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Chapter Twenty-five

Transformation

(This chapter consists of three parts:) (1) Introduction, (2), Proficiency in the Law of Supernatural Transformation, and (3) Abhorrence of Desire. 1. Introduction

The Sage's activities indiscriminately pervade without hindrance. He exerts influence in numerous areas. You cannot seek anything through making a single way. You cannot deduce anything with only a principle. Therefore, he responds to coarseness with coarseness and to precision with precision. Coarseness or precision is in accordance with the faculty of each sentient being. Reason is certainly so.

Consequently, as for emitting great light and manifesting various supernatural transformations, this is merely his response to the leader of all the great bodhisattvas of the ten directions, the one to whom he hands down the honored position. If he places himself in the secular world and makes contact with vulgar beings, this is in order to stop evil and restore righteousness. Furthermore, one must follow the law of conditions. With proficiency in transformation he assesses people's feelings. One cannot clearly understand indirect symbols through marvelous truth, but he transforms himself and shows the form and substance of wonders, and through this he blocks the ignorant views toward wonders.

For instance, the Sage also joins herds of deer or horses to liberate them. At the time when he is among deer or horses, is he the same as deer or horses? If he was no different from deer or horses that comply with ordinary people of the world, it is clear that he would not rely on supernatural transformation. 217

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2. Proficiency in the Law of

Supernatural Transformation

Just as the Garland Sutra (T. 278) says:

Sons and daughters of the Buddha! It is just as the transformed body of a tathāgata preaches incomparable clouds of the Dharma like this. All worlds, such as the realm of ultimate reality (Skt. dharmadhātu) and the realm of space, are weighted and measured throughout by the use of a single hair tip. On each tip of hair in one moment [a tathāgata] transforms into a body equal to a single atom of the indescribable, indescribable buddha land. He consequently completes it until the end of the future. Each transformed buddha has a head equal to a single atom of the indescribable, indescribable buddha land. In each of these heads is a tongue equal to a single atom of the indescribable, indescribable buddha land. Each tongue produces a voice equal to a single atom of the indescribable, indescribable buddha land. With each voice [a tathāgata] preaches a sutra equal to a single atom of the indescribable, indescribable buddha land. In each sutra he delivers a teaching equal to a single atom of the indescribable, indescribable buddha land. In each teaching he explains sentences equal to a single atom of the indescribable, indescribable buddha land. Again, in a kalpa equal to a single atom of the indescribable, indescribable buddha land, he speaks different sentences. His voice fills the entire universe (dharmadhātu). Among all sentient beings there is no one who does not hear it. Until the very end of the future he continually preaches the Dharma. The voice of a tathāgata does not vary, has no breaking off, and never comes to an end. This is the Dharma abided by the vigorous Nārāyaṇa-streamer (Naluo yan chuang) Buddha for all buddhas' sakes. Again, the Garland Sutra says:

All buddhas entirely have eight kinds of subtle voices. Each voice entirely has five hundred subdivisions of exquisite voice. It is incalculable. A hundred thousand kinds of voices are considered to be solemn. The music of immeasurable and boundless exquisite voices is completely pure. The significance of all buddhas' true Dharma can be widely expounded. [All buddhas] completely leave behind fear, peacefully abide in fearlessness, 218

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and expound the Dharma, just like a great lion's roar. They completely cause all sentient beings of the entire universe to hear their voices and attain realization according to the various good acts they originally practiced. This is the glorious manifestation of all buddhas' supreme, highest verbal acts.

Furthermore, the Chuchu jing (T. 730) says:

At that time the Buddha smiled. Five-colored light came out from his mouth. There are five kinds of causes for this. The first is that [the Buddha] intended to cause the people to wonder about it and to benefit from doing so. The second is that he was concerned that people would say that the Buddha unconsciously smiled. The third is that he manifested the light from his mouth for sentient beings. The fourth is that he smiled at all those who are insincere. The last is that he smiled at the arhats who are attached to emptiness yet who have not attained the way of bodhisattvas. After the light returns into him from the crown of his head he surely shows his great intelligence to the people.

Moreover, the Foshuo xinming jing (T. 569) says:

At that time the World-honored One smiled at a brahman. Five-colored light came out from his mouth and shone upon beings of the five realms in the ten directions. He intended [the light] to reach the people's minds, and he was delightful to cause hungry ghosts to be able to eat to the full, the pain in the hells to cease, and animals' minds to open and their sins to be removed. Seeking the light, they came to the Buddha's place. In the ways in which all buddhas smile there is always auspiciousness. When [a buddha] gives a prediction to a bodhisattva about his future attainment of buddhahood, the light, after shining all over the ten directions, enters the crown of his head. When he gives the prediction to a pratyekabuddha, the light enters the middle of his forehead. When he gives the prediction to a śrāvaka, the light enters an aperture near his shoulder blade. When he speaks about the issue of rebirth in heaven, the light enters his navel. When he speaks about descending to the human realm, the light enters his knees. When he speaks about going to the three types of suffering (Skt. tri-duḥkhatā), the light enters the arches of his feet. 219

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A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume V All buddhas hope [the people] do not smile out of desire, do not smile in anger, do not giggle, do not smile unrestrainedly, do not smile out of cupidity, do not smile to attain honors, or do not smile to gain wealth. Now the Buddha universally and equally feels compassion for sentient beings and makes a great benevolent smile, without these seven types of smiles.

The [Da] zhidu lun further says:

Just like when the Buddha turned the Dharma wheel for the first time, bodhisattvas immediately came from other lands. They intended to measure the Buddha's body, but even though they went above beyond immeasurable buddha lands in space and arrived at the World Above [Lotus] Flowers (Huashang shijie), they saw the same Buddha's body as before. Accordingly they said in verse:

Space has no limit.

So too the Buddha's merit.

When we intended to measure the Buddha's body,

We toiled in vain and could not accomplish it.

Although we went above and beyond

Immeasurable buddha lands in space,

We saw the same Lion of the Śākyas (Śākyasiṃha)

As before, with no difference.

The Buddha's body is just like a golden mountain. It produces the great light.

All marks of his physical excellence are spontaneously dignified. They are just like flowers spreading out in spring. Again, the Chuchu jing says:

When the Buddha resided in the world, all the heavenly beings, spiritual beings, dragons, and human beings went to the Buddha's place, where they heard the teachings [sitting] in several hundreds of thousands of rows. They all saw the Buddha's face before and behind him. What is the reason for this? It is because during the time of the Buddha's previous existence, when he spoke there was neither front nor rear. Therefore, 220

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everyone was able to see the Buddha's face; they all lay down in the direction in which the Buddha faced, because they revered the Buddha. 3. Abhorrence of Desire

Just as the Da zhuangyan famen jing (T. 818; Skt. Mañjuśrīvikrīdita-sūtra) says:

At that time there was a courtesan in Rājagṛha called [Superior] Goldencolored Light Virtue ([Sheng] Jinse Guangming De).176 Due to the cause and condition of good conduct in her previous existence, she had a graceful figure and completely possessed the thirty-two marks of physical excellence (Skt. dvātriṃśatī-lakṣaṇa-rūpa). Her body was of authentic golden color and radiated light. Her deportment was attractive and elegant. She was rare in the world. She was bright and intelligent and eloquent without hindrance. Her language was clear, subtle, profound, and pliable. She always spoke with a smile. Wherever she went, golden light shone entirely upon that place. Her clothing was all golden-colored, too. All the people who saw her constantly had her on their minds, became attached to her, and never dismissed her from their thoughts. Wherever she traveled, everyone followed her. There was a wealthy man's son called Superior Awesome Virtue (Shangweide). Since he wished to take pleasure [with the courtesan], he gave her many valuables, and they made an agreement with each other. [She] boarded a carriage [adorned with various treasures] and he adorned himself, and then together they went to a garden.

At that time, as a result of her previous existence a benefit was secretly bestowed on the woman called [Superior] Golden-colored [Light Virtue]; she was edified by Mañjuśrī, who caused her to enter the [Buddhist] Way. This is because [Mañjuśrī] freely manifests miracles through supernatural power.

[Superior Golden-colored] was asleep with her head on Superior Awesome Virtue's lap. Through supernatural power [Mañjuśrī] manifested himself at the place where she was sleeping and caused her to have the marks of death. [Her body] was swollen, rotten, and stinking. It was hardly possible to come close to her. Her belly broke open in an instant, her liver and bowels split, and her five viscera were exposed. It was smelly, filthy, 221

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and detestable. The impure things, such as urine and feces, [from her body] flowed over a road. All her sense organs and joints [polluted all over the place] and were eaten by flies and maggots. It is impossible to describe it. At that time the wealthy man's son saw the corpse and felt great fear. His hair stood on end [in horror] and he thought, "I have now nothing with which to save myself. I look throughout the four directions, but there is no place in which I may take refuge." His fears increased more and more, and he cried out loudly in fear. Because of two kinds of causes the wealthy man's son gave rise to great fear: first, he was afraid because he had never seen such a fearful thing as this before; second, he was afraid because the people knew that he had come with her, and now she had suddenly died here, so they might think that he had intentionally killed her. King Ajātaśatru would not examine all the reasons for this and would sentence him to death with an unjust view. At that time the wealthy man's son was alone in the grove; he did not see even a single other person. [He thought,] "Among all ordinary people and sages, who can rescue me?' Even though the past good conduct of the wealthy man's son was ripe for [a reward], because he had not heard the Dharma spoken by Mañjuśrī along with the woman Golden-colored, Mañjuśrī, through supernatural powers, promptly caused all trees in the grove to intone a verse.

The wealthy man's son felt great joy after hearing [the verse]. He considered himself to be very fortunate. He abandoned the corpse, came out of the grove, immediately went to the Buddha's place, and fully explained his fearful story.

At that time the Buddha said to the wealthy man's son, "You! Do not be anxious and fearful! I will give you fearlessness in all things. If you take refuge in the Buddha, you will be fearless in everything." The wealthy man's son addressed the Buddha,177 "From what do all fears arise?" The Buddha replied, "You feel fear due to causes and conditions from greed, anger, and ignorance. You must know that in all fears there is neither the subject, nor function, nor persistence. Where is the sensation of desire you earlier had now?" The wealthy man's son said, "Due to [the causes and conditions of] lewdness and evil speculation we see among these [phenomena], ordinary people give rise to covetous attachments. In the sacred 222

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Dharma there is nothing like these things." Thereafter, the Buddha through various kinds of expedient means expounded the Dharma. At that time the wealthy man's son attained the clear cognition in accordance with the Dharma (shunfa ren). At that time the woman [Superior] Golden-colored [Light Virtue], knowing that the wealthy man's son had received edification, adorned five hundred horse-drawn carriages, and accompanied in front and behind she came to the Buddha's place. She withdrew and stayed to one side.

At that time Mañjuśrī asked the wealthy man's son, "Do you recognize this young lady?" The wealthy man's son replied, "I now truly recognize her." Mañjuśrī said, "How do you know her?" At this moment the wealthy man's son immediately faced Mañjuśrī and said in verse: I see that her features are just like bubbles on water. All my perceptions are completely like foam. I contemplate that her thought is the same as heat haze. In this way I recognize her.

I see that her acts are [impermanent,] like plantains. I know that her views are just like illusion. The woman's name is expediently established. In this way I recognize her.

Her body has no sensation, just like a tree, And also like grass, or tiles, or pebbles, But her mind cannot be seen.

In this way I recognize her.

All ordinary people appear to be charmed. They are perverted and give rise to evil speculation. This is not in what intelligent people are steeped. In this way I recognize her.

Just like the corpse in that grove, Stinking, rotten, horrid, and impure. The nature of a body is like this. In this way I recognize her.

The past is originally not extinguished. The future will not come into existence, either. The present does not remain even for a brief time. 529a

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A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume V In this way I recognize her.

Mañjuśrī must listen to me attentively.

It is hardly possible to requite his kindness.

I had originally much avariciousness.

As I saw impurity, I was liberated.

Her body did not die in fact.

He showed her death in order to edify me.

He manifested it out of compassion for sentient beings. Who can see this without awakening the aspiration for enlightenment? Greed, anger, and ignorance like this,

As well as all defilements,

The Dharma of the true nature of these things is

Good and very subtle.

At that time the Buddha said to Ānanda, "In the past I already edified these people, the woman [Superior] Golden-colored [Light Virtue] and the man Superior Awesome Virtue, and caused them to awaken the aspiration for enlightenment. Now they have further heard the Dharma and attained the clear cognition in accordance with the Dharma. In the future, ninety, a hundred, or a thousand kalpas later, this woman, Golden-colored, will be able to become a buddha called Light of Treasures (Baoguang) Tathāgata. [Superior] Awesome Virtue, the wealthy man's son, will attain the status of a bodhisattva at Light of Treasures Buddha's place and he will be called Light of Virtue (Deguang). He will be able to become a buddha after the nirvana of Light of Treasures [Tathāgata] and will be called Flames of Treasures (Baoyan) Tathāgata." Furthermore, the Guanfo sanmei[hai] jing (T. 643; Skt. Buddha dhyāna samādhisāgara-sūtra) says: The Buddha said to Ānanda, "Formerly when I was in summer retreat, there was a courtesan in Vārāṇasī. She stayed in a high building and was called Wonderful Intention (Miaoyi). In ancient times she had had a relationship with the Buddha. "At that time, the World-honored One created three youths through supernatural power. [The boys] were all fifteen years old, well-featured, 224

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and superior to all people in the world. On seeing them, the courtesan felt happy in body and mind. She addressed [the boys], 'Young sirs! This house I live in now is like that of Śrī-mahādevī. It is comfortable due to the power of wealth and adorned with numerous treasures. May I now present myself and my servants to you? I will completely sprinkle water and sweep [to cleanse my house]. If you can think of, accept, and follow my wishes, I will offer all of this to you; I will begrudge nothing.' After she said these words, the transformed boys sat on mats. Soon afterward the woman drew intimately close to [one of them] and addressed him, 'Sir! I hope you will fulfill my intention.' The transformed boy did not defy her [intention] and complied with what she wanted. She had already approached him. "The night of the first day she was not yet tired. On the second day her affectionate feeling gradually came to an end. On the third day she said, 'Sir! We should get up and eat and drink.' The transformed boy immediately got up, but he pestered her incessantly. "The woman felt wearisome and penitent. She said, 'Sir! Does an extraordinary person [act] like this?' The transformed boy told her, 'In my former worldly ways I generally had an affair with a woman for twelve days and only then took a rest.'

"The woman heard this and felt just like a person choking on food. Since she could not spew nor swallow it, her body was as painful as if it had been pounded with a pestle. On the fourth day she felt as if she had been run over by a vehicle. On the fifth day she felt as if an iron pellet had entered her body. On the sixth day all her joints ached as if an arrow had pierced in her heart. She thought and said, 'I have heard people speak about King Śuddhodana's son in the city of Kapilavastu. His body is purplish gold-colored and possesses the thirty-two marks of physical excellence. He commiserates with the ignorant and relieves suffering people. He usually resides in that city and continually performs meritorious liberation. Radiating golden light, he relieves all people. Why does he not come to rescue me today? From now on until the last moment of my life I will no longer covet carnal pleasure at all. I would rather be kept in a den with a tiger and a wolf than have this misery without sensual desire.' "The transformed boy said in anger, 'You are a worn-out filthy woman! You want to discontinue our affair. Now I would like to unite with you. 225

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It would be better to have an early death. If my parents and members of the same clan come and look for me, where can I hide? I would rather commit suicide by hanging myself. I will not be able to tolerate the humiliation.' The woman said, 'You are a bad person! I do not need you. If you wish to die, do as you like.' At that moment the transformed boy took a sword and stabbed himself in the neck. Blood flowed in torrents, staining the woman's body. [The transformed boy] weakened and fell to the ground. The woman could not stand it.

"On the second day [after this tragedy the boy's body] was congested with blood and turned blue. On the third day it became swollen and puffy. On the fourth day it broke out in sores. On the fifth day it began to rot. On the sixth day the flesh fell off. On the seventh day there were only the stinking bones. A substance like glue or lacquer stuck fast to the woman's body. All the urine and feces discharged from his body, various evil insects, the blood that had burst out of him, and pus completely covered her body. The woman was extremely offensive and detestable, but she could not escape from [the situation].

"The woman made a vow: 'All heavenly gods and hermits! If King Śuddhodana's son can save me from this suffering, I will offer this house and all my jewels and valuables.' When she had this thought, the Buddha, accompanied by Ānanda and Nanda, with Śakra-devendra before him and the Brahma King at the rear, emitted a halo from his head that shone upon heaven and earth. All the people saw the Tathāgata going to visit the woman in her high building.

"When the woman saw the Buddha, she felt ashamed. There was no place to hide the boy's bones. She took some white cotton cloth and wrapped up the stinking corpse, but the offensive smell was the same as before; it was impossible to hide [the corpse] away.

"The woman saw the World-honored One and bowed to him. Out of shame she covered the bones with her body, but the stinking bones suddenly appeared on the woman's back. The woman was extremely ashamed and said with tears in her eyes, 'The Tathāgata's merit and benevolence are boundless. If you can cause me to leave behind this suffering, I will pray to become your disciple. My intention will never retrogress until my last moment.'

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"Through the Buddha's supernatural powers the stinking bones disappeared. The woman was greatly delighted. She bowed to the Buddha and addressed him, 'O World-honored One! I now offer to you, the Buddha, all what I have valued.' The Buddha fluently offered prayers for her sake in a purevoice. Hearing the prayers the woman was greatly delighted and promptly attained the path of srota-āpatti-phala. Her five hundred maidservants, on hearing the Buddha's voice, all awakened aspiration for the highest bodhi. Incalculable practitioners who cultivated pure acts saw the Buddha's manifestation of the miracle through supernatural power, and attained the clear cognition regarding the unproduced nature of all existences (Skt. anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti). Among all heavenly beings led by Śakra-devendra, there were those who awakened aspiration for bodhi and those who attained anāgāmi-phala."

Moreover, the [Zhuanji] Baiyuan jing (T. 200; Skt. Avadāna-śataka) says: When the Buddha was residing in the world, in Śrāvastī a wealthy man's wife gave birth to a boy. The boy was extremely ugly; he looked like an evil spirit. All those who saw him deserted him. He eventually grew up, but his parents loathed him. They ordered [someone] to abandon him far away. Even the animals that saw his ugliness harbored fear, not to speak of human beings. Moreover, one time he went to a grove where he earned a living by collecting fruit. Every flying bird and running beast was frightened of him.178 He was completely isolated from the world and lived alone. The World-honored One felt benevolence [toward this man]. Leading the bhikṣus, he went to the grove, intending to liberate him. When [the ugly man] saw the Buddha, he ran away from him but through supernatural power the Buddha prevented him from leaving. At that time all the bhikṣus sat cross-legged under the trees and concentrated their minds on one point. The World-honored One transformed himself into a bad-looking person holding a bowl filled with food, and slowly approached the ugly man. [Seeing that the bad-looking person's] appearance was similar to his own, [the ugly man] felt happy. [He thought,] "This person is now truly my companion." Soon [the bad-looking person] came to him and talked with him, and they ate from the same bowl. When they had finished eating, 227

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the transformed man suddenly became regular-featured, [no longer badlooking]. The ugly man asked, "How did you now suddenly become regular-featured?' The transformed person replied, "I ate this food and saw with a wholesome mind the bhikṣus sitting in mediation under those trees. This caused me to become regular-featured." After hearing this, the ugly man subsequently did [what the transformed person had done], and soon he also attained regular features. He felt happy. He immediately faced the transformed person and deeply gave rise to faith in and understanding of him. Thereupon, the transformed person returned to his original form [as the Buddha]. The [formerly] ugly man saw the thirty-two major and eighty minor marks of physical excellence of the Buddha. Light shone upon all, as bright as a hundred or a thousand suns. The man stepped forward and worshiped [the Buddha] by bowing his head to the Buddha's feet, then he withdrew and sat to one side. The Buddha expounded the Dharma for him in various ways. The man attained srota-āpatti-phala and immediately requested to renounce the world before the Buddha. The Buddha said to him, "Welcome, bhikṣu!" His beard and hair spontaneously fell off and a Dharma robe was put on him. Thereupon, he became a śramaṇa. With devotion and vigor he practiced and received training, and attained the fruit of arhatship.

At that time all the bhikṣus, seeing this incident, asked the Buddha to explain for them the original causes and conditions of [the ugly man's] former existence. The Buddha said to the bhikṣus, "Formerly, a buddha who appeared in past incalculable worlds was called Puṣya. He sat crosslegged under a tree. Maitreya and I were both bodhisattvas [at that time]. We went to [Puṣya] Buddha's place and made various offerings. Accordingly I raised my foot and spoke in verse to praise [Puṣya] Buddha for seven days:

In heaven and earth there is nothing better than the Buddha. Nor is there in the worlds in the ten directions.

Even if we can completely see all the places in the world, There is no one who can come up with one like the Buddha. "At that time the Bodhisattva finished speaking this verse. 228

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"Then, in that mountain there was a spiritual being who transformed into an ugly form and came to scare me. Through supernatural power I caused the place where he walked to become a steep precipice, and he was unable to pass through it. At that time that [spiritual being], a mountain deity, had this thought, 'Because I frightened him with an evil intention, he made the place where I am now steep and difficult and disabled me from passing through it. I must now go to him and repent of my previous sin.' After having this thought [the mountain deity] subsequently came to me, repented, made a vow, and left."

The Buddha said to the bhikṣus, "If you want to know [who was that mountain deity, it is the ugly man who has now attained arhatship.] Because he frightened me, he had an ugly appearance for five hundred generations, and those who saw him were horrified and ran away. Because he repented [of his sin], he has now met me, renounced the world, and attained the [Buddhist] Way." Hearing this, the bhikṣus rejoiced and upheld and practiced the teaching. Verses say:

The Great Sage manifests a transformation. Complying with circumstances, he enlightens the people. He bears beauty and reveals gracefulness. Opening the mind and awakening correspond to each other. He subdues evil ways,

Manifests a transformation through supernatural power, And hides and reveals himself to benefit the people, Who follow his lofty traces.

Sentient beings stop slandering.

They receive realization vigorously.

He secretly contrives at will.

Those who see him give rise to respect. We, however, seldom meet this sage,

A matchless spiritual dragon.

Sentient beings have merits

In meeting this auspicious sign.

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Miracle Stories

(Twenty-five stories are briefly cited.)

[Preface to Divine Changes and Numerous Kinds of Transformations] The way to save with benevolence shakes the divinations of the old system. The origin of the method to propagate edification is hard to surmise. Here is the Great Sage outside of China, not a person of common capability in this region. If you seek the very source of things, it is impossible to trace it back to the origin. If you investigate something exhaustively, it is impossible to accomplish it. Even though ordinary people and sages are distinguished from each other, there is commonality in transformation. Truly it is because in intelligence there is shallowness and depth, in hindrance there is coarseness and refinement, in faculty there is greatness and smallness, and in edification there is expansiveness and narrowness. It can probably be said that to reach the origins of birth and death is a transformation. If you rely on the Buddhist teaching and clearly believe in causality and that causes and conditions take advantage of each other, then you will achieve transformation. If you rely on non-Buddhist or secular teachings, you will not attain the right path. Just believe that all things come into existence through conditions and do not rely on the belief that they are brought about by causes.

Therefore, Gan Bao's record (i.e., Soushen ji) says:

In heaven there are five kinds of energies that transform and form all things. When the wood [energy] is pure, it is benevolence. When the fire [energy] is pure, it is propriety. When the metal [energy] is pure, it is righteousness. When the water [energy] is pure, it is intelligence. When the earth [energy] is pure, it is gratitude. When the five kinds of energies are all pure, a sage's virtue becomes complete. When the wood [energy] is impure, it is weakness. When the fire [energy] is impure, it is lewdness. When the metal [energy] is impure, it is wildness. When the water [energy] is impure, it is avarice. When the earth [energy] is impure, it is obstinacy. When the five kinds of energies are all impure, it results in vulgar people. In the Middle Land (i.e., China) many sages appear as a result of the intersection of harmonious energies, while in inaccessible remote areas there are many monsters, produced by peculiar energies.

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Once you receive energy [from heaven], you certainly have a form. Once you have a form, a disposition certainly arises. Therefore, those who eat grain are intelligent and civilized. Those who eat plants are mighty yet unintelligent. Those who eat mulberry [leaves] produce raw silk and become moths. Those who eat meat are brave and violent. Those who eat earth have no mind and do not breathe. Those who eat vapors have spiritual intelligence and longevity. Those who eat nothing are immortal and become deities. There is no male among those who are thick-waisted, and there is no female among those who are slim-waisted.179 There is no male who neglects having sexual intercourse [with a female]. There is no female who neglects raising [a child]. Insects that undergo three transformations [in a lifecycle] first become pregnant and later mate. Beasts that mate indsicriminately (i.e., that can mate with either sex) spontaneously have both sexes within. Ivy is parasitic and twines around the trunks of tall trees. The moss called nüluo lives on the mushroom called fuling (i.e., Poria cocos). Trees take root in the ground. Duckweed spreads its roots in water. Birds fly through the sky. Beasts run on the ground. Insects hibernate, confining themselves in the earth. Fish live hiding in deep pools. Originally those that spring up in the sky come close to the upper part, those that spring up on the earth come close to the lower part, and those that spring up with the change of times come close to the sides. Every being follows [the nature of] its species. A thousand-year-old pheasant enters the sea and becomes a large clam. A hundred-year-old chickadee enters a large river and becomes a clam. A thousand-year-old large turtle can speak with human beings. A thousand-year-old fox stands up [on its hind legs] and becomes a [human] beauty. Even if a thousand-year-old snake is cut apart, its body becomes joined again. A hundred-year-old mouse can divine. [Each of these is] the culmination of fate. On the vernal equinox day a hawk is transformed into a pigeon. On the autumnal equinox day a pigeon is transformed into a hawk. These are changes in time. Therefore, decayed grass becomes fireflies, rotten reeds become crickets, rice plants become rice weevils, and wheat becomes butterflies. Wings grow, eyes are formed, and mind and wisdom come into existence. This is the change from ignorance to intelligence; it is the change of energy. When a crane changes into a roe deer, a snake changes 231

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into a freshwater turtle, or a cricket changes into a shrimp, [these creatures] do not lose their original blood and energy (i.e., constitution), but their forms and generic characters change. Examples like these are too numerous to enumerate.

To move in response to a change is said to follow the common way. If one takes a wrong step, he may cause an absurd disaster. Therefore, that the lower half of one's body engenders the upper part is the inversion of energy. That a human being gives birth to an animal, or an animal gives birth to a human being, is a disorder of energy. That a man is transformed into a woman or a woman is transformed into a man is the transformation of energy. Niu Ai of the state of Lu fell ill, and in seven days he transformed into a tiger. His form changed, and his nails and fangs completely came out. As his elder brother entered [the room], he attacked and ate his brother. This is because at the time he was a human being he did not know he was going to become a tiger, and at the time he was a tiger he did not know he had once been a human being.

During the Taikang era (280-289) of the Jin dynasty, Ruan Shiqin of Chenliu (in present-day Henan province) was bitten by a pit viper. He was unable to stand the pain and smelled the wound several times, and then two pit vipers grew in his nose.

During the Yuankang era (291-299) [of the Jin dynasty], Ji Yuanzai of Liyang (in present-day Anhui province) was entertained with a dish on a big turtle as a guest, and then he had an induration [in the stomach]. A doctor treated it with medicine, and several sheng of baby turtles were purged [from his bowel]. Each was as large as a coin and possessed a head, feet, and shell. Even the pattern of the shell was complete. However, they died due to being harmed by the medicine.

A wife is not the energy of Nature's nourishing. The nose is not a place to conceive a child. The place for the passage [of food] (i.e., the alimentary canal) is not a means for reproduction. Observing such cases from this point, regarding the birth and death of all things and their changes, unless you understand thoroughly the will of the gods, even if you seek them, how could you know from where they come? That decayed grass changes into fireflies is, however, due to decomposition. That wheat changes into butterflies is due to moisture. In this case, the changes of all things have 232

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reasons. When a farmer wants to stop the wheat from changing, he soaks it in lye. When a sage manages the changes of all things, he accomplishes [the changes] by means of the Way. Are those sorts [of changes] not [just as what I have mentioned above]?

Even someone who realizes phenomena is now assuredly not capable of investigating exhaustively the culmination of change. This is because sentient beings' original consciousness (Skt. vijñāna) is formed through having been influenced by miscellaneous acts. The seed of a cause has already ripened, and a condition is externally formed availing itself of [the seed of its cause]. In accordance with the law of conditions, sentient beings and insentient things arise and change. If first there is no seed [of a cause], even if there is an encounter with a condition, the condition is coarse and its power is weak. Moreover, a thing cannot change alone. Therefore causes avail themselves of conditions. The seed [of a cause] does not grow alone, and a condition must avail itself of a cause. Therefore conditions do not manage [changes] alone. When a cause and a condition harmoniously unite, their power and function are equal to each other. All kinds of things come into existence through this process. Only one is not capable to achieve [changes]. I earnestly desire that this will be clarified in the future. I hope that people will examine other divinations with suspicion. [The Transformation Ability of Zuo Ci in the Zhou Dynasty] Zuo Ci, whose pseudonym was Yuanfang, from Lujiang (in present-day Anhui province) had a supernatural power. He was once present at a gathering of Lord Cao. Lord [Cao] said, "For today's party I regret we cannot have the fresh meat of sea bass from Songjiang (in present-day Jiangsu province)." [Yuan]fang responded, "I can get it." He asked for a copper container, which he filled with water. He lowered a baited line from a bamboo pole into the container and started fishing. Immediately he caught a sea bass. Lord [Cao] clapped his hands in joy, and all the participants were surprised. Lord [Cao] said, "One fish is not enough for all the people. If you can get two, it would be good." [Yuan]fang thereupon began to fish with bait. In an instant he landed [another sea bass]. Both [fish] were more than three chi long, lively and beautiful. Lord [Cao] immediately prepared a fresh sea bass dish in front of everyone and offered it to all the people.

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Lord [Cao] said, "Now we already have sea bass. I simply regret we do not have fresh ginger from Shu (i.e., Sichuan province)." [Yuan]fang replied, "I can get it." Lord [Cao] was afraid that [Yuanfang] might buy [the ginger] in the neighborhood so he said, "I formerly sent a messenger to Shu to buy brocade. You should order your man to contact my messenger and have him buy two more rolls of brocade." [Yuanfang's] man left and soon came back with fresh ginger. Moreover, [Yuanfang's] man said, "Lord, I met your messenger at the brocade store. I passed on your order to him to buy two more rolls." More than a year later, Lord [Cao's] messenger returned with two more rolls of brocade [as he had been requested]. When [Lord Cao] asked the messenger [why he had bought two more rolls, the messenger] replied, "Formerly, on such-and-such day of such-and-such month, I met a person at the store who told me to buy two more rolls of brocade on your orders." After that, Lord [Cao] went on an outing to the suburbs, accompanied by just more than a hundred officials. [Yuan]fang entertained them with a jar of wine and a piece of dried meat, himself going around and serving wine to each official. [Although he had only one jar of wine,] all the officials could have enough to get drunk. Lord [Cao] investigated this after returning [and found that] all of the wines and dried meats from a wine seller had disappeared [in the night] on the day before.

Lord [Cao] thought ill of [Yuanfang] and secretly intended to kill him. When Yuanfang came to Lord [Cao's] place, [Lord Cao] was planning to detain him. [Yuan]fang, however, entered into the wall and quickly disappeared. [Lord Cao] then offered a reward for anyone who could apprehend him. Someone saw him at a marketplace and tried to arrest him, but all the people in the marketplace [suddenly] became the same in appearance as [Yuan]fang.

Later, someone else saw [Yuan]fang on the mountaintop in Yangcheng (in present-day Henan province). A passerby chased him. [Yuan]fang hid among a flock of sheep. The passerby knew that [Yuan]fang was with the sheep and said to him, "Lord Cao is not plotting to kill you. He originally tried to judge your [magical] skills. Since they have been examined, he merely wants to see you." An old ram suddenly appeared from among the sheep, bent its knees, stood up like a human being, and said, "That cannot be!" Then the people said, "This ram is [Yuanfang]!" They competed with one another 234

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in approaching [the ram] intending to catch it, but then the flock of sheep, several hundreds, all turned into rams that all bent their knees and stood up like human beings all at the same time. [The rams all] said, "That cannot be!" Thereupon, no one knew which [ram] to catch.

The Laozi says, "What I consider to be great calamity is that I have a body. If I had not the body, what great calamity would I have?"180 It is said that people like Laozi are able to have no body. Is [Yuanfang] far behind? [The Transformation Ability of the Deity's Daughter on Mount Sheduo] The daughter of the deity of Mount Sheduo died and was reincarnated as a strange grass with luxuriant leaves, yellow flowers, and fruit that resembles that of a love vine (i.e., dodder). So if you take this strange grass as medicine, you will be always loved by people.

In the thirty-third year of King Xuan of the Zhou dynasty (794 B.C.E.), King You was born. In that year a horse was transformed into a fox. In the second year of King Xian of the state of Jin (654 B.C.E.), King Hui (r. 676-652 B.C.E.) of the Zhou dynasty resided in Zheng (in present-day Henan province). The people of Zheng entered his palace and most of them cast off their skins and were transformed into the tortoise-like creature called yu, which spat out [sand] onto the people.

When Chang Hong was killed, a man of Shu (present-day Sichuan province) hid [Hong's] blood [in a container]. Three years later it had turned into jasper. During the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han dynasty (r. 168-189), the mother of the Huang family of Jiangxia (in present-day Hubei province) took a bath in a tub and did not rise [from the bath] for a long time. She was transformed into a large turtle. A maid was startled and ran to tell about it. When the people of the family came, the turtle dived into the deep waters [of a river]. After that, [the turtle] appeared sometimes. An ornamental hairpin and a silver hairpin [the mother] had [been wearing when] she took a bath were still on the [turtle's] head. From that time the Huang family did not dare eat turtle meat through successive generations.

On the last day of the sixth month of the first year of the Baoding era of Wu (266), the eighty-year-old mother of Xuan Qian of Danyang (in present-day 235

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Jiangsu province) also turned into a large turtle while she was bathing in a pool. The situation was just like that of the Huang family. [Xuan] Qian's four brothers closed the door to prevent [their mother from going out]. They dug a large hole [in an earthen-floored part of] the hall and filled it with water. The turtle entered it and swam around in the water. For a couple of days, [the turtle] often craned its neck to look around, looking for a chance [to escape]. When the door was slightly open, [the turtle quickly escaped by] rolling out, jumped into deep water [of a river] by itself, and never returned. [The Transformations of Gun of the Xia Dynasty and the King of Zhao, Ruyi] Gun of the Xia dynasty was the father of Emperor [Yu]. The king of Zhao, Ruyi, was a son of [Gao]zu of the Han dynasty. Nevertheless, Gun became the animal called huangxiong ("yellow bear"),181 and [Ru]yi became a blue dog.182 [The Transformation of a Woman during the Reign of King Xiang of Wei State] In the third year of King Xiang of Wei state, a woman transformed into a man and fathered a child with his wife.

Therefore the Jing Fang Yizhuan says:

A woman is transformed into a man. This is to say yin is vigorous [and foreshadows that] a person of humble origins may become a ruler. A man is transformed into a woman. This means that yin surpasses yang and is an omen of calamity and the ruin [of the state].

[The Transformation of a Man during the Jianping Era of the Han Dynasty] During the Jianping era of the Han dynasty (6-3 B.C.E.), in Yuzhang prefecture (in present-day Jiangxi province) there was a man who transformed into a woman. She then married a man, became his wife, and gave birth to a child. Chen Feng in Chang'an said, "That yang turns into yin means a loss in the near future. That she gave birth to a child who carries on the family line means that only one more generation will be carried on, but [the bloodline] will then be cut off." Therefore, this was the cause of the demise of Emperor Ai and Emperor Ping [one after another] and then Wang Mang seized [the throne]. [The Transformation of a Man during the Jian'an Era of the Han Dynasty] In the seventh year of the Jian'an era of the Han dynasty (202), in Yuejun (in present-day Sichuan province) a man was transformed into a woman. 236

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Zhou Qun said, "In the reign of Emperor Ai there was an extraordinary [event like] this. It means that an event that changes the [imperial] line will occur." In the twenty-fifth year [of the Jian'an era] (220) Emperor Xian [usurped the throne and then] was installed as Lord of Shanyang. [The Transformation of a Woman during the Yuankang Era of the Jin Dynasty] During the Yuankang era of the Jin dynasty (291-299) in Anfeng prefecture there was a girl called Zhou Shining. From the age of eight, she gradually transformed into a man. When she attained the age of seventeen or eighteen, her disposition also became [that of a man]. Her physical body did not completely change from a female [to male]; it was not completely the body of a man. She took a wife but they had no children.

[The Transformation of a Hermaphrodite during the Reign of Emperor Hui and Emperor Huai of the Jin Dynasty]

During the reign of Emperor Hui (r. 290-306) and Emperor Huai (r. 306-311) of the Jin dynasty, in the capital city Luo[yang] there was a hermaphro dite who was content with both [sexes]. [This person,] however, was extremely fond of lewdness.

The disturbances of war in the world causes the disorder of the male and female energies (i.e., yang and yin), and a malformation is thus created. Furthermore, in the years of the Zhongxing era, there was a woman whose female organ was on her belly. She lived in Yangzhou and also possessed a lewd nature.

The Jing Fang Yizhuan says:

How strange! When a woman gives birth to a child, if the female organ is on the neck, [it means] the world is greatly disordered. If it is on the belly, [it means] the world will fall into trouble. If it is on the back, [it means] there will be no successor in the country.

[The Transformation of a Man in the Reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty] In the ninth month of the first year of the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han dynasty (156 B.C.E.), a man more than seventy years of age lived in Xiami county in Jiaodong prefecture (in present-day Shandong province). He grew horns on which hair grew.

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The Jing Fang Yizhuan says, "When an ignorant prime minister monopolizes political affairs, there is the strange event that a man grows horns." The Wuxingzhi says, "It is improper if a man grows horns. It is as improper as the event that feudal lords raise an army [against the central government] and advance on the capital city." After this event, the Revolt of Seven States broke out.183

[The Transformation of a Rooster in the Reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty]

In the first year of the Huanglong era of Emperor Xuan of the Han dynasty (49 B.C.E.), in the stable called Luling in Weiyang Palace, a hen transformed into a rooster. Its feathers changed, too, but it could neither crow nor grow, and it had no spurs.

In the Chuyuan era (48-44 B.C.E.) of Emperor Yuan, at the house of a scribe of the Office of the Counselor-in-Chief, a hen turned into a rooster that had a cockscomb and spurs. It crowed and grew to maturity. In the years of the Yongguang era (43-39 B.C.E.) someone presented a horned rooster [to Emperor Yuan]. In the Wuxingzhi [these events] are considered to be omens of Wang [Mang's usurpation]. [The Transformation of Mud Crabs and Crabs in the Taikang Era of the Jin Dynasty]

In the fourth year of the Taikang era (283) of the Jin dynasty, in Guiji prefecture (in present-day Zhejiang province) all mud crabs and crabs transformed into rats. They spread all over the fields, eating the paddies voraciously, and this caused a disaster.

At first [after being transformed the rats] had fur and flesh, but they did not have bones. Regarding their behavior, they could not cross the footpaths between the rice fields. Several days later, all [the rats] turned into female [rats]. In the sixth year [of the Taikang era] (285), a two-legged tiger was caught in Nanyang (in present-day Henan province). A tiger is of the yin essence but dwells in yang. It is an animal of metal (in the five primary elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth). Nanyang (i.e., south yang) is the name of fire. [That is to say,] the metal essence enters into fire and loses its form. [This was] a strange [omen] of the disorder of the imperial house. 238

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[The Transformation of a Catfish that Happened to Confucius When He Sang a Song While Playing a Stringed Musical Instrument in an Inn in Chen State] Confucius had met with a hardship in Chen state.184 He sang a song while playing a stringed musical instrument in an inn. During the night a man who was more than nine chi tall appeared. He wore black clothing and a high crown. His shout was loud enough to move things around him. Zigong approached and asked him, "Who are you?" Abruptly [the man] lifted up [Zigong] with his hands and held him under his arm. Zilu brought [the man] out and fought with him in the yard but for some time [Zilu still] could not win. Confucius, observing [the fight], saw that the man's fighting chariots sometimes spaced apart as if he was opening his hands. Confucius said [to Zilu], "Why don't you try to pull on his fighting chariot and shake it?" Zilu did as [Confucius had said] and easily threw [the man] to the ground. [It was seen that] he was really a giant catfish, more than nine chi long. Confucius exclaimed, "Why did this fish come here? I have heard that when [all] creatures get old a multitude of spirits possess them. [I am wondering if] this [monster] appeared because my fortunes have declined. Could it be because I have met with hardship, my provisions have run out, and my attendant fell ill? When the six kinds of domestic animals as well as turtles, snakes, fish, snapping turtles, grass, and trees get old, spirits all dwell in them, and they can become monsters. So people call them wuyou. The term wuyou refers to the fact that each of the five primary elements possesses such a thing. The word you means "old." Accordingly, when creatures get old, they become monsters (guai). If they are killed they just come to an end. What are we worried about? Perhaps heaven has not deserted the intellectuals and supports my life with this [fish]. If this is not the case, why have we come to this situation?" [Confucius] sang while playing the stringed musical instrument unceasingly. Zilu cooked [the catfish], which was good, and it nourished the ill [attendant]. He consequently departed with [everyone] the next day. (The thirteen stories above are found in the Soushen ji [Records of Inquiries of the Spirits].)

[The Transformation of Yi Ba, an Official of Yuzhang Prefecture during the Jin Dynasty]

During the Jin dynasty there was a minor official called Yi Ba in Yuzhang prefecture (in present-day Jiangxi province). In the Yixi era (405-418) he 239

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was off duty and returned home. Then he disobeyed, deserted, and did not return to [his post]. The prefecture [office] sent men to pursue him, and when they found [Yi Ba] he spoke to them as usual and offered a meal to them. When a messenger hurried him to get ready [for a journey], Ba accordingly said, "You! See my face!" Thereupon, [the messenger] looked at him. [Ba] opened his eyes wide; he had yellow spots on his body. Raising one leg he went out of the gate. His house had been built leaning against a hill. When [Ba] came to the foot of the hill, he transformed into a large tiger with three legs. The leg he had raised had become its tail.

(This story is found in the Yiyuan [Park of Wonders].) [The Transformation of a Girl Whose Family Name was Peng and Whose First Name was E, of Yiyang County during the Jin Dynasty.] At the time of the Yongjia revolt (311) during the Jin dynasty there were no regular rulers in the prefectures and counties; it was a jungle. In Yiyang county there was a girl whose family name was Peng and whose first name was E. [She lived with] more than ten family members, including her parents and brothers. Her family was attacked by thieves from Changsha. At that time E, carrying a container on her back, had gone to draw water from a mountain stream. When she heard that the thieves had come, she ran back home and saw that the walls had already been broken. She was overwhelmed by grief, and yet she fought the thieves. The thieves tied up E and packed her off to a place by a mountain stream, planning to kill her. Next to the mountain stream was a big mountain with a rock wall several tens of zhang tall. Looking up, E called out, "Heaven, is there a god, or not? What offense have I committed to face [such suffering] as this?" Accordingly, she ran straight forward toward the mountain. The mountain split apart, and a level path like a grindstone several zhang wide appeared. Chasing E, the group of thieves also ran into the mountain; then [the rock walls of] the mountain closed together again, and it was completely restored to its previous state. All the thieves were crushed to death; only their heads stuck out from the side of the mountain. E then hid herself and did not come out again. The water container [Peng] E had abandoned changed into a stone shaped like a hen. The local people accordingly called the mountain Mount Stone Hen and the stream E's Deep Water.

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(This story is found in the Youming lu [Records of the Other World and This World].)

[The Transformation of Wu Daozong's Mother of Taimo County During the Jin Dynasty]

In the fourth year of the Yixi era (408) of the Jin dynasty, there was Wu Daozong in Taimo county in Dongyang prefecture (in present-day Zhejiang province). He had lost his father when he was young and lived with only his mother. He did not have a wife and children. Once when he had been hired and was not at home, his neighbor heard the sound of crashing stones coming from his house. [The neighbor] looked [into his house] but did not see [Daozong's] mother in the house, only a black spotted tiger. [The people of] the village were shocked. They were afraid that a tiger had gone into [Daozong's] house and attacked his mother. So they beat a drum to gather more people, and they all went to rescue her. They surrounded [Daozong's] house and rushed into it, but they did not see the tiger. Instead they found [Daozong's] mother, who spoke to them in the usual manner. They could not understand the meaning [of the event]. When her son came back his mother said to him, "A sin I committed in my previous existence now follows me. So I have had an incident of transformation [like this]." Later, the mother disappeared one day. Within the county troubles caused by a tiger frequently happened. Everyone said that it was because of the black-spotted female tiger. The common people were harassed by [the tiger]; it came among the people and attacked them, killing several people. Later, a man shot at the tiger as well as a white falcon, and at the same time a halberd pierced its stomach. The man, however, could not catch [the tiger]. Several days later the tiger returned to the house and lay down on the bed. It could not recover its human figure and died where it lay in the bed. The son (i.e., Daozong) wept bitterly and buried [the tiger] just as if he was burying his mother. From morning till the night he cried and attended [the grave].

(This story is found in Qi Xie's Records [Qi Xie ji].)185 [The Transformation of a Cow in Fuyang County during the Jin Dynasty] During the Jin dynasty, among the villagers in Fuyang county there was a boy whose family had a pasturing cow. The cow abruptly licked the boy, and where [the cow had licked it] the skin all turned to white. The boy suddenly died. His family buried the boy and killed the cow in order to offer its meat 241

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to the guests of honor [at the funeral]. Those who ate the meat from the cow, more than twenty men and women altogether, were all transformed into tigers. (This story is found in Gu Wei's Guangzhou jilu [Records of Guangzhou].) [The Transformation of the Daughter of Emperor Yan]

Emperor Yan's [daughter] Nüwa went swimming in the Eastern Sea and drowned.186 She was reincarnated as a bird called jingwei, whose appearance resembles that of a crow. She always carried bits of wood and stone from the Western Mountains in her mouth and tried to fill (yin) the Eastern Sea by dropping them there.

(The Chinese yin is the Chinese character se, "to block" or "to fill." It is prononced the same way as the Chinese word yin, "cause.") Kuafu ran a race with the sun. He got thirsty and went to the Yellow River to drink, but the river water was insufficient to quench his thirst. He went to the north to drink water from a big swamp, but he died on the road before reaching there. His staff was tossed away, and it turned into a grove of teak trees.

(These two stories are found in the Shanhai jing [Book of Mountains and Seas].)187

[Transformations Found in Various Expositions and Miscellaneous Records] The Bowu zhi says:

Pine resin that falls into the earth changes to tuckahoe a thousand years later. Tuckahoe becomes amber (hupo) a thousand years later. Amber is also called jiangzhu ("pearl from a large river"). Today on Mount Tai there are tuckahoes but no amber. In Yongchang in Yizhou (in present-day Sichuan province) amber is produced but tuckahoe is not. Furthermore, it is said that [amber] is made by burning a beehive. It has not yet been ascertained which of these theories is correct. The Shen Nong bencao jing (Shen Nong's Book of Plants and Medicines) says:

Take the shell off an egg. If the yolk and the white of the egg are mixed, cook it well. When the [cooked egg] is still soft, cut it as you like and marinate it in bitter wine. After several nights it will become firm. The hard stuff inside of the white powder is forgery (i.e., inedible). 242

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(Everything commonly used in this world is served when it is made.) The Han Shi waizhuan (Han's Annotation on the Book of Odes) says, "Confucius said, 'Aged leek becomes a stork. Aged cattail becomes a reed.'" The Soushen ji says:

A digger wasp called guoluo is now called yinyong in the world. It is a kind of slender-waisted wasp. This species only has males, no females. So they have neither copulation nor oviposition. They usually take the larvae of silkworms. While being cultivated, the larvae of silkworms all turn into the larvae of digger wasps.

[The Transformation of a Spirit at Gongting Shrine in Jiangnan during the Qin Dynasty]

When he was young, Zhou Fang of the Qin dynasty traveled along with some merchants upstream on the Yangzi River. One night they stayed at Gongting Shrine. His fellow travelers said to each other, "Who is willing to go into the shrine to sleep?" By nature Fang was brave, daring, and determined. Accordingly they went into the shrine to stay overnight, and throughout the long night it was comfortable. In the morning, when they woke up, they saw a gray-haired old man in the shrine. Fang captured him and [the old man] then transformed into a male duck. Fang caught [the duck] and returned to the boat, intending to cook it, but [the duck] promptly flew away. Somewhat surprisingly nothing else happened after this.

(This story appears in the Shuyi ji [Records to Give Accounts of Extraordinary Things].) [The Mystery of the Luo People Whose Heads Could Fly in the South during the Qin Dynasty]

During the Qin dynasty there were the Luo people in the south. The heads of the people [of this tribe] could fly. The tribe practiced religious rites called chongluo ("insect falling"), and the name [of the tribe] was based on this. In the time of Wu [of the Three Kingdoms], General Zhu Huan had a maid, and every night after going to bed her head flew away. [Her head] went out and in through a pet door sometimes, or a skylight at other times. [The head flew] using its ears as wings. It returned as daybreak approached. Since things like this happened frequently, the person who [slept] near her felt strange about it. At midnight this person shone a light on [the maid from the 243

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Luo tribe] and saw that only her body was there, without the head. Her body was slightly cold, and the breath was weak. So the person covered the body with a coverlet. At daybreak the head returned, [but it] was obstructed by the coverlet and could not rejoin [the body]. It [tried to reconnect to the body] two or three times, but then it fell down on the ground. "Alas!" It shouted out sadly and breathed hard, seemingly about to die. The coverlet was then removed, and the head rose up and was reattached to the neck. Soon the maid went [to sleep] peacefully.

[Zhu] Huan thought [that the woman] was a great monster and was afraid of her. He dared not keep her [in his house], so he released her. He later investigated details about this and then found out that her oddity was natural [for the Luo people].

At that time the great generals who went to the south on expeditions often took [Luo people]. Once someone covered [the body of a Luo person] with a bronze bowl [when the head was away from the body]. The head could not enter [the bowl], and subsequently [that person] died.

[The Transformation of a Married Couple Who Were Brother and Sister in the Time of Emperor Gaoyang]

Formerly in the time of the Emperor Gaoyang (i.e., Zhuanxu) there was a married couple who were brother and his sister [from the same parents]. The emperor exiled them to the wilderness of Mount Kongtong where they died, tightly grasped in each other's arms. A divine bird covered them with the grass of immortality. Seven years later a hermaphrodite was born with two heads, four legs, and four arms. This is [the ancestor of] the Mengshuang clan. (These two stories are found in the Soushen ji [Records of Inquiries of the Spirits].)

[The Transformation of the Occult Arts Practiced by a Barbarian of the Northern Mountain of Xunyang County during the Wei Kingdom] During the Wei kingdom some barbarians who lived in the northern mountains of Xunyang county (in present-day Hubei province) practiced occult arts. They could transform a person into a tiger, and the color of the fur as well as the body [of the transformed tiger] were exactly like those of a real tiger. Zhou Zhen, from a neighboring village, had a male servant. He ordered [the servant] to go into the mountains to cut firewood. The servant had a wife 244

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and a younger sister, and they also accompanied him. After they arrived in the mountains, the servant said to the two [women], "Climb up into a tall tree and observe what I am doing." [The two women] did as he said. In the meantime [the man] went into the grass.

Soon a large yellow-spotted tiger came out of the grass. [The tiger] braced itself up and roared. It was very terrifying. The two [women] were very afraid. After awhile [the tiger] returned into the grass. A little later [the man] came back, having transformed back into a human being [from his tiger form], and said to the two [women], "When you return home be careful not to speak of [this to others]."

Later [the two women] spoke about it to their fellow workers, and Zhou soon knew of it, too. [Offering] him strong wine [Zhou Zhen] caused [the servant] to become dead drunk and then had someone take off the servant's clothes. [Zhou] completely inspected the servant's body, but there was nothing unusual. He found only a piece of paper in the [servant's] topknot on which a large tiger was drawn, and beside [the drawing of] the tiger there was a written spell. Zhou secretly copied it. After the servant sobered up, [Zhou] summoned him and asked him [about the incident]. The servant then knew that the [secret] had been found out, so he fully explained the whole story. He said, "Formerly, when I bought grain from the barbarians, there was a barbarian teacher who said that he possessed this occult art. I received and attained this art by exchanging three chi of textiles, a sheng of polished rice, a red capon, and a sheng of wine for it."

[The Transformation of Song Shi[zong]'s Mother Who Bathed in Qinghe during the Wei Kingdom]

During the Wei kingdom in Qinghe (in present-day Hebei province) there was Song Shizong. On a summer day during the Huangchu era (220-226) his mother went to bathe in the bathroom. She sent all the sons and daughters of her family out of the room and remained alone in the bathroom. After a while the family members, having not understood her intention, peeped through a crevice in the wall, but they did not see anyone. In the water in the wooden tub there was a large snapping turtle.

Ultimately they opened the door, and all the adults and children went into the bathroom. They realized that [the turtle] could not communicate with 245

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A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume V

people. A silver ornamental hairpin the mother had formerly worn still remained on its head. [The family members,] each and all, prevented [the turtle from going out]. They all wailed, but no one could do anything about it. [The turtle] was looking for a chance to escape. It could not stay there a long time. The people saw that [the turtle] moved about from one place to another for days. It then went out of the door and left. Even though the people chased it, they could not catch up to it because it ran fast. Then [the turtle] went into water. Several days later it abruptly came back and walked around in the house as usual. Saying nothing, it left [again]. The people of that time said [Song] Shizong should perform a funeral service for [his mother] and observe mourning. Shizong thought that although his mother's form had changed her bodily functions still remained, so in the end he did not have a funeral for her. [This story] is similar to that of Huang's mother of Jiangxia prefecture.188

(These two stories appear in the Xu Soushen ji [Second Series of Records of Inquiries of the Spirits].)

[The Mystery of the Remarriage of Née Liang, Wife of Layman Wei Ying during the Liang Dynasty]

During the Liang dynasty, [the present-day] Kaishan Temple was the house of Wei Ying, a man from Jingzhao. Ying died at an early age. His wife, née Liang, did not take proper care of the funeral rites [for him] and then remarried. Xiang Ziji, a man from Henei, was her new husband. Even though she had remarried, she continued to live in Ying's house. [The spirit of] Ying heard that [his wife,] née Liang, had remarried. He returned [to this world] in daytime on horseback and attended by several subordinates. When he came to the yard, he called out, "My dear née Liang! Have you forgotten me?" Ziji was amazed and puzzled. He raised a bow and shot [Ying]. [Ying] was hit by the arrow, fell down, and immediately turned into a peach in the form of a human figure. The horse he had ridden also changed into a horse doll made out of thatch, and his subordinates all became dolls made of various kinds of rush. Née Liang was afraid and later donated the house, which became [Kaishan] Temple.

(This story is found in the Luoyang si jizhuan [Records of Buddhist Temples in Luoyang].)

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