

The ruler of the [Northern] Zhou, [Emperor Wu] (r. 560-578 C.E.), persecuted 198

Fascicle 18

Buddhism and burned Buddhist scriptures. Later [during his reign] five or six bundled objects were spotted in the sky. They were flying through the sky and were nearly invisible. They joined together and floated up and down in the wind. Members of the court watched them but had no idea what they were. Eventually they descended and fell onto a mud wall. Upon inspection they turned out to be the thirteenth roll of the Greater Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:427c2-5.) Chen Dynasty

Yan Gong of Yangzhou was originally from Quanzhou and from a wealthy family. He did not have a brother and his parents loved him dearly, granting all his wishes. At the beginning of the Taijian period of the Chen dynasty (569-582 C.E.), at the age of twenty, Gong asked for fifty thousand pieces of coin to trade in Yangzhou. His parents agreed. Gong filled a boat with merchandise and went down the Jiang River. At a place several tens of li from Yangzhou he encountered a boat filled with turtles that were to be sold at market in Yangzhou. Gong realized that the turtles were about to die and wanted to redeem them. He said to the owner of the turtles, "I have fifty thousand pieces of coin. Let me purchase the turtles with it." The owner was delighted, took the money, gave Gong the turtles, and left. Gong released all the turtles into the Jiang River and took the now-empty boat to Yangzhou. After taking leave of Gong the owner of the turtles had traveled over ten li when his boat sank and he drowned.

On that day Gong's parents were at home. Toward the evening fifty people dressed in black visited them, requesting permission to stay overnight. They also handed over fifty thousand pieces of coin to Gong's parents, saying, "Your son entrusted this money to be returned. Please count it and accept it." The father feared that his son might have died, and questioned the people for details. They said, "Your son is fine. It is only that he did not need the money, so he is sending it back." Gong's father accepted the money. He recognized that it was the very same coins he had given Gong. The coins were all slightly wet. The father invited the guests to stay and prepared a meal. The guests left the next morning.

One day in the following month Gong returned home. His parents were overjoyed. When he was settled, they asked him about the money they had entrusted to him. Gong said that he did not have it. The parents described 199

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

419c

the guests' appearance and when the money had been returned. It was the same day that Gong had saved the turtles. From this they learned that the fifty guests were the redeemed turtles. Father and son were amazed. Together they went to Yangzhou and set up a temple, and singlemindedly copied the Lotus Sutra. Eventually the whole family moved to Yangzhou and became very wealthy. They constructed a large building, setting it up as a hall for copying [the Lotus] scripture. The hall was beautifully adorned, clean, and richly provided for. There were always over ten scribes there. Monks, nuns, and lay Buddhists in Yangzhou honored the hall and called it Yan Fahua ("Yan's Lotus Sutra [Hall]").

Once a close acquaintance borrowed a thousand pieces of coin from the scripture fund. Gong reluctantly gave it. The borrower placed the money on a boat for its return trip. On the way the boat capsized and the borrowed money fell into the water. The boat sank but no one drowned. On that day Gong went into the treasury and found a thousand pieces of coin. They were all wet as if just taken out of water. Gong found this very strange. Later he saw the man to whom he had loaned the money and realized that the wet pieces of coin were what he had given the man.

Again, a merchant went to Gongting Lake and offered wine, food, and other gifts. That night in a dream a deity [appeared and] returned these gifts, saying "Take this money that you gave to me to Yan Fahua and offer it for his use." Then the deity placed everything that the merchant had offered earlier in front of him. The merchant found this extraordinary and sent the gifts to Gong's place, doubling the amount.

Later, Gong went to a market to buy paper but he did not have enough money. Suddenly he encountered a person who gave him the three thousand pieces of coin he had in his hand, saying, "To assist you in buying paper." Having said this, the person disappeared but the money remained. There were many such miracles. Gong died at the end of the Kaihuang period (581-600) but his descendants continued his work [of copying sutras]. At the end of the Sui dynasty bandits reached Jiangdu but they made an agreement among themselves and they would not enter Yan Fahua's village. Consequently, the villagers escaped harm. Copying of the sutras continues even now. People all see it. This is also well known among prominent people 200

Fascicle 18

in the capital city. (Note: The above story comes from the Mingbao ji, T.2082:790b16-c22; ref. Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:429a6-22.) Sui Dynasty

At the beginning of the Kaihuang period of the Sui dynasty: A monk in Yangzhou whose name is unknown, made reciting the Nirvana Sutra his personal practice. At a village at the foot of a mountain in Qizhou a novice monk recited the Avalokiteśvara Sutra. Both died violent deaths. While the area under their hearts was still warm they were both taken to King Yama. The novice monk was placed on a golden high seat and treated with utmost respect. The monk who recited the Nirvana Sutra was placed on a silver seat and received less respect. They were questioned and both were found to still be alive and they were released. The Nirvana Sutra-reciting monk, who took pride in the larger amount that he could recite [since the Nirvana Sutra is much longer than the Avalokiteśvara Sutra], was filled with resentment [at the greater respect the novice monk had received]. He asked where the novice monk lived. Then the two were returned to their respective homes and were brought back to life. The Nirvana Sutra monk then came from the south to Qizhou. He visited the novice monk and questioned him in detail, seeking the reasons for his special treatment. The novice monk said, "When I recite the Avalokiteśvara Sutra I first change my clothing and in a special place offer incense, utter a vow, and then recite [the sutra]. I adhere to this procedure rigorously. There is no other special method." The other monk thanked him, saying, "My sins go deep. In reciting the Nirvana Sutra I have not followed the proper ceremonial procedure. My body and mouth are impure; my recitation is nothing more than rote memory. There is an ancient saying: 'Better to be good in doing something small than to be poor at doing a lot.' I now see the proof for this." Full of regret, the monk returned home. (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:427c6-20).

The monk Shi Huiyi of Jinggong Monastery in Xiangzhou, secular surname Li, was from Linyuan. He traveled south and at Mount Xiancheng he shared the same teacher as Huiming. He sought the essence of the teaching and concentrated on the practice of meditation. Later he stayed at Jinggong Monastery and meditated in the old [meditation] hall of Master [Fa]cong (ref. Xu gaoseng zhuan, T.2060:555b25-556a9). Even without the use of candles the hall was 201

420a

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

well lit, day and night. A local figure who did not believe in Buddhism invited Huiyi to set up a meditation chamber and perform a one-hundred day rite. Every night the nonbeliever went there secretly to observe. Everyone in the family saw that the meditation chamber was brightly illumined. The local nonbeliever converted and along with others accepted the Buddhist precepts. Huiyi knew the time of his death beforehand and died toward the end of the Kaihuang period (581-600 C.E.).

There was also Meditation Master Fayong of Kaihuang Monastery in Xiang yang. When his life was about to end music and an extraordinary fragrance filled the monastery for seven days and seven nights. He died while sitting upright [in meditation]. The body was taken to Mount Sangai and placed in the sitting position out in the open air. Vinaya Master Quan of the same monastery said to the corpse, "I request that you retain your spirit for seven days." After seven days Quanlü died. His corpse was placed next to that of [Fa]yong. Yong's corpse crumbled when exposed to the elements. The ācārya Cen, whose surname was Yang, was also from Linyuan. He built a sutra recitation hall west of the monastery, next to the spring on Mount Sangai. Every time he recited the Golden Light Sutra the four heavenly kings miraculously came and listened. He later read canonical scriptures and memorized them all. Altogether he could recite more than three thousand rolls. He wore simple linen clothes and begged for almsfood. He fed the mice in his monastic cell what was left in the bowl, and tamed over one hundred of them. They would run around him. If a mouse got sick, Master Cen would rub its head and the mouse was healed every time.

He was close to Zhixiao, a monk of the same monastery, who gathered a community of meditation practitioners. This monk taught laypeople, providing instruction for the study of meditation. Knowing [miraculously] the date of his own death, [Zhixiao] quickly called Meditation Master Tai to entrust the teaching to him. He went up to the buddha hall and took leave of all the monks in the monastery, requesting them to rejoice [over his auspicious rebirth]. When the great communal feast at Chanju Monastery ended, [Zhi xiao] told Cen, "I am going to Tuṣita Heaven to listen to the Perfection of Wisdom." Cen said, "You, younger brother, go first. I will follow you seven days later."

202

Fascicle 18

In the third watch at night (around 1:00 A.M.) Zhixiao died in the sitting position. In the fourth watch (3:00 A.M.) [his] spirit went to Bianxue Monastery [where Tai lived], ten li away from Zhixiao's monastery, and appeared at Meditation Master Tai's bed. The place became as light as during the daytime. The spirit said, "I, Zhixiao, am about to go far away. So I came to take leave. I cannot stay long." Master Tai said goodbye to him outside of the threestoried gate. After the spirit departed, Tai returned to his chamber and sat on the bed. Suddenly it became very dark.

Tai called the attendant disciple and said, "I heard the master speak with someone." He took a lamp and checked everywhere. The three gates [of the monastery] were all closed. He realized that spirits could enter even when no doorway was open. He then sent someone to inquire. He was told that Master Zhixiao had departed.

Seven days later Cen (who was not ill) died in the sitting position. There were no seams on his skull. Thus we know that when saintly and ordinary beings live together it is not possible to distinguish the two. (Note: The above two stories are from the Tang gaoseng zhuan; ref. Xu gaoseng zhuan, T.2060:560b11-20; b22-c15).

In observing the precepts the monk Fazang of Baoshi Monastery in Zheng zhou was pure and sincere. In Kaiyuan 13 (593 C.E.) he built a monastery in Weichuan City in the Luojiao district. The buddha hall was exquisite and the residence for monks was magnificent. Many banners and flowers were offered to the images. In Daye 5 (609 C.E.) the government merged monasteries; stupas were sent to [this] major temple in the regional capital. Some stupas were damaged. Master [Fa]zang repaired them and placed them in a newly constructed hall. He also produced a copy of the canon, in eight hundred rolls. Good scribes and paper and brushes were not available in the region, so he had the copying done at the former Yueai Monastery in the capital city. In the intercalary second month of Wude 2 (619 C.E.) Fazang became ill. After twenty-some days he saw a person dressed in a beautiful green robe above a tall building. The man was holding a scroll of scripture, saying, "Ever since you became an adult you have acquired a great deal of merit, which is wonderful, but you appropriated [for your personal use] a small amount of the property that belonged to the Three Jewels and [thus] committed an 203

420b

420c

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

immeasurably great sin. What I hold here is the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. If you copy it, in one roll, your sins of appropriating the property of the Three Jewels will be completely removed." Master Fazang responded, "I will copy the scripture. I have copied other scriptures but not the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom. I wish to recover from the illness and will not disobey the order. When I wake up I will keep only my three robes, water pot, almsbowl, and saṃghāṭī [robe] and donate everything else to great monks and their disciples." He copied the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, producing altogether one hundred rolls. Within fifteen days [after the copying was finished], when he was about to die, Fazang saw Amitābha Buddha come to welcome him. Due to the power of copying scriptures he was reborn in the Western Pure Land and avoided falling into the three inferior realms after death.

During the Daye period (605-616 C.E.): A visitor came to the shrine at Mount Tai and requested permission to spend the night there. The shrine official said, "We do not have a separate hostel. You may spend the night under the shrine's corridor, but someone who stayed there recently died." The monk said, "No problem." Having no other option, he followed instructions and set up his bed under the corridor. At night the monk recited sutras. Around the first watch (9:00 P.M.) he heard the sound of a belt of jewels. Shortly thereafter a deity appeared and paid respect to the monk. The [visiting] monk said, "I hear that those who stay overnight here often die, but how could you, a patron of the monastery, have harmed them? Please protect me." The deity said, "Those who die hear my voice and die out of fear. I do not kill them. The master should not fear." The monk asked the deity to sit down and they talked as if sharing a meal together. The monk soon asked, "I have heard it said that the realm of the ghosts of the dead is at Mount Tai. Is this true?" The deity answered, "I am of little merit but that is true. Do you wish to see someone who has died?" The monk said, "A couple of my fellow students have died. Could I see them?" The deity asked their names and then said, "One has already been reborn as a human being. The other is in hell. His sins are so grave that I cannot recall him. But the master can go and see him." Hearing this, the monk was delighted. He got up and went out and at a place not far away he saw many shrine hell chambers, burning bright. The 204

Fascicle 18

deity led the monk into one hall. In the distance the monk saw a man inside the fire, screaming indescribably, his shape changed beyond recognition. The smell of burning blood and flesh was unbearable. [The deity said] "This is the man. Master, do you not wish to see all the scenes of hell's torture?" The monk was distressed and asked to be allowed to leave. Immediately he was back in the shrine, sitting with the deity. The monk then asked, "Is there any point in asking that my fellow student be saved?" The deity answered, "Yes. Have the Lotus Sutra copied for his sake and he will then be released." As dawn approached the deity took leave and the monk went into the hall. The shrine official, seeing that the monk was still alive, was mystified. So the monk explained [what had happened] to him.

The monk had a copy of the Lotus Sutra made. After the sutra was finished and decorated, the monk took it to the shrine and again spent the night there. That night the deity appeared as before. Delighted, he paid respect to the monk and asked what was the purpose of his visit. The monk explained the matter. The deity said, "The disciple knew that you, Master, had copied the sutra for him. As soon as the title of the sutra was inscribed he was released. He now lives among human beings. This place is impure and unsuitable for keeping the sutra. Please send it to a monastery." After he said this, after a long while, toward dawn, the deity took leave and departed. The monk sent the sutra to a monastery. Zhang Deyan, Administrative Aide of the Hangzhou region, formerly held an office in Yanzhou and learned of this incident. (Mingbao ji, T.2082:791a22-b19.) Tang Dynasty

The monk Shi Zhiyuan of Youzhou was advanced in practice and welllearned. During the Daye period of Sui (605-616 C.E.) he decided to carve the entire canon into stone in preparation for the approaching period of the destruction of the Dharma. He carved out a cave in a mountain west of Youzhou, polished its four walls, and copied the scripture on them. He also took square pieces of rock, polished them, copied scriptures onto them, and stored them in a rock chamber. Each chamber, when filled, was sealed with a rock. Zhiyuan then melted iron and sealed the cave. At that time Emperor Yangdi of the Sui dynasty (r. 604-618 C.E.) traveled to Zhuo Commandery [in the Youzhou region]. Vice Director of the Royal Secretariat Xiao Yu was 205

421a

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

the younger brother of the empress. A pious Buddhist, he told the empress about [Zhiyuan's] project and she donated one thousand pi of silk and additional funds to support it. Yu [himself] donated five hundred pi of silk. Court officials and people outside the court heard about this and rushed to give donations. For this reason [Zhi]yuan's project succeeded. Many [supporters], some monastics and some laypeople, arrived and rushed [to the site]. Zhiyuan wished to build a wooden buddha hall, a dining room, and sleeping chambers in front of the cave, but wood and tiles were difficult to secure. He was afraid of wasting funds that had been donated for copying sutras. With this thought, he hesitated to embark on the project. One night a violent thunderstorm shook the mountain. The next morning the sky cleared and people saw below the mountain thousands of massive pine and cedar tree trunks, floating on the water and piled up along the road. Wooden construction material is scarce in Shandong; pine and cedar are particularly rare. People were amazed. They could not determine where the lumber had come from and followed the trail that the logs had left. A long distance to the west a mountain cliff had collapsed and the [uprooted] trees [from that place] had floated over [to the construction site]. Everyone far and near marveled at this. The power of merit must have inclined the gods to provide miraculous assistance. Zhiyuan instructed the carpenters to choose [what they needed]; the rest was distributed among local communities. The people of those communities were delighted and helped in the construction of the buildings. The work was soon completed, fulfilling [Zhiyuan's] original wishes. The stone scriptural tablets Zhiyuan produced filled seven chambers. He died in Zhenyuan 13 (639 C.E.). Disciples continued his work. Palace Counselor Li Xuangjiang and Chamberlain of Law Enforcement Cai Xuanming are said to have told [Tang Lin] this story. In Zhenguan 19 (643 C.E.) Tang Lin traveled to Youzhou and personally asked the local people about it. They all confirmed the events. (Mingbao ji, T.2082:789c4-c23; ref. Datang neidian lu, T.2149:340c18-26.)

(Note: The above three stories are from the Mingbao ji.) At the beginning of the Zhenguan period (627-649 C.E.) Shi Daoji lived at Fucheng Monastery in Yizhou. He recited the entire Nirvana Sutra, always putting on a clean robe and bathing first. Compassionate toward all, helping 206

Fascicle 18

everyone, his faith was deep-seated. He died in the fifth month. Even though it was extremely hot the corpse did not rot or smell. After more than one hundred days the body was sitting upright exactly as it was at the beginning. Everyone marveled at this and gave praise. (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:427c17-20; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:339c10-14; ref. Xu gaoseng zhuan, T.2060:687c20-29.)

The monastery affiliation of Shi Daosu is unknown. He wandered around the mountains and fields of Liquan; recitation of the Lotus Sutra was his practice. He had recited it thousands of times. In the year of Zhenguan (627 C.E.) he became ill and died. He had told his friend, Meditation Master Huikuo, "I have constantly been reciting the sutra and I would like to see the miraculous efficacy of this practice. If someone lives a life of goodness the tongue does not rot. Bury [my tongue after death] and exhume it after ten years. If the tongue has rotted away, we will know that my recitation did not accomplish anything. If the tongue has kept its original condition, build a stupa and worship it." Having said this, he died. In the eleventh year [of Zhenguan] (637 C.E.) the tomb was opened. The flesh of the body had all rotted away but the tongue was not affected. Everyone in the district marveled. The tongue was placed inside a box and a stupa for it was built above the Gangu cliff. (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:428a11-18; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:340a4-11.)

Shi village was situated south of Fushui in the Southern Suburb. Shi Heshi [of this village] recited the Lotus Sutra. His personal name was Chong. As a clerk [in the local government office] he traveled on foot and never rode on a horse. This was because the sutra spoke of having compassion for all sentient beings. He became ill and died in his native village. Fragrance filled the entire village and everyone was puzzled. No one could understand the reason. Ten years after his death his wife also died and the grave was opened for a joint burial. His tongue was seen to be in its original condition. The burial was properly carried out and many commemorative stones were set up. (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:428a19-24; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:340a12-17.)

In Zhenguan 5 (631 C.E.) Gu Yuangui, Magistrate of the Baxi district of Longzhou, a pious Buddhist, wished to copy the Lotus, Diamond Perfection 207

421b

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

of Wisdom, and Nirvana sutras. Because he could not investigate himself he requested the meditation master elsewhere to do so. Shangkang then went to a monastery and, having undergone proper purification, copied the sutras, wrapped them, and returned to his hermitage in Qizhou. The sutras were kept there in the same location as the copy of the five-thousand-character book of Laozi. Unexpectedly, embers from a fire outside the hermitage drifted onto the thatch-roofed building and burned it down completely. At that time Gu Yuangui was magistrate of the Pingyi district. Family members searched for and found a metal tube container in the ashes. When they cleared off the ashes and opened the container [they found] the sutras, exactly as they were originally. The color of the paper had not changed. Only the box and cloth in which they had been placed had burned to ashes. They also looked for the book of Laozi but it had been destroyed in the fire. People from villages near and far who heard of this all marveled [at the miraculous occurrence]. The title of the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in one roll had been charred black. [Someone] asked what had caused this. [The answer was that] the calligraphy of the title had been written by a district official who did not observe a vegetarian diet, and in his haste he had not observed the rules of purity. He wrote the title while standing and then departed. For this reason the color of the title inscribed by him burned. That person is still alive and the auspicious sutra is preserved. The administrative head of Ximing Monastery in the capital city, the monk Shenji, witnessed this himself and testified to its existence. (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:428a25b8; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:340a18-b1.) Meditation Master Shi Tanyun was from Dingzhou and traveled to Xizhou; he died at the age of seventy. During the disturbances toward the end of the Sui dynasty he hid on Mount Qian north of Lishi. His regular practice was recitation of the Lotus Sutra. He had wanted to produce a copy of the sutra but could not find a like-minded companion, and he let many years pass. Unexpectedly and for no reason a student arrived, saying that he could help Tanyun carry out his wish of copying the sutra after performing the purification rites. The next morning, after the meal, they bathed, put on fresh clothes, and received the eight precepts. They then entered the chamber, placed sandalwood incense in their mouths, burned incense, set up banners, and carried 208

Fascicle 18

out the scripture copying in silence. They came out of the chamber in the evening and returned the next morning. Never tiring, they completed copying the sutra. After the gift was presented according to the proper rules, the monk accompanied the scribe to the gate and [as he departed from the gate] the student quickly disappeared.

[Tanyun] then arranged the copy [into the proper sutra format], and piously kept and recited from it. The sutra was wrapped seven times. He would wash his hands in fragrant water when opening each layer of the cover. He did not neglect [the recitation practice] at first, but later, during a barbarian disturbance, he put the sutra in a box and placed it high up on a cliff. Years later when the disturbance calmed down, he went looking for the sutra. He looked everywhere and eventually found the box under the cliff. The box and coverings had rotted away but he saw that the sutra itself was as fresh as it was originally. (Note: Vinaya Master Daoxuan of Ximingsi in the capital city visited the region in Zhenguan 11 [637 C.E.] and saw the sutra with his own eyes.) (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:428b9-21; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:340b1-13.)

Wangli village was situated forty li west of the Xinfan district, northwest of Yizhou. A student, surname Xun, taught there. He was skilled in calligraphy but he was a secretive person. People wanted his calligraphy but he wouldn't agree to produce any. They pursued him [about the matter] but he still wouldn't produce calligraphy for them. He then took a pen, and at a place east of the village he inscribed the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in the sky, in all four directions. After several days he said he had finished. He also said that the sutra was intended for the gods to read. People at first did not realize its supernatural character. Later there was a sudden downpour of rain and lightning. A boy cowherd was staying at the place where the sutra was written and did not get drenched by the rain and the ground remained dry for an area of more than one zhang [square]. The water flowed around that area. When the weather cleared the villagers marveled at this. Since then every time it rained the boy returned to the place and his clothes never became wet. In the year of Wude (618 C.E.) an unusual monk came and told the villagers, "In this place the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra is written in the sky. Villagers should not defile it. Gods placed an umbrella over it. Do 209

421c

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

not debase the place." For this reason a railing was set up around the place and people and animals were not allowed in. Even now when it rains the place remains dry. During festivals villagers from distant places in all directions come and set up offerings. Heavenly music is constantly heard, filling the place with the beautiful sounds of voices and bells. (Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:428b9-21; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:341c11-22.) (Note: The above five stories are from the Sanbao gantong lu.) The wife of Duke Dachen of the Dou family, herself from the Doulu clan, was an elder sister of Guan, Duke Rui. The lady was a believer and frequently recited the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. [One time] she did not finish the roll; one sheet remained and it would take a while to recite, so she stopped. The next day, toward evening, her head ached and she did not feel well all through her body. That night she went to bed but her illness worsened. The lady thought she was about to die. Thinking that she would not be able to finish the sutra, she was about to get up and recite but the light in the hall had gone out. She ordered the maidservant to light the lamp. Soon the maid returned; there was no live fire in the kitchen. [The lady] opened the gate and [sent the maid] to get embers from the main home. She was in distress. Suddenly she saw in the kitchen a lit candle, which then came up the stairs into the hall and then straight to her bedside, standing about three chi from the ground, even though no one was holding it. The light was as bright as daylight. The lady was delighted; her headache had also gone. She took up the sutra and began reciting it. After a while the servants started a new fire and brought a lamp into the hall. The light of the candle then disappeared. The lady was able to finish reciting that night. From that time on she made it a regular daily practice to recite the sutra five times. Later, when Duke Rui was about to die, the lady went to see him. The duke told his sister, "Because of the merit of reciting sutras you will live one hundred years and be reborn in the Pure Land." The lady died in her residence at the age of eighty. (Mingbao ji, T.2082:795b27-c11; Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:429b18-25; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:341b7-14.) During the Wude period (618-626 C.E.) Commissioner of Waterways Su Chang served as the Prefect of Bazhou. Chang took his family with him when he traveled to the place of his appointment. As the boat was crossing the 210

Fascicle 18

Jialing River, a storm arose and the boat sank midstream. More than sixty men and women drowned. One maidservant, who regularly read the Lotus Sutra, held the box containing the sutra on her head as the water came in, vowing to die with the sutra. She did not drown but floated over the waves. Shortly thereafter, she reached the shore. When she took the sutra out of the box [she discovered that] it was dry and unsoiled. This sutra text still exists in Yangzhou. The maid married and became even more pious. (Mingbao ji, T.2082:795a4-10; Ji shenzhou sanbao gantong lu, T.2106:429c1-5; Datang neidian lu, T.2149:341b19-23.)

In Daye 10 of the Sui dynasty (614 C.E.) Liu Jian, Adjutant of Xingzhou, was appointed Supervisor of Qiyang Palace. In Yining 1 (617 C.E.) he was captured by Li Mi and imprisoned in Dalisi prison. Jian recited the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. He had two more sheets to recite but he fell asleep. In a dream he saw a brahman monk who said, "If you finish reciting the sutra you will be released." Jian quickly woke up and continued the recitation tirelessly. Two days passed. At noon he was unexpectedly called to court and was released. He was taken to a government office and freed according to an imperial order.

On a different occasion Jian was reciting a sutra outside of a house on a quiet evening. Toward the third watch (1:00 A.M.) he unexpectedly sensed an extraordinary fragrance. He noted the fragrance and asked the people in the house about it. He looked for the incense but could not find it. He recited the sutra ceaselessly day and night and completed more than five thousand rounds of recitation by the time he died.

In Zhenguan 1 (627 C.E.) Zhao Wenxin of Suizhou unexpectedly died but then returned to life three days later. He recounted the following story. On the day he died he had been forcibly escorted. There were ten companions and they all went together to the place of King Yama. There was a monk among them, and King [Yama] first called him. The king asked, "Master, since you were born, what meritorious deeds have you performed?" The master answered, "Since birth I have recited only the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom." As soon as the king heard these words he was taken aback and stood up, and with palms joined he praised the monk, "How marvelous! The master is proficient in reciting the Perfection of Wisdom! You should have 211

422a

422b

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

risen up to heaven and left this world. Why have you come here?" Before the king finished speaking, a god clothed in a heavenly robe suddenly descended and took the master up to heaven.

The king then called forward the man from Suizhou. "Since you were born, what meritorious deeds have you performed?" Zhao Wenxin replied to the king, "Since I was born I have not cultivated Buddhist sutras. [I only] loved Yu Xin's (513-581 C.E.) writings and collected records." The king said, "Yu Xin is a great sinner and is now undergoing great suffering here. Are you personally acquainted with Yu Xin?" The man replied, "Although I have read his writings I am not personally acquainted with him." The king then sent someone to bring Yu Xin before the man. [Zhao Wenxin] then saw a multiple-headed turtle. Shortly after the turtle left a man appeared. He said, "I am Yu Xin. When I lived [in the world] I loved writing. I cited Buddhist sutras fallaciously, and mixed citations with material from worldly books. I reviled the Buddha's Dharma, saying that it is inferior to the teachings of Confucius and Laozi. I am now receiving the punishment of suffering in the body of a turtle."

After coming back to life, Zhao Wenxin told the story directly to me (i.e., Tang Lin). Many people in Suizhou loved hunting and fishing but all those from near or far who heard this story made a vow to give up killing. They became pious and practiced the Perfection of Wisdom teaching. This situation continues until the present time.

In Zhenguan 1 (627 C.E.) Liu Bi, Aide in the Yilong district of Pengzhou, while in an earlier appointment as Commandant of the Jiangnan district, suddenly heard a bird singing in a tree in front of his residence. Locals said this was the inauspicious sound of an evil bird, and that after encountering the bird the head of the family will without doubt be killed. Hearing this, Liu Bi was frightened. He thought of cultivating merit in order to remove the curse but he did not know what meritorious act would suffice. At night he dreamed that a monk praised the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra and ordered him to recite it one hundred times. He obeyed and recited it. When he finished reciting the sutra one hundred times a sudden gust of wind from the northeast uprooted the tree on which the bird perched and blew it far away from the residence. A one zhang and five chi-square hole was left where the tree had 212

Fascicle 18

stood. After the wind passed, it was seen that in the place from where the wind came small branches and long grasses twisted around, following the wind. When the wind stopped, it was as if nothing had happened. The power the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra is beyond our understanding. Gu Daoxian of Luoyang was broadly learned, and he was particularly fond of Buddhist scriptures. In Zhenguan 5 (631 C.E.) he served as Revenue Management Administrator of Qingzhou. The official residence was small and lacked space for keeping sutras. So he attached ropes to the two legs of a desk and suspended it upside down from the ceiling. He [then] placed sixty rolls of sutras on it. He would sit or lie under it and read tirelessly. After a long time the ropes rotted and one broke, yet the desk did not fall nor even tilt to one side. It stayed like this for a long time before people took it down. The son of Dao xian became Revenue Manager of Xizhou and is said to have reported this. Lu Huaisu's family lived in the Wu Commandery. In Zhenguan 20 (646 C.E.) a fire destroyed all the buildings, including the hut [for Buddhist practices]. Only the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra kept in a box was preserved. The box, the cover, and the shaft of the roll were all burned but the [paper on which] the sutra [was written] did not. People were amazed. Huaisu was the brother of the previous wife of Xu Renze of Gaoyang. Renze saw this at that time and later spoke of it.

(Note: The above seven stories are from the Mingbao ji.) [Ma] Qiaoqing, Former Rectifier of Judicial Review and Adjutant of Henei, was pious by nature and inclined to religious practice. During the Yonghui period (650-655 C.E.) he served in the Revenue Section of the Yangzhou regional government. His mother died and he was deep in intense mourning. He drew blood from his heart with which he copied the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in one roll. Shortly thereafter two stalks of grass appeared above the temporary hut at the grave. In nine days they grew to the height of nine cun. The stalks were green and covered in red at the top, and the plants produced one sheng of juice each day. Bystanders tasted it; it was sweet like honey. When the stalks were removed they grew back again. This was repeated four times. Qiaoqing had several colleagues and they all told Yu Ling. Many people came to know about this.

422c

213

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume III

During the Xianqing period (656-660 C.E.) a man in Pingzhou, surname Sun and personal name Shou, was hunting on a beach. He saw a fiercely burning wildfire that had destroyed all the trees and plants, but one bush was untouched by the fire. Suspecting that an animal might be hiding inside the bush, he [tried to] to set fire to it but the fire would not catch. Shou was mystified and looked inside the bush. He saw a golden box containing the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra and next to it was a deceased monk. The monk's face had not changed; the fire had not burned his body. Because of this Sun Shou came to believe that [the mystery of] sutras and images are beyond human comprehension. Sun Shou himself related this story. Li Qianguan presently lives in Zhengzhou. In Xianqing 5 (660 C.E.) his father died. He drew his own blood with which to copy the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra and the Heart Sutra, each in one roll, and the Suiyuan wangsheng jing in one roll. After going out he would bathe before entering [the chamber]. Later, an extraordinary fragrance appeared in the courtyard. The fragrance was very strong. The neighbors all perceived and marveled at it. Yu Ling, Court Gentleman of Zhongshan, once passed through Zhengzhou and saw his close friend, who told him this story in detail. There was a temple in a village twenty li west of the Jiyin district in Caozhou. In Longshuo 2 (662 C.E.), the tenth month in winter, a field fire broke out; it was very powerful and threatened to reach the temple and go further. The grass-thatched monastic residence of the temple burned down completely but the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, in one roll, [that was kept in the residence] remained unchanged. Xi Wenli, Administrator of Caozhou, related this story.

(Note: The above four stories are from the Mingbao shiyi.) 214