T2122 A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Vol. I

Fascicle 6

311a

Chapter Four

(continued)

The Six Realms of Rebirth

(continued)

4. Ghosts and Spirits

(This has eleven parts:) (1) Introduction, (2) Explanation of the Name, (3) Dwelling Places, (4) Categories, (5) Karmic Causes [for Rebirth], (6) Body Size, (7) Life Span, (8) Beautiful and Ugly Appearance, (9) Pain and Pleasure, (10) Noble and Ignoble Ghosts, and (11) Residences.

l. Introduction

To come to the methods used by ghosts and spirits, such creatures take particular delight in strange and evil things. They frequently commit crimes in mysterious and secret places. Some dwell among darkly shaded rocks; some find shelter in high hills, or in unreachable mountain streams, or in dense bush. Others stay in deserted fields in uninhabited places outside of cities. They are of extraordinary appearance and make strange sounds that disturb ordinary beings and frighten ignorant creatures. They falsely adopt awesome manifestations and cunningly strange appearances. Some ghosts are in the shape of a bird but have the nature of fish, or they may have a human face but the heart of a beast. Some make music with drums and sing along with stringed instruments, beating drumsticks and chiming bells. All these creatures alike repent their sins.

They dwell in shrines in the nine continents and serve as the spirits of ten thousand states. Among them are the Great Count of Gusu, Ji Zi of Yanling, Yuchuan Wenming, the bearded kings of caves and marshes, water gods, mountain spirits, masters of wind and rulers of rain, [the god of thunder] Feng long, [the god of lightning] Lieque, the fire god Huilu, and Linghou. Some ride on a bamboo pole as if it were a dragon, flying like wild birds instead of 217

311b

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

[elegant] geese. They reside in tall shrines attached to multistoried buildings. Coming and going in the falling rain, they travel up and down the dividing winds. There are also such ghosts such as the yellow-headed general and those with needle hair, Xiuli (Sūrya[mitra]), Lena (Ratna[keśa]), [jiu]pantu (kumbhāṇḍas), and other rākṣasas, with their three thousand attendants and five hundred followers. All [of these creatures] repent [their sins]. Furthermore, there are those who have extremely grave hindrances, called hungry ghosts (pretas). The light in their eyes is like flashing lightning. Their throats are as small as the eye of a needle. They cannot even hear words like "water" or "juice," and they never taste foods made with rice. The joints of their limbs are all aflame at the same time. As they turn around their bones creak, as loudly as the sound of five hundred carriages. Today the merit of good acts are available to bring benefit to all sentient beings. A vow should be made to ensure that the hungry and thirsty ghosts may be able to eat and drink freely and that the other seductive and alluring ghosts and spirits stop groveling before people to get what they need. Let them glorify the teaching of the Buddha, protect the world, and guard the images and scriptures. We make offerings for a long time and record the consequences of good and evil deeds in order to enable people to practice spiritual cultivation forever. 2. Explanation of the Name

What does the name "realm of ghosts" mean? According to the Lishi [apitan] lun (T.1644:197c29-198a2): The realm of ghosts is called preta ("gone forward") because King Yama [of the realm of the dead] is called a preta. Those who are born in this realm are called by the name of its king. Therefore, [hungry ghosts] are also called pretas. It is also said that this realm is connected with other realms as beings come and go through it, superior and inferior realms are connected by this, and therefore it is called preta, the realm of "coming and going." Again, the new Posha lun (T.1545:867a20- b4) says:

Question: Why is that realm called preta?

Answer: The Shishe lun says, "Just as the ruler of the world of ghosts at the present time is called Yama, so the ruler of the world of ghosts at 218

Fascicle 6

the beginning of the world age was called preta. For this reason sentient beings that went and were born there were called pretas. Thus, everything in the world of the pretas has been called by this name since then." According to one view, if a person has committed and indulged in excessively greedy evil deeds of body, speech, and mind he is born there. For this reason, he experiences both hunger and thirst [in that realm]. For more than one hundred thousand years he does not even hear the word "water," so how could he see or touch it? Impossible! Some of these beings have a belly as big as a mountain but a throat as narrow as a pinhole. Even when they find food and drink they cannot take them in. According to one view, they are called ghosts (preta, "ones who go forward") because they are driven and forced into labor. They are constantly made to work everywhere by the gods and are always running around. According to another view, because they have many desires they are called ghosts. Among the five realms of existence none is inhabited by beings whose desires exceed those of the inhabitants of this realm, always wanting many favors from other sentient beings. For this reason this realm is called the realm of ghosts.

Furthermore, ghosts and spirits are explained in the Posha lun (ref. T.1545: 48c5) as follows: "ghost" (gui) means "fear" (wei). This means that ghosts are weak and fearful. Also, something that is always greedily seeking is called a ghost. This refers to the fact that hungry ghosts constantly seek food from others in order to live. Therefore, they are given the name "greedily seeking." 3. Dwelling Places

According to the Posha lun (T.1545:48c7-9):

Hungry ghosts have two dwelling places: primary and secondary. There are different views on the primary dwelling place. The work mentioned above says that five hundred yojanas below this world we call Jambudvīpa is the realm of hungry ghosts, governed by King Yama. This is the [hungry ghosts'] primary dwelling place.

The Shansheng youposai jing (T.1488:1072b15-17) also has the same view:

219

311c

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I Five hundred yojanas below this world is the city of Yama, the ghost king. The perimeter of each of its four sides is seven hundred and seven million five hundred thousand yojanas. The multitude of ghosts that the king rules over live inside [this city].

In addition, as the Wudaoku jing (ref. Wudao zhangju jing, T.741:548a18-19) says, "These hungry ghosts live between the two Iron Surrounding Mountains." Therefore this scripture says in verse:

Between the two Iron Surrounding Mountains

One does not see the sun or moon.

Hungry ghosts gather together there

In order to pay for their sins [committed in] previous lives. Coming now to the secondary dwelling place, according to the Posha lun (ref. T.1545:867b6-10; T.1546:48c9-12), there are again different views: There are two kinds of secondary dwelling places: one is for awesome ghosts and the other for ghosts that are not awesome. Awesome ghosts live in mountains and valleys, or in the sky, or on the shores of the ocean. They all have palaces and their karmic retribution is superior to those of humans. The ghosts without awesome powers dwell amid impure dung and dirt, or in overgrown graves, or by lavatories and old tombs. None of them has a house. Their karmic retribution is inferior to that of humans. Again, as the abovementioned work says (ref. T.1545:867b12-19; T.1546:48c12-17):

The four directions under heaven all have dwelling places for ghosts. In the two directions, east and west, there are both awesome ghosts and ghosts without awesome powers. There are only awesome ghosts in the northern direction and no ghosts without awesome powers. This is because karmic conditions are superior there.

In the heavens, up to Tuṣita Heaven, are also the dwelling places of the awesome ghosts. They are driven to labor by the gods of those heavens. Hungry ghosts do not live in heavens higher than Tuṣita Heaven. 220

Fascicle 6

The new Posha lun (T.1545:867b15-c5) also says:

Among the gods of the four heavenly realms and the thirty-three heavens dwell only the awesome ghosts. They guard and patrol the gates and all serve as servants for the gods who live in these heavens. It is said that to the west of this world are five hundred islets, in two rows. (Note: According to the old Posha lun [T.1546:48c16], to the west of this world are five hundred cities of ghosts. These five hundred cities are of two kinds.) On the two rows of islets are five hundred cities. In two hundred and fifty of these cities the awesome ghosts live; in the other two hundred and fifty cities live the ghosts without awesome powers. For this reason in ancient days a universal monarch, called Nimi, said to his charioteer Mātali, "I wish to go out on a pleasure drive. You should drive the chariot on this road and let me see the sentient beings receiving good and evil karmic retribution. Mātali did as he was told by the king and drove the chariot between the two rows of islets. The king saw the awesome ghosts. They wore crowns on their heads and their hair was decorated with flowers. They were dressed in heavenly garments and ate delicious food, as if they were the sons of gods. They rode on carriages drawn by elephants and horses and every one of them was playing happily. The king then saw the ghosts without awesome powers. Their hair was disheveled and they were naked, lacking clothing. They looked emaciated, covered with their own hair. They went around begging, carrying unglazed pots. When the king saw these sights, he came to believe deeply in good and bad karmic retribution. Question: What do the ghosts look like?

Answer: They mostly look like human beings. Some look like animals. Some ghosts look like pigs; some look like different kinds of other inferior animals. They look as they do in the wall paintings.

Question: What is their language?

Answer: At the beginning of a world age they all speak Sanskrit. Later they use different languages according to their circumstances. Some say that their appearance and speech are determined by the circumstances in which they ended their earlier lives to be reborn in this realm. Comment: We do not follow this view. Suppose someone dies in the formless realm and was reborn [in this realm]—would he be without form and 221

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I 312a

speech? If one follows this view, wherever one had been born previously would determine his language and appearance [in the realm of ghosts]. 4. Categories

The Zhengfanian jing (ref. T.721:92a22-b21; 92c13-102c22) says: The total number of hungry ghosts may be divided generally into thirtysix kinds. Because the behavior that caused rebirth [in this realm] differs, they receive different retributions.

l. Boiling cauldron ghosts: Because these creatures committed murder when hired by others, they are cooked in a boiling cauldron. Or they had been entrusted with objects and refused to return them to the owners later, so they receive this retribution.

2. Pin-mouthed smelly ghosts: These creatures once hired others to commit murder. Their throats are narrow like a pinhole and not even a drop of water can pass through them.

3. Vomited food-eating ghosts: The husbands of these ghosts advised their wives to make religious offerings, but the women said there was nothing to give. Instead they accumulated property and were stingy. Therefore, these wives now must constantly eat vomited-up food in this rebirth. 4. Excrement-eating ghosts: Wives who deceived their husbands, eating and drinking by themselves, and who felt hatred toward their husbands, now as ghosts eat and vomit up excrement all the time. 5. Fire-eating ghosts: These creatures withheld food from people and caused their deaths, so they are now burned by fire and suffer from hunger and thirst.

6. Breath-eating ghosts: These creatures often ate good food but did not give any to their wives and children, letting them suffer from hunger and thirst, so they now only have odorous breath for food. 7. Dharma-eating ghosts: These creatures preached the Dharma to others only in order to obtain wealth. Their bodies are now racked by hunger and thirst and they have lost all their flesh. Their lives are maintained by virtue of the monks' preaching of Dharma. 8. Water-eating ghosts: These creatures sold wine as water, deceiving ignorant people and causing them to violate the pure precepts, so they constantly suffer from scorching thirst.

222

Fascicle 6

9. Greedy ghosts: These creatures haggled over prices when buying and selling and obtained things by cheating, so they now constantly suffer from hunger and thirst. They obtain food from the offerings given for ancestral spirits.

10. Saliva-eating ghosts: These creatures deceived those who had renounced the householder's life by giving them impure food, so they are constantly hungry and thirsty and their bodies are cooked and boiled. They beg for other people's saliva and eat it with impure food. 11. Flower garland-eating ghosts: In their previous life these creatures stole the Buddha's garland offerings to adorn themselves. When people, on encountering unfortunate events, now make offerings of garlands these ghosts subsequently get to eat them.

12. Blood-eating ghosts: These creatures killed living beings and ate their blood but did not give anything to their wives and children, so they have received the form of this type of ghost. If blood is poured out during a sacrificial rite these ghosts get to eat it.

13. Meat-eating ghosts: These creatures had butchered sentient beings and cut off their flesh, weighed it, and committed deception when trading in it, so they have received this retribution. Because they are very deceptive and ugly, people shun them [and flee at] the sight [of them]. If people sacrifice mixed pieces of meat these ghosts get to eat it. 14. Incense-eating ghosts: These creatures sold defective incense and received a handsome price for it, so they eat only the smoke from incense and later receive the retribution of poverty.

15. Fast-walking ghosts: These creatures violated the precepts yet still wore monk's robes. They took [offerings of food] through deception, saying that they would offer them to ill people, but they did not give the food to the ill and instead consumed it themselves. Consequently they receive this retribution. They eat impure food all the time and their bodies burn without any external cause.

16. Ghosts that spy on others when they are defecating and urinating: These creatures cheated and stole property and did not cultivate meritorious works, so they receive this retribution. Flames burst forth from the hairs on their body. They consume people's vital powers and impure excretions in order to sustain their own lives.

223

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

312b

17. Darkness ghosts: These creatures sought wealth by illegal means and caused the legitimate owners to be imprisoned in jail. Blinded in the darkness of jail, the legitimate owners appealed continuously for help with pitiful cries. For this reason, their tormentors now suffer the pain of being put in a dark place full of evil snakes and of being cut up with swords. 18. Great-power ghosts: These creatures stole other people's things and gave them to bad friends, not performing meritorious acts of giving, so they receive this retribution. They are endowed with great supernatural powers but must endure great suffering.

19. Blazing ghosts: These creatures destroyed and plundered cities, and murdered people. For this reason they receive this retribution. They scream and shout as flames burn all over their bodies. Later they are reborn as humans and are constantly robbed by others.

20. Ghosts that spy on children and defecating adults: These are creatures whose children were killed and they became very angry. For this reason they receive this retribution. They constantly spy on people defecating and are capable of harming children. 21. Desire ghosts: These creatures gained wealth by licentious deeds but did not give anything for meritorious purposes, so they receive this retribution. They wander around among humans and engage in sexual intercourse with them. They deceive people by taking the forms of extraordinary creatures in order to secure their livelihood. 22. Ocean-islet ghosts: These creatures, walking in a deserted field, saw an ill person and cheated him of his possessions, so they are reborn in an ocean islet and receive the pain of heat and coldness ten times worse than usual.

23. Ghosts that hold the stick for King Yama: In previous lives these creatures were close to kings and ministers and committed violent and evil deeds in a dictatorial manner, so they receive this retribution. They have become attendants of the King of Hell, Yama, and serve as his stickholding ghosts. 24. Small children-eating ghosts: These creatures used magic, stole property from others by deceit, and killed pigs and sheep, so they have fallen into hell after death and receive this retribution. They constantly eat small children.

224

Fascicle 6

25. Human soul-eating ghosts: These creatures deceived their close friends, saying, "I will protect you" to urge their friends to be more daring; the friends then fell and died in the battlefield while they did nothing to aid them. Because of this they receive this retribution. 26. Demon ghosts: These creatures killed living beings and threw a big party, so they receive this retribution of suffering from hunger and being burned by fire.

27. Fire-scorched food ghosts: Because their minds were engulfed by stinginess and they delighted in eating food that belonged to the monastery, these creatures first fell into hell and after coming out of hell their bodies are scorched in a cauldron of fire.

28. Impure street ghosts: These creatures gave impure food to religious practitioners, so they receive this retribution and eat impurities. 29. Wind-eating ghosts: When a person who had renounced the world came to beg alms, these creatures agreed to give him food but did not give it in the end. Because of this they receive this retribution and constantly suffer from thirst and hunger. Their torment is like the pain of hell. 30. Coal-eating ghosts: When they were in charge of a prison these creatures prevented the inmates from eating and drinking. Because of this they receive this retribution, and constantly eat burning coal. 31. Poison-eating ghosts: These creatures used poison to murder others, so they fell into hell and later came out and became ghosts. They are thirsty and hungry all the time and constantly eat poison and fire, which burns their bodies.

32. Deserted-field ghosts: In a wide field where artificial lakes and ponds have been created to provide travelers with water, these creatures spoke rudely, broke dikes, and let travelers go thirsty. Because of this they receive this retribution. They are constantly hungry and thirsty and fire burns their bodies.

33. Ash- and soil-eating cemetery ghosts: These creatures stole and sold flowers that had been offered to the Buddha in order to make a living. Because of this they receive this retribution. They constantly eat the hot ashes of burned corpses among the dead.

34. Ghosts that live under trees: These creatures saw people plant trees to provide shade for others, and they then maliciously cut them down for 225

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I 312c

their own use. Because of this, they have fallen into the realm of trees and constantly suffer from cold and heat.

35. Crossroads ghosts: These creatures robbed travelers on the road of their provisions. For this evil deed their bodies are sawed apart constantly. They take food from the shrines at crossroads and live on it. 36. Māra ghosts: These creatures practiced heterodox teachings and did not believe in the correct and true teaching, so they have fallen to the status of ghosts of Māra and constantly harm others who practice the right Dharma. According to the Shunzhengli lun (T.1562:517b13-c21): There are three kinds of ghosts: those "without property," those "with little property," and those "with a great deal of property." Those "without property" also include three kinds: "torch-mouth," "pin-mouth," and "foul-mouth."

The torch-mouth ghosts constantly emit blazing flames out of their mouths, which burn with incomparable intensity; their bodies look like burned up tāla trees. This is the painful retribution caused by extreme stinginess.

The pin-mouth ghosts' stomachs are massive, like a mountain valley, but their mouths are like a pinhole. Even though they see various kinds of wonderful food and drink they cannot take them in; their hunger and thirst are difficult to bear.

The foul-mouth ghosts have extremely bad breath, which stinks like rotting matter and comes from these ghosts all the time. [The smell of their breath] is worse than excrement overflowing from a privy; the foul smell clings to their mouths and they constantly go through the motions of vomiting. Even when they find food and drink they cannot take them; tortured by hunger and thirst, they run around screaming wildly. Those "with a little property" also include three kinds: "needle hair," "smelly hair," and "big goiter."

The needle-haired ghosts have body hair that is straight, hard, and sharp, so that one cannot go near them. The hair drills holes into their own bodies and pierces the bodies of others. These ghosts are like a deer shot by poisoned arrows, running wildly in fear. Sometimes they find impure food that temporarily eases their hunger and thirst. 226

Fascicle 6

The smelly-hair ghosts have hair that is extremely odiferous and dirty; it makes their skin and bones stink and rot. Steaming dust from their bowels and stomach rises into their throats and becomes their spittle. Their pain is unbearable; if one seizes the body of such a ghost and pulls on its hair, it rends the skin and increases the excessive pain. These ghosts sometimes find impure food that temporarily eases their hunger and thirst. Because of the effect of evil karma, the goiter ghosts develop a large goiter in their throat; it is hot and dry like a tumor and it aches. When they peel the skin of the goiter for each other stinking pus wells out. They fight over food to ease their hunger a little.

Those "with a great deal of property" also include three kinds: "shrineseeker," "thrown-away food-seeker," and "greatly powerful" ghosts. The shrine-seeker ghosts constantly go to shrines and feast on what people have offered for the sacrifice. [These ghosts] are born in realms as determined by their karma but they often visit different places. They fly in the sky like birds and go back and forth freely. With the superior understanding they had in a previous life they made the wish, "When my life ends, may my descendants build a shrine for me and provide me with food and drink." Because of this superior understanding they are born among these ghosts. The good karmic causes of their previous lives bring about the offerings at shrines now. Some of them loved those who were close to them in a previous life and wished to make them all wealthy and well provided for, but they accumulated wealth in a manner that does not accord with the Dharma. With stinginess in their minds they did not make spiritual gifts. Because of this evil karmic cause they were born among these ghosts. Such ghosts live around lavatories and other impure places near their original residences. Their loved ones, remembering them, invite solitary and impoverished monks and brahmans to make offerings to them and honor their merit. When these ghosts see that they are recalled by their close ones in connection with the wealth they had left behind, and also see the results of their stinginess clearly manifested in the poverty of those who are receiving the offerings, pure faith arises in their minds. They continue to nurture the activities that accompany the act of giving. Because of this they receive the fruit in the same life, and because of this karmic force they obtain plentiful provisions.

227

313a

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

The ghosts who seek thrown-away food wish to collect leftover food and excrement discarded by other people to use as their food. So they are also well provided for. Because of the fault of stinginess in their previous life, however, where there is food or drink they see only filth or nothing at all. In pleasure and purity they see only filth. Yet because of good karmic rewards all their needs are amply provided for. Food and drink are available to them. We are born into realms as determined by karma but our different fates are unpredictable. Offerings made to ghosts affect them accordingly. In the hell realm different karmic causes mature at different times, producing different effects (i.e., retribution or punishments); some are interrupted and then resume, but not so in other realms. In the human realm we can acquire superior knowledge and pure practice, but not so in other realms. In heaven everything appears as one wishes. These things are determined by karmic rebirth but there is no fixed formula for predicting the ultimate outcome. As for the ghosts of great power, the description here is roughly the same as that found in the Posha lun above.

In addition, the Yüqie lun (T.1579:297b5-24) says:

There are three kinds of ghosts. The first are external obstruction ghosts. Because sentient beings were stingy they are reborn among these ghosts. They are always hungry and their skin and flesh are dry like coal. The hair on their heads is in wild disorder and their lips are dry and burned. They constantly lick their mouths and faces with their tongues. Hungry, thirsty and fearful, they run around everywhere. Whatever springs and ponds they find are guarded by sentient beings wielding swords and sticks who do not let them approach. Or the water turns into pus and blood and they themselves do not wish to drink it. They are called external obstruction ghosts. The second group is internal obstruction ghosts. This refers to sentient beings whose mouths like a burning needle and who have very large stomachs. Even if they obtain food and drink they cannot take them. These are the internal obstruction ghosts.

There are hungry ghosts called violent flame garland ghosts; their food and drink all get burned up. For this reason they suffer greatly from hunger and thirst. They are called the no obstruction ghosts.

228

Fascicle 6

Now, good deeds are said to be of benefit. They occasion happy karmic rewards. Evil deeds harm others and invite destructive retribution. Doing good deeds is comparable to climbing a mountain: one understands that it is difficult to ascend. Evil deeds are like collapsing and falling, which are indeed easy to do. Therefore, the heavenly palace is vacant and the footsteps of visitors are few, while the jails of hell are overwhelmed by those who compete for a place in it and gather there in great numbers.

5. Karmic Causes [for Rebirth]

As the Dazhidu lun (T.1509:279c17-18) says, "There are three kinds of evil [deeds]. Only if a creature commits the minor kind of evil is he reborn in the realm of hungry ghosts."

The Shidi lun (ref. T.1522:148b10-24) also presents the same view and explains which of the ten evil deeds a creature may commit that will cause him to first be reborn in the three inferior realms of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals, and later to obtain a human body.

The Zhengfanian jing (ref. T.721:93a4-29) says:

If out of greed and jealousy a being falsely flatters and deceives others, or while being stingy and accumulating wealth he does not give offerings, he is reborn in the realm of ghosts. When his lifetime as a ghost is over, often he is reborn in the realm of animals, receiving the body of cātaka bird. Constantly hungry and thirsty, he suffers greatly. He can only drink rain that falls from heaven, waiting for it with his mouth open and facing upward; he cannot drink any other water. Therefore he is constantly troubled by hunger and thirst. The Yebao chabie jing (T.80:893a19-23) says:

If a being commits all of the ten evil deeds he is reborn among the hungry ghosts. [The ten evil deeds are:] (1) with his body he commits light evil deeds, (2) with his mouth he commits light evil deeds of speech, (3) with his mind he commits light evil deeds, (4) he is stingy and greedy, (5) he perpetrates inappropriate evil deeds, (6) he fawns over others and is envious, (7) he entertains heretical views, (8) he is attached to wealth and life at the moment of death, (9) he dies of hunger, (10) he dies of thirst. Because of these evil deeds one is reborn among hungry ghosts. 229

313b

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I The Fenbie gongde lun (T.1507:40b6-16) says:

Some monks were practicing meditation, some in a graveyard and others under trees. A monk was once contemplating a corpse. At night he saw a hungry ghost beating the corpse. The monk asked, "Why do you beat this corpse?" The ghost answered, "Because this corpse troubles me so much, I beat it." The follower of the Way said, "Why don't you beat your mind rather than beat the corpse?" After a short while a god sprinkled this stinking corpse with heavenly mandāra flowers. The monk asked, "Why do you sprinkle this stinking corpse with flowers?" The god answered, "Because of this corpse I attained rebirth in heaven. This corpse is a good friend of mine. Therefore, I come to sprinkle flowers on it to repay it for its kindness in the past." The follower of the Way answered, "Why don't you sprinkle flowers on your mind rather than on the stinking corpse? The source of all good and evil deeds is the activity of the mind. Are you forgetting the source to grasp at the branches?"

6. Body Size

According to the Wudao jing:

The largest in size among the hungry ghosts is one yojana in height. His head is like a large mountain yet the diameter of his throat is as thin as a needle. The hair on his head is disheveled and he looks gaunt and thin. He walks supported by a stick. There are many such ghosts. The smallest of the hungry ghosts is like a small child with [basic] mental faculty (gandharva?). Some say its size is three inches in diameter. Details are in the scriptures and need not be recorded here. 7. Life Span

According to the Guanfo sanmei jing (T.643:661b3), "The longest life span of ghosts is eighty-four thousand years; the shorter life spans are not specified."

Following the Chengshi lun (T.1646:247a28), "The longest life span is seventy thousand years; shorter ones are also not specified." Following the Youposai jing (T.1488:1072a23-25):

230

Fascicle 6

The longest life span is fifteen thousand years. Five thousand years in human time is one day and night among the ghosts. In terms of these days and nights, the ghosts live fifteen thousand years. (Note: To calculate by human days, months, and years, the number is equivalent to seventeen million years). Following the Zhengfanian jing (T.721:92c25-28):

The life span of a ghost is five hundred years. Ten years in human time is one day and one night among the ghosts. It is five hundred years with this latter time. (Note: To calculate in human days, months, and years, the number is equivalent to one million eight hundred thousand years). 8. Beautiful and Ugly Appearance

According to the Posha lun (ref. T.1545:867b23-29; T.1546:48c21-25): The ghosts with awesome powers are counted among the good-looking ghosts in appearance. They are handsome, no different from gods. Also the gods of the five sacred mountains and the four [great] rivers [in China] are all very handsome. They are all said to be good-looking. On the other hand, among the ugly ones are the ghosts without awesome powers. Their appearance is hideous and cannot be described in detail here. Their bodies are hollow like the insides of a hungry dog; their hair is in disarray like wild weeds; their throats are like thin needles; their legs are like dry and rotten wood; from their mouths saliva constantly drips and snot flows from their noses; pus seeps from their ears and blood from their eyes. With all these things they are said to be extremely ugly. 9. Pain and Pleasure

According to the Posha lun (ref. T.1545:867a27-b1; b7-12, 23-26; T.1546:48c2-3, 10-11, 21-23):

Those who suffer pain among the ghosts are the ghosts without awesome powers. Constantly beset by hunger and thirst, they cannot even hear words such as "juice" or "water." How could they encounter a good meal? It is impossible! If they find a wide river and wish to drink from it, the water turns into a burning torch. If the water enters their mouths it scorches their stomachs. How could such creatures not suffer pain? On the other 231

313c

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

314a

hand, those who happily enjoy pleasures among the ghosts are the ghosts with awesome powers. Rich and beautiful, they obtain whatever clothing and food they want just by wishing for it. They wear heavenly garments and eat the food offered to gods. Their appearance is always elegantly relaxed. Riding with a whip, they go from place to place, traveling quickly. They roam and play according to their mood. In what way are they be different from gods? How could such things not be pleasures? Impossible! Question: Since such pleasures are superior to those of human beings, why does the scripture speak of the different realms of humans and ghosts? Answer: The scripture says that the realm of ghosts is inferior to that of humans. This has two meanings, described briefly: (l) ghosts are inferior to humans in regard to public and manifest behavior; that is to say, because ghosts hide during the daytime and roam around at night they are inferior to humans; (2) ghosts are inferior to humans in that they are timid and fearful. Even if they have awesome powers, because their retribution is inferior they are always afraid of humans; if they encounter any people during the day or night, they invariably make way for them and hide.

Question: If the gods are inferior to humans, how did they acquire awesome powers similar to those of the gods as retribution?

Answer: They performed giving frequently and on a large scale in their previous lives so they obtained this awesome retribution; but because they were not truthful, flattering others dishonestly, they received rebirth in the realm of ghosts.

10. Noble and Ignoble Ghosts

According to the Posha lun (T.1546:48c9-10), some [ghosts] have awesome powers. They may be called "noble." Some lack awesome powers. They may be called "ignoble." Also, the rulers of ghosts may be called "noble," while those who are driven and used may be called "ignoble." Question: What about their economic conditions?

Answer: Those with awesome powers are well provided for and freely have the use of servants. Thus they are called "wealthy." Some ghosts are constantly driven and ordered to work. They do not hear even of simple food and have difficulty finding even worn-out clothes. These [ghosts] are called "poor."

232

Fascicle 6

11. Residences

According to the Posha lun (ref. T.1545:867b8-9, 10-12; T.1546:48c10-12): Those with awesome powers have palaces and residences decorated with the seven jewels. All mountain and river deities have residences to live in. Those without awesome powers, such as the floating and wandering ghosts and the hungry and thirsty ones, do not have residences. They live temporarily in grave mounds and stay in bushes, among grasses and trees, and in caves. These are their living quarters.

The Zhuangyan lun (T.201:275c13-276a17) says:

The Buddha said, "In the past I heard of a son of a merchant whose name was Śroṇakoṭikarṇa. He took to the ocean to seek treasure and having achieved success he returned. He and his companion stayed overnight in different places. One time, having lost his companion, he was frightened and pressed by hunger and thirst. He saw a city far away and thought there would be water there. He approached the city to look for water to drink, but it was a city of ghosts. He entered the city. The crossroads of the major streets running in the four directions and other places where people would usually gather together were empty and he did not see anyone. Hungry and thirsty, he said "I am pressed with hunger and thirst!" He then saw another city [at some distance] and thought there would be water there. He approached that city and looked for water, but again it was a city of ghosts. He entered the city, but the crossroads of the major streets running in the four directions and other places where people would usually gather together were empty and he did not see anyone. Hungry and thirsty, he cried out "Water, water!" The hungry ghosts heard a voice saying "water" and they all gathered like a cloud, saying, "Who among the merciful wishes to give water?" The bodies of all these ghosts were like scorched pillars. Covered with their own hair, they all approached with their palms joined, and each said, "Please give me water!" When the hungry ghosts heard that Śroṇakoṭikarṇa was himself pressed by thirst and was looking for water, their hope vanished and, sighing deeply, they said, "Perhaps you don't know, but this is a city of ghosts. Why did you come here to look for water?"

233

314b

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I Then they said in verse: We live in this castle. In a billion years

We have not yet even heard the word "water." How could be any among us who were able to drink some? Like a palm tree forest That is burning, ablaze, We are likewise

Burning in all our limbs and joints. The hair on our heads is entirely disheveled. Our bodies are broken and bruised all over. Day and night we think of food and drink. Out of fear we run around in all directions. Pressed by hunger and thirst, With our mouths wide open, we run in search for food and drink. A man follows us with a stick And, pursuing us, he whips us. Another man hits us with a hammer and no one can go near him. We suffer this pain.

How could we obtain water? Be merciful and give to others. In our previous lives

We were stingy and jealous. We never gave anyone juice, water, or any food and drink. We did not give any of our possessions to others, And we caused others not to give. For these grave acts

We now suffer pain.

Miracle Stories

(Note: Six stories are cited briefly:) From the Song dynasty (420-479 C.E.), Sima Wenxuan, Wang Hu, and Li Dan; from the Tang dynasty (618-907 C.E.), Sui Renqian, demons and monsters in the mountains in Linchuan, and miscellaneous non-Buddhist stories about ghosts. 234

Fascicle 6

Song Dynasty

Sima Wenxuan was a man of the Honei area and he believed deeply in the Buddhist teaching. In the ninth year of the Yuanjia period (426 C.E.) his mother and younger brother died. Toward the morning of one full moon night he suddenly saw his brother sitting at the spirit altar, looking just as he used to when he was alive. Turning quickly toward Wenxuan, he sighed and said he wanted food and drink. Wenxuan then tested him, saying, "You performed the ten good deeds in your lifetime. If the scripture is true, you should have been reborn in heaven or in the realm of humans. Why were you reborn among ghosts?" Deep in thought, the brother looked up and down and did not reply. That evening Wenxuan saw his brother again in a dream. His brother said that because of the good deeds he had cultivated in his life he had been reborn in heaven; the figure at the spirit altar in the morning was the king of ghosts, not he. Since he was afraid that the older brother might become skeptical [about the effects of Buddhist cultivation], he had come to tell this to him [in his dream].

The next morning Wenxuan asked the monks to recite the Shoulengyan jing (T. 642) and ordered his men to beat and tie up the ghost. The ghost escaped under the floor and ran outside the house. His appearance was ugly. Everyone in the house was surprised and fearful, and chased him away, shouting loudly. The ghost said, "I was hungry and was only begging for food." He left some days later.

Later, there was a ghost at his mother's altar. It was tall and had a red body. Wenxuan's oldest son, Xiaozu, exchanged words with the ghost. The ghost's answers were all well-informed. At first Xiaozu was afraid, but in the end he became more at ease and accustomed to the ghost. The ghost also became more tame, going in and out of the house just like a member of the family. The story about this ghost spread in the capital city at that time and many people came to see it. At the time there was a monk in Nanlin Temple who along with Senghan, a monk of Lingwei Temple, debated with the ghost in a very relaxed manner. The ghost said, "In a past birth I was a respected and noble person. Because I committed many evil deeds, however, my karmic retribution is not exhausted, and I have this body as a consequence. In the past Year of the Tiger, four hundred divisions of ghosts spread diseases all over. The calamities they caused should not have troubled you who are followers 235

314c

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

of the Way. But they committed many evil deeds and disrupted good activities. Therefore, I have been sent to look over things."

The monks offered him food. The ghost said, "I have my own food. You should not offer this food to me." Senghan said, "You know a great deal about my life. From which realm have I come and why did I become a monk?" The ghost answered, "You came from the realm of humans. Your original vow is the karmic reason for your renouncing the householder's life." The monk asked about life, death, and the realms of rebirth, and the ghost answered almost all his questions. There were also miracles, but since they were too numerous we cannot record the details [here].

Senghan said, "The realms of humans and ghosts differ. You are not looking for food. Why have you stayed here so long?" The ghost said, "There is a woman here that I must arrest, but she honors the precepts and is diligent in religious duties, so I have difficulty in obtaining her. This is the reason for my delay now. I am greatly ashamed to disturb my host." After this he did not show his body very much, and later visitors heard only his voice. This was in the tenth year of Yuanjia (427 C.E.). On the twenty-eighth day of the third month the ghost said to Wenxuan, "I appeared suddenly and stayed on, yet you used all your family resources to perform meritorious deeds. Having been treated with such great reverence, how could I be so rude as to stay much longer?" Xiaozu said, "You may stay, but why did you appear at the altar set up for someone who had just died?" The ghost answered, "The deceased in your family all have their own places. This seat was vacant so, I borrowed it temporarily." So saying this, he departed. Wang Hu was from Chang'an. His uncle had been dead for several years when, in the twenty-third year of the Yuanjia period (446 C.E.), he suddenly reappeared. Returning home, he blamed Hu for lacking diligence in spiritual cultivation and for not managing the family affairs properly. He gave him five strokes of the cane as punishment. Those who were nearby or were in the neighborhood all heard his words and the sound of the cane. They also saw the wounds. But they did not see the uncle; only Hu could interact with him personally. The uncle told Hu, "I should not have died. Authorities of the realm of the dead should check the ghost registration for me. I have a large following of officials and soldiers now. I am afraid they may frighten people and damage the 236

Fascicle 6

village. So I won't go any further into it." Hu also saw a large crowd of ghosts in turmoil outside of the village. Suddenly the uncle departed, saying, "I will come back again temporarily on the seventh day of the seventh month next year. I want to take you around the dark realms of hell, of ghosts, and of animals to let you know the retribution for sin and for meritorious deeds. Do not prepare a reception. If you do not put a stop to your faults suffering will come." When the time came, the uncle returned and said to the people in Hu's household, "I am now going to take [Wang] Hu for sight-seeing. I will bring him back, so do not worry." Hu then suddenly lay down on the bed and became unconscious, as if he were dead. Then the uncle took Hu to many mountains and showed him ghosts and strange creatures. Before they arrived at Mount Songgao ghosts passing by Hu offered him food. The taste of the offering was no different from ordinary food except for the ginger, which was extremely soft and tangy. Hu wanted to take it back with him. The creatures laughed at Hu and said, "You can only eat this food here. You cannot take it back." Hu finally saw one place, a beautiful and spacious building, with high quality and well-made curtains and carpets. Two young monks stayed there. Hu went to them and the two monks offered him a variety of fruit and some coconuts.

Having visited many places over a long period of time and seen in detail the painful and happy retributions of sins and meritorious deeds, Hu took his leave and returned home. His uncle said to Hu, "You know that you must cultivate good. Why remain a householder? The forest-dweller (āraṇyaka) White Feet is loftily correct in upholding the precepts and the practice of cultivation. You should serve him as your master." This follower of the Way in Chang'an had white feet, so his contemporaries called him "Forest-dweller White Feet." He was greatly revered by the barbarous Wei people and the Wei ruler treated him as his teacher. Hu followed his uncle's advice. When he was in the temple he saw the young monks of Mount Songgao among the visiting student monks. Hu was very surprised and, breaking from his orderly conduct, he asked when they had come. The two monks said, "We live in this temple. We don't remember meeting you in the past." Hu mentioned the encounter at Mount Songgao. The monks said, "You are mistaken. How can there be such a thing?" The next day the two monks had departed without giving any reason.

237

315a

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

[Wang] Hu then told the other monks what had happened, describing what he had seen at Mount Songgao earlier. Everyone in the community was surprised and pursued the monks, but they did not find them. Thereupon they realized that the two monks were divine personages. Toward the end of the Yuanjia period a monk from Chang'an called Shi Tanshuang who traveled in the region south of the Yangzi River told this story in detail. Li Dan, styled Shize, was from Guangling. He was well known in his village for his assiduous filial piety and simple life. On the fourteenth day of the first month in the third year of Yuanjia (426 C.E.) he suddenly died. After seven days, before his heart had become cold, he regained consciousness, and took a drink and ate some gruel. He recovered overnight and told the following story. A man with the flag of a messenger had come to the head of his bed and said, "The ruler of hell is calling you." Dan immediately followed him and went directly northward. The road was very flat and clean. When he arrived, he found city buildings as tall and beautiful as our present city gates. Some creatures sent welcoming words, telling him to come to the front. In the office above the courtyard he saw thirty people in unlined official robes and blue headdresses, sitting gravely in rows. One person was sitting in the eastern corner. His jacket was open and he was leaning on a desk. He had attending guards that must have numbered over one hundred. Seeing Dan, these people spoke. The man who was sitting said, "I will show you hell in order to let the world learn about it."

When Dan heard these words, he raised his head to look around. The scene had changed completely and he was now in the middle of hell. He saw many sinners receiving painful retribution, moaning and screaming. It was unbearable to watch. In a while word came that the ruler of hell had sent a message to him and that there were people waiting for him. Because of this, he returned to this world.

In the first month of the sixth year (429 C.E.) Dan died and again revived on the seventh day. He described the things he had seen, which were roughly the same as the first time. There also were sinners who sent word to their families through him. They had committed crimes when they were alive and they now instructed their families to perform meritorious deeds. They mentioned their names, close acquaintances, and village units. Dan sought out their families according to what he had been told and always found them. 238

Fascicle 6

He had also heard that in the jia-shen year of the calendrical cycle an epidemic would spread to kill evil people. If the disciples of the Buddhist teaching performed the one-day practice of the eight precepts, cultivated their minds, and did good deeds they would be spared. [Li] Dan, originally a Daoist leader (jijiu), immediately wanted to abandon Daoism, but the Daoist believers remonstrated against him, so he ended up following both teachings. He constantly encouraged people to perform the one-day practice of the eight precepts.

Zheng Xianzhi of Yingyang was Vice-Director of the Imperial Secretariat. During the fourth year of the Yuanjia period (427 C.E.) he was traveling to the capital following the emperor's carriage. When they arrived at the capital Zheng died suddenly that evening. Thereupon, a man was possessed with miraculous speech and said, "My life span has long since ended and I should have passed away from the world a long time ago. Fortunately, in recent years I have been honoring the Buddhist teaching. I freed living creatures from captivity and made offerings. With this merit I added several years to my life. Both hidden and manifest retributions follow a person just as do shadows and echoes. Abandon all worldly obligations and honor the great teaching!" At this time many superior and noble people heard these words. (The above three miracles come from the Mingbao ji).

Tang Dynasty

Sui Renqian was from Handan in the Zhao Commandery. As a young man he studied Confucian scriptures and did not believe in ghosts, always wanting to test their existence. So he followed a ghost specialist and studied for over ten years, but he still could not see ghosts. Later he moved to the Xiang district and saw a man on the street who looked like a heavenly official. The man was wearing shining clothes and riding a good horse, followed by fifty mounted men. Seeing Renqian, he did not say a word. Later Rengian saw this man several times but it was always like this. In ten years they ran into each other dozens of times.

Later, the man suddenly stopped his horse and called to Renqian, "I see you frequently and truly think of you with affection. I wish to be a friend of yours." Thereupon, Renqian greeted him respectfully and asked who he was. The man answered, "I am a ghost with the surname Cheng and personal name 315b

239

315c

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

Jing. Originally from Hongnong, I served as an Administrative Aide during the Western Jin period (265-316 C.E.). My present appointment is that of the Administrator of the state of Hu."

[Sui] Renqian asked, "Where is that state and what is the name of the ruling prince?" The man answered, "Regions north of the Yellow River share a border with the state of Hu. The capital is to the northwest of Loufan, in the desert. As for the prince, the late Prince Wuling of Zhao governs the state now, but it is controlled by Mount Tai. Every month the prince sends an envoy to pay homage to Mount Tai. That is why I came here so frequently and encountered you. I can be useful—I can let you know about calamities before they arrive so that you may avoid them and escape from violent injuries. Only the fate of life and death and retributions of great fortunes and misfortunes cannot be changed." Renqian agreed. So Jing ordered one of his followers to serve as the officer in charge. Having thus presented Renqian with a man to accompany him, Jing told him to report to the man as soon as something happened. If there was ever anything that the man did not know, he was to come and ask Jing. Having given this instruction [Cheng] Jing departed. The officer in charge followed Renqian as if he were his personal attendant. Whenever Renqian asked something, the man knew the answer.

In the beginning of the Daye period (605-616 C.E.), Cen Zhixiang of Jiang ling was the director of Handan. His son Wenben had not undergone the initiation ceremony. Zhixiang requested Renqian to teach Wenben at home. Renqian told the above story to Wenben, and then said that Administrator Cheng, [the ghost who had left an attendant with Renjian,] told him, "There is one thing I am embarrassed to tell you, but since we are friends I must tell you. Ghosts also eat, but they cannot eat sufficiently and they suffer from hunger. If they obtain human food they can be satisfied for one year. Many ghosts frequently steal human food. Since my status is high and I have important duties I cannot steal. Would you prepare a meal for me?" After Renqian told Wenben this, Wenben prepared an offering consisting of rare and tasty food. Renqian said, "Ghosts do not wish to enter people's houses. We should set up a tent and seats outside near the water and offer the wine and food." Wenben followed this instruction. When the time came, Renqian saw Jing and two other guests come and sit down. After this the one hundred 240

Fascicle 6

mounted soldiers came and sat down. Wenben repeatedly bowed toward the seats and apologized for the modesty of the meal. [Sui] Renqian also communicated Jing's words of gracious acceptance. Earlier, when Wenben had been about to set out the food, Renqian asked that a gift of gold and silk also be offered. Wenben asked, "What sort of things?" Renqian said, "The things that ghosts use are different from those of people—only gold and silk are used in common, and it is better to give ersatz gold and silk. A large piece of tin painted yellow for the gold and materials made with paper for the silk would be the most valuable." Wenben did as he was told. When [Cheng] Jing finished eating, he had his followers take a seat and eat. Wenben presented the gold and silk materials he had prepared. Jing was overjoyed and thanked him, "Through scholar Sui [Renqian], I troubled you. Do you wish to know the length of your life span?" Wenben declined, saying, "I do not wish to know." Jing laughed and departed. Several years later Renqian became very ill, not rising from his bed for over a month. Renqian relied on the ghost officer in charge of his affairs. The latter did not know the reason for Renqian's illness so he asked the administrator Cheng. The administrator reported, "There is no one who knows anything about it in our state. When I go to the court in Mount Tai next month I will ask about it for you and report back." The following month the administrator came and said, "A man from your region, called Zhao something, is the recorder of Mount Tai. There is a vacancy for one member at the recorder's office and he recommended you for this position. Therefore, they are preparing a document in order properly to recruit you. When the document is ready you will die." Renqian asked about requesting to have the document nullified. Jing said, "Your life span should be over sixty years. Now you have only just turned forty, but Recorder Zhao is arbitrarily recruiting you. You should make the request." Then he said, "Recorder Zhao asked about you, saying, "Brother Sui [Renqian] was a fellow student in the past and I have deep affection for him. Fortunately, I have now become a recorder at Mount Tai, and there is a vacancy in the office. The district magistrate is now looking for someone [to fill the position]. I have already spoken to him. He approved of the appointment. Brother Sui cannot live for very long. Our lives all end in death. When death does come, a man does not necessarily find an office such as the vacant one I now have. Why does he begrudge twenty [more] years 241

316a

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

and temporarily extend his life span? If the document is nullified now I cannot place the request again. He must make up his mind about coming here. There is no room for doubt." [Sui] Renqian was depressed and fearful and his illness became more serious.

[Cheng] Jing said to Renqian, "Recorder Zhao wishes to take you there, no matter what means he has to use. You can only escape if you appeal directly to the ruler of Mount Tai." Renqian asked how he could see the ruler. Jing said, "Only ghosts can see him. Go to the shrine at Mount Tai. Once you cross a small peak to the east, there is a flat area which is the location of their capital. If you go there, you should be able to see him." Renqian told Wenben, who made the travel preparations for him. Several days later, Jing spoke to Renqian once again, "The document is about to be completed. I am afraid you cannot escape even if you appeal. Quickly, make a Buddhist image. The document will then quickly disappear by itself." Renqian told Wenben to spend three thousand pieces of gold and have an image of the seated Buddha painted on the western wall of the temple. When it was completed Jing came and said, "You have escaped!"

Renqian did not truly believe in the Buddha and was still doubtful. So he asked Jing, "Buddhism teaches about the causes and consequences governing the three ages, past, present, and future. Is this teaching true or false?" Jing answered, "It is all true." [Renqian said,] "If so, when people die, they must be divided and enter into the six realms of rebirth. Why should everyone become ghosts, just as both Prince Wuling of Zhao and you are now ghosts?" Jing said, "How many families are there in your district?" Renqian said, "Over ten thousand." Jing asked again, "How many prisoners?" Renqian said, "Always fewer than twenty." Jing asked again, "Among the ten thousand families, how many are officials of the fifth rank?" Renqian replied, "None." Jing asked again, "How many officials above the ninth rank?" Renqian said, "Several tens." Jing said, "The division into the six realms is just like this. Not even one in ten thousand succeeds in being reborn in heaven. This is comparable to the fact that not even one person in your district is an official of the fifth rank. Several people among ten thousand succeed in being reborn as human beings, just as several tens in your district are officials of the ninth rank. Several tens also enter hell, like your prisoners. But the majority are reborn as ghosts and animals, like the taxed peasants in your district. There 242

Fascicle 6

are also ranks within the realm of ghosts." [Cheng] Jing then pointed to one of his followers, "That man is far inferior to me, but those who are inferior to him are even more numerous." Renqian said, "Do ghosts die?" Jing said, "Yes." Renqian asked, "When they die, into which realm are they reborn?" Jing answered, "We do not know—just as people know life but do not know what happens after death."

[Sui] Renqian asked, "Is the Daoist ceremony of presenting a written request profitable or not?" Jing said, "Daoists govern over the six realms by the order of the Heavenly Ruler. They constitute the Heavenly Office. King Yama is comparable to the Son of Heaven among humans. The ruler of Mount Tai is comparable to the Director of the Imperial Secretariat. The Divine Secretaries of the Five Realms are comparable to ministers. Our state is like a large region or commandery. Every time human affairs are judged Daoists send up a ceremonial petition. This is called 'requesting a fortune' and is comparable to seeking the benevolence of spirits. The Heavenly Office receives it and sends it down to King Yama, saying, 'On such a month and such a day, we received So-and-so's appeal. You should investigate the truth exhaustively without committing injustices.' Yama respectfully receives the order and executes it. This is like receiving when one receives an Imperial Order in the human realm. Unless there is a good reason, one should not seek an exemption from orders. If there is injustice one should always be able to report it. How could one call this 'profitable'?"

Renqian asked again, "What sort of merit does a family that cultivates the Buddhist teaching receive?" Jing said, "The Buddha is the Great Sage. He does not send down documents. The gods in heaven reverently honor those who cultivate the Buddhist Way, and such people often receive generous pardons. If their merit is great, even if they are in inferior realms of existence, the condemning documents cannot reach them. This is something with which I am not familiar. I do not know the reason for this." After saying this, Jing departed. After a few days Renqian was able to get up and recovered from his illness. Wenben's father died and he returned home. Renqian sent a letter to Wenben, saying, "Ghosts and spirits are indeed greedy. In the past they wanted you to provide food and drink for them. Consequently they were extremely polite. These days they know that there are no benefits to be had any more, so they do not bother to come and see me any longer. Yet the ghost officer 243

316b

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

who was charged to attend to me still appears and follows me wherever I go. When this district was ransacked by bandits and many were killed, I was guided by this attendant ghost as usual, and even though the bandits were not seen anywhere I was able to capture them all in the end." On the eighth day of the ninth month in the sixteenth year of Zhengguan (642 C.E.), civil officials gathered for an archery ceremony at Xuanwu Gate. Wenben was at that time the Vice-Director of the Secretariat. He was with his brother who was Chamberlain for the Palace Revenues, as well as Secretarial Censor Ma Zhou and Palace Steward Wei Kun. When the emperor sat facing them, Wenben related the above story himself. (Note: The above miracle story is from the Mingbao ji, T.2082:792b21-793b29.) The Sousheng ji says:

In mountain districts in Linchuan specters appear. Often strong winds and heavy rain causes a howling sound, and the specters shoot at people. The place they hit leaves a mark like a hoof that has swollen up greatly. The poison is either of the male or female kind. The male kind works quickly, the female kind slowly. The quick one does not take more than half a day, and the slow one not more than overnight. Bystanders often come to the victim's rescue and with their help the stricken person gets a little better, but death always come in the end. This phenomenon is commonly called the "sword-trouble ghost."

Therefore, a secular book says, "The evidence of the manifestation of good and evil fortune caused by ghosts and spirits is known in the world." The Laozi (chapter 39) says:

Of old, these obtained the One; heaven obtained the One and was clear; earth obtained the One and was tranquil; gods obtained the One and had their potencies; The valley obtained the One and was full; lords and princes obtained the One and the realm under heaven became settled. Thus, heaven, earth, ghosts, and spirits share the common vital root with the self. When the breath (qi) is divided, inherent nature becomes differentiated. When divisions are established, forms become different. There is nothing that can share a common nature and form with other things. The living are the masters in the realm of yang; the dead are the 244

Fascicle 6

masters in the realm of yin. Each according to his nature keeps his own sphere at peace. The specter exists in the midst of the great yin. (The above item is from the Sousheng ji.)

The Hanshi waizhuan says:

When a creature dies he becomes a ghost. "Ghost" (gui) means "returning" (gui). The soul returns to heaven. The flesh returns to soil. The blood returns to water. The blood vessels return to valleys. The voice returns to thunder. Physical movement returns to wind. The eyes return to the sun and moon. The bones return to wood. The muscle returns to mountains. The teeth return to stone. The fat returns to dew, and the dew returns to grass. The inhaling and exhaling breath again return to another person. The "Sacrifice" chapter of the Liji (Book of Rites) says: Zaiwo said, "I have heard of ghosts and spirits but I do not know what they mean." The Master said, "The breath (qi) is the thriving activity of the spirits; the body is the thriving activity of the ghosts. When ghosts and spirits are brought together, the teaching is realized." Cui Hong's Shiliuguo Chunqiu, "The Record of the Former Liang" chapter, says:

Zhang Qing was a man of the Ma clan in Anding region. When Qing killed Qu Jian, Jian uttered this curse: "A white dog appears in the moonlight." After drawing his sword and killing Jian, Qing fell to the ground and did not rise. His attendants saw Jian at his side. In this way Qing died a violent death.

The Shenyi jing says:

In the northeastern direction is the rock cave of the star of ghosts. This cave has three hundred doors. On the side of the rock is a sign saying, "Gate of Ghosts." The gate is closed during the daytime. In the evening human voices are heard. There is a blue-colored fire. (The above four miracles are copied from the Yülan.) Once when as a young man Song Dingbo of Nanyang was walking around 245

316c

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

317a

at night he met a ghost. He asked it, "Which ghost are you?" The ghost asked back, "Who are you, sir?" Dingbo deceived him, saying, "I am also a ghost." The ghost asked, "Where are you going?" [Song] Dingbo answered, "I am going to the city of Wan." The ghost said, "I also am going to the city of Wan." So they walked together for several miles.

The ghost said, "Walking on foot is too slow. We could take turns carrying each other." Dingbo said, "Very good." So the ghost first carried Dingbo for several miles. Then it said, "You, sir, are too heavy. Perhaps you are not a ghost?" Dingbo said, "I died recently, so my body is [still] heavy." Dingbo then carried the ghost, which was almost weightless. They repeated this two or three times. Dingbo said again, "I have only recently died and do not know what ghosts fear and avoid." The ghost answered, "The only thing we do not like is human saliva." As they were traveling together the road eventually ran into water. Dingbo let the ghost cross it first and heard no sound. When Dingbo himself waded across, he made a sound. The ghost said again, "Why is there a sound?" Dingbo said, "Because I only recently died I have not practiced crossing water. That is why I made a sound. Don't become suspicious of me." When they were about to reach Wan, Dingbo lifted the ghost up on top of his head and held him fast. The ghost screamed loudly, asking to be let down, but Dingbo did not listen to the ghost's cries. Soon they arrived at the market in Wan and he let the ghost down on the ground. The ghost then changed into a sheep, so Dingbo sold it. Frightened by the transformation of the ghost into a sheep, he spat at it. Dingbo went away with one thousand five hundred pieces of money. At this time Shi Chong said, "Dingbo sold a ghost and got one thousand five hundred pieces of money." (This story appears in the Lieyi zhuan.)

The Biography of Zhao Tai says:

[Zhao] Tai suddenly died. Two messengers came to help him. They entered the local government building from the western side. The building had three black gates altogether and walls that extended several tens of miles. The building was tall and had a tiled roof. Others who had also died on the same day, five or six thousand men and women, stood outside the gates. An official wearing unlined silken clothes held a pen and recorded the names of all the people who had gathered there. Men's and women's 246

Fascicle 6

names were recorded separately. The official told Zhao Tai, "Do not move. We are about to present you to the ruler of Mount Tai. Your name is the twentieth in the list. Your turn will soon come." The ruler was sitting facing west, surrounded by guards holding swords. The attendants called each person by name and brought them all into the ruler's presence. The ruler ordered them to jail according to the severity of their crimes. According to the Baopu Zi, "Both the Jiuding ji and the Qingling jing say, 'Ghosts appear at the death of both humans and animals.'" When Sun En of Wei was in rebellion, the Wuxing region was in chaos. A man who was escaping from a dangerous situation suddenly entered the shrine of Lord Jiang. When he went through the gate a wooden image pulled a bow and shot him dead. Passers-by and the shrine guards all witnessed it. (This story comes from the Youming lu.)

5. Animals

(Note: This has ten parts:) (1) Introduction, (2) Explanation of the Name, (3) Dwelling Places, (4) Body Size, (5) Life Span, (6) Karmic Causes [for Rebirth], (7) Retribution, (8) Cultivation of Merit, (9) Pain and Pleasure, and (10) Beautiful and Ugly Appearance.

1. Introduction

To come to animals, they are born due to the retribution caused by ignorance. There are many kinds of animals and there is more than one principle that governs them. Endowed with the impure quality of ignorance, a creature is reborn in this inferior realm. Having lost intelligence it has only excessive greed and anger. Thus, wasps and scorpions accumulate poison and snakes nourish anger. Pigeons and sparrows are addicted to copulation, jackals and wolves are quick and violent. Some are also covered in fur and have horns. Some have beautiful green feathers and carry jewels in their beaks. Some have large beaks with sharp points and others have long and sharp talons or claws. Again, some are under the rule of other creatures, while some are controlled by humans. Dogs are busy barking at night and roosters compete with each other to announce the dawn. Oxen exhaust themselves in the fields and horses labor in military campaigns. Their flesh thus wastes away and their skin dries up. Some may hide in fields of grass and marshes, but in the end 247

317b

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

they are captured in nets and traps. Some escape into ponds but unexpectedly become victims of fishing nets. All of these animals repent. There are large creatures such as the gigantic bird Peng and the leviathan Kun, and those with tiny bodies like crickets and ants. There is the mole, about which it is said, "When the mole drinks at the river, he takes no more than a bellyful," and there is the tailor bird, of which it is said, "When the tailor bird builds her nest in the deep woods she uses no more than one branch." There are creatures born in water and those who are born on land; there are feathered families and species with fur; there are those with purple scales or silken material, or those with red gills and tails. If we ourselves repent for all the animals, their faith becomes pure and they abandon their inferior forms; their wisdom shines forth and they again obtain the reward of being reborn in heaven. They no longer suffer from being forced to labor, and they are liberated forever from the sorrow of being slaughtered and butchered for food. They may wander around as their hearts desire and freely indulge in pleasures following their own inclinations. They know no external limitation of eating and drinking. They warble and sing spontaneously. They have escaped from their bird cages and fish baskets and are free from all bondage.

2. Explanation of the Name

According to the Posha lun (ref. T.1546:48a26-b1):

Sheng in the word chusheng ("animal") means sentient being (zhongsheng), and chu means domestication and rearing. This means that the conduct of such a creature is wild and its nature is dull and ignorant. Such creatures are unable to be independent and so are domesticated and raised by others. For this reason they are called animals, i.e., "domesticated beings" (chu sheng). Question: If chusheng refers to those animals that are domesticated and raised by humans, how can creatures such as dragons, which travel through the water, land, and sky, be considered to be among those that are raised by humans and thus called animals?

Answer: The meaning of "rearing" is broad. The term covers the six heavens as well as the human realm. The places in which creatures that are not raised by humans live are narrowly limited—only the mountains, fields, 248

Fascicle 6

and marshes in the human realm. Furthermore, in ancient days dragons were also raised by humans. Details can be found in the literary and historical writings. Now, since the overwhelming majority of these creatures are domesticated and raised by humans, they are all called chusheng. The Lishi [apitan] lun (T.1644:197c27-28) says:

The Sanskrit name for animals is tiryañc ("one who sidles up" or "a crooked creature"). The reason is that a being is born in this realm because of slavishly fawning upon people. It is also said that sentient beings in this realm often hide their bodily activities. Therefore they are called tiryañc. According to the new Posha lun (T.1545:866c15-867a13): Animals are called horizontal creatures.

Question: Why is [the realm of animals] called the realm of horizontal creatures?

Answer: Because the orientation of these creatures is horizontal; they also walk sideways and because they walk sideways, their orientation is horizontal. Therefore, they are called horizontal creatures. Some say that because these sentient beings committed extremely ignorant evil acts of body, speech, or mind they are reborn in that realm of dark stupidity. Therefore they are called "crooked creatures." They say that such creatures are present everywhere in the five inferior realms. In naraka (hell) there are legless animals such as nyaṅkuṭā worms, two-legged ones such as the iron-beaked bird, four-legged ones such as the large black dog, and many-legged ones such as centipedes. In the realm of hungry ghosts there are legless animals such as poisonous snakes; two-legged ones such as crows and hawks; four-legged ones such as foxes, boars, elephants, and horses; and many-legged ones such as six-legged creatures and centipedes.

In the three continents in the human realm there are legless animals such as all the various reptiles, two-legged ones such as wild swans and geese, four-legged ones such as elephants and horses, and many-legged ones such as centipedes.

In the continent of Uttarakuru there are two-legged ones such as wild swans and geese and four-legged ones such as elephants and horses, but 249

317c

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I there are no legless or many-legged ones. This is because that continent is a place where creatures receive the karmic reward of freedom from suffering.

In the heavens of the four heavenly kings and in the thirty-three heavens there are two-legged animals such as beautiful colored birds, and fourlegged ones such as elephants and horses. As has been explained in the previous case, there are no others.

In the highest of the four heavens there are only two-legged animals such as beautiful colored birds; there are no other creatures. This is because what takes place in the heavenly realms is perfect. Question: If there are no elephants and horses in some places, what do the inhabitants use for vehicles? Also, I have heard of elephants and horses in those heavens. Why do you say there are none?

Answer: Because of the meritorious karmic power of the gods in those heavens, they create nonsentient forms of elephants and horses, which they use as their vehicles and to enjoy themselves. According to the Loutan jing (ref. Shieryou jing, T.195:146b15-17): Animals differ from each other. Generally speaking, there are three kinds: fish, birds, and mammals. Of these three categories, each has many species. The fish category has six thousand four hundred species; the bird category has four thousand five hundred species; and the mammal category has two thousand four hundred species.

In this scripture only the overall numbers are listed, not the names of the various species .

The Zhengfanian jing (ref. T.721:103b26) gives different numbers of species, saying that there are four billion species. It also does not list the names [of the various species].

3. Dwelling Places

The new Posha lun (T.1545:867a12-18) says:

Question: Where was the original dwelling place of horizontal creatures? Answer: Their original dwelling place was in the ocean. Later they dispersed into many realms.

250

Fascicle 6

Question: What do they look like?

Answer: Mostly, they stand sideways. There are also some that stand upright, such as the singing and dancing deities known as kiṃnaras, the corpse-eating ghosts called piśācas, and the xilusuojia. Question: What language do they speak?

Answer: At the beginning of the kalpa everyone spoke Sanskrit. Later, differences in the time of eating and drinking developed, and sentient beings were no longer the same as each other. Some creatures slavishly fawned upon others and deceived each other, and so many languages appeared. Creatures who cannot use language at all also appeared. According to the old Posha lun (T.1546:48c6-9, b3-12): The places in which animals live may be divided into primary and secondary. First, to consider their primary dwelling place, some say that it is in the darkness between the two areas of the Iron Surrounding Mountains; some say it is in the middle of the ocean; some say it is on an island in a big river. Second, their secondary dwelling place is in the five inferior realms. In the realm of hell there are legless animals such as snakes, two legged-ones such as crows and doves, and four-legged ones such as dogs. (Note: Among these some are there because of the real consequences of karma, while others are temporary manifestations. They may be in this form due to either one of these two possibilities.) In the realm of ghosts there also are legless, two-legged, and four-legged animals. Namely, among the ghosts with awesome powers are elephants, horses, and camels; among ghosts without awesome powers are only dogs. Among the asuras (Note: Some say this realm is similar to the realm of ghosts.) and the realm of gods there only are two-legged and fourlegged animals, no other kinds. (Note: In the heavens of the two realms of desire and form there are animals with karmic causes and those without, i.e., animals that are only temporary manifestations. The situation is the same as the explanation given above in the case of the gods.) 4. Body Size

According to the Pusa chutai jing (ref. T.384:1050c15-19), first, no large bird is bigger than a garuḍa. The distance between its head and tail is eight 251

318a

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

thousand yojanas. Its height is the same. When a garuḍa flies it goes without stopping from one Mount Sumeru to another. Details are given in the scripture. Second, among animals none surpasses the dragon in size. According to the Ahan jing (Chang ahan jing, T.1:143a26-29), in appearance the two dragons Nanda and Upananda are the largest. They surround Mount Sumeru seven times. While their heads rest on the mountain top, their tails are in the ocean. Third, among those with the body of a fish, none surpasses the great fish makara. According to the Sifen lü (ref. T.1435:239c18-19), the length of the great fish makara can be three or four hundred yojanas. The biggest is seven hundred yojanas. According to the Ahan jing its eyes are like the sun and the moon, its nose is like a big mountain, and its mouth is like a large valley. If one were to follow secular books, Zhuang Zhou (in the Zhuangzi) said that there is a large bird called Peng. This bird is extremely large. One does not know how many thousand miles long the back of the great Peng is. When it is about to fly, it hits the water with a splash that rises three thousand li high. Its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky and they flutter slowly as the bird goes up. Reaching a height of nine thousand li above the ground, it then flies away. To go from the Northern Ocean to the Southern Ocean it flies straight for six months without stopping to rest. (Note: This refers to the small garuḍa bird mentioned in Buddhist literature. Secular writers are unaware of this, so they speak as if there exists in addition a bird called Great Peng). Secular Chinese books also say that among the large aquatic animals, none is bigger than the turtle Juling. It has the biggest of all animal bodies, and its head lays in Penglai Ocean. The texts do not specify its height and length. (Note: The description of this turtle does not match a very small makara fish, so we cannot discuss in detail the differences in size.) Zhuang Zhou said that among the small birds, none is smaller than the jiao ming "bird." This is a type of insect that produces its offspring inside a mosquito's antennae. It lays its eggs inside the antennae yet, the eggs do not fall. (Note: This does not go far enough. In Buddhist literature, the sentient beings who receive the retribution of being reborn as extremely small creatures are shaped like dust. They can only be seen with a divine eye. Therefore, the Buddhist Vinaya has the following story: The Buddha instructed the monks to filter their water before drinking. Śāriputra filtered his water many times but there were still small insects in the water, so he did not drink any water 252

Fascicle 6

for seven days and his body became severely dehydrated. When the Buddha learned of this, he asked Śāriputra, "Why have you become so haggard?" Śāriputra answered, "The Buddha asked us to filter water before drinking. I filtered my water many times but I still saw insects with my divine eye. They go through the filter like the minute particles that float on the surface of water in a pot. In order to protect their lives I did not dare to drink the water. Therefore, my body has become emaciated." The Buddha told Śāriputra, "If one were to always check with a divine eye, no one would be alive. From now on, use only your coarse physical eyes to see if the water is clean. If you cannot see any insects in it with your physical eyes, you can drink it." Therefore, we know that sentient beings with the retribution of being born as minute beings fill space everywhere. How could it be that the smallest ones are as big as tailor birds?)

5. Life Span

According to the Pitan (ref. Za apitanxin lun, T.1552:887c14-15), "In the realm of animals none has a longer life span than one kalpa, as in the case of the earth-upholding dragon and the Elāpattra dragon." None has a shorter life span than the insect known as the dayfly, which is born in the morning and dies in the evening, its life lasting not even as long as one day. The life spans of animals that fall between these two extremes cannot be described in detail here.

According to the Dazhidu lun (T.1509:138c26-139a12):

The Buddha instructed Śāriputra to observe the past and future of a pigeon. Over a period of eighty thousand kalpas this creature never abandoned the body of a pigeon. Therefore, we know that the life spans of animals are extremely long and beyond the limit of what ordinary beings can comprehend. 6. Karmic Causes [for Rebirth]

According to the Yebao chabie jing (T.80:893a13-18):

A living being receives the retribution of rebirth as an animal by committing the following ten types of [evil] acts: (1) evil deeds of the body, (2) evil deeds of speech, (3) evil deeds of thought, (4) evil deeds committed out of greed, (5) evil deeds committed out of anger, (6) evil deeds committed out 318b

253

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

of ignorance, (7) cursing sentient beings, (8) maltreating sentient beings, (9) making an offering of impure objects, and (10) committing adultery. According to the Zhengfanian jing (T.721:103b20-107a9), the species of animals differ from each other. The karmic causes [of rebirth] and the consequences differ for each species. Details can be found in this scripture and are not described here.

According to the Dichi (ref. T.1522:149b1-c14):

If a living being commits any one of the ten evil deeds, he will [be reborn in] the realms of hell, of animals, or of hungry ghosts. Later he will be reborn as a human being and will still suffer pain from remaining karmic retribution. (Details are given in other sections.)

7. Retribution

444b21-445a4):

According to the Xianyu jing (Sutra of the Wise and the Ignorant, T.202: Some merchants once hoped to visit another country. These merchants had a dog. Midway on their journey, the merchants stopped to take a rest. Thinking that no one was looking, the dog stole some meat. In anger, the merchants hit the dog and broke its leg, and they then went on, abandoning the animal in the middle of the field.

At that time Śāriputra saw the dog with his divine eye. Crippled and hungry, it was greatly distressed and about to die. Putting on his robe and holding his almsbowl, Śāriputra entered the city and begged for food. After he obtained some food he took it outside the city. Flying to where the dog was, he offered it the food out of compassion and pity. When the dog ate the food it revived and was overjoyed. Śāriputra then preached the profound teaching to the dog. Thereupon the dog died and was reborn in a brahman's family in Śrāvastī.

Later, Śāriputra was out walking alone on almsrounds. A brahman saw him and said, "The Honored One is walking alone, without an attendant novice." Śāriputra said, "I have no attending novice. I hear that you have a son. You should give him to me." The brahman said, "I have a son named Cunda. He is still too young to fulfill such duties but before he is fully grown I will give him to you." Later, when the child reached the age of 254

Fascicle 6

seven years old, the brahman entrusted him to Śāriputra, causing the boy renounce the householder's life. Thereupon Śāriputra accepted the child [as his novice attendant]. Just as Śāriputra was about to reach Jetavana he preached the teaching to the novice, step by step. The latter's mind opened up and he understood the teaching, obtaining the reward of arhatship. He was endowed with all superior qualities. When Cunda first attained the Way he contemplated past lives with his own power of knowledge: what conduct had he performed so that he had met a holy person and obtained the goal of salvation? He saw that in his previous life he had been a hungry dog. Thanks to the compassion of his master, he had now obtained a human body and attained the religious goal. Happy feelings arose deep within him and he said to himself, "Thanks to my master's compassion I was delivered from much suffering. I should now dedicate myself to looking after his needs. I will request to remain his novice [attendant] and not receive the complete precepts [to become a monk]." The Buddha said to Ānanda, "In the past age, during the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, Cunda was a young monk with a beautiful voice. He was very good at chanting verses and people loved to listen to him. There was an old monk who had a raspy and dull voice, and he could not chant the sutras. He had obtained arhatship, however, and was endowed with all superior qualities. The youth was proud of his good voice. When he saw the old monk he had reviled him, saying that his voice was like a dog barking. The old monk immediately called out to the youth, saying, "Don't you know that I have attained arhatship and all the ceremonies have been performed for me?" When the youth heard this, he was shocked and his hair stood on end. Greatly frightened, he blamed himself and repented his faults before the old monk. Because of his evil speech, however, he received the body of a dog for a period of five hundred kalpas. Because he renounced the householder's life and upheld the pure precepts, he has now been able to meet me and obtain salvation."

Furthermore, the Dazhidu lun (T.1509:175a20-21) says: Because of excessive ignorance beings are reborn as insects and birds; for example, earthworms, dung beetles, crickets, ants, owls, ducks, and hawks.

255

318c

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

Nāgārjuna Bodhisattva said elsewhere that for excessively licentious desires a being receives the body of a duck.

[Question:] One also receives a duck's body for excessive ignorance. Are these two duck's bodies the same or different?

Answer: Those who are reborn from excessive desire become waterfowl such as ducks and drakes; those who are reborn due to ignorance are land birds such as hawks and owls. Some are seen both day and night. Those that are reborn on account of desire always fly together. Birds that float on water together belong to this category. Some are seen at night but not seen during the day. Reborn out of ignorance, these creatures always roam around at night. There are two kinds of owls: those who are reborn from desire are hawk owls; they are seen during the day and not at night. Those who are reborn from ignorance are horned owls; they are seen at night and not during the day. Furthermore, the Chang ahan jing (ref. T.1:127b1-128a6) and the Zeng ahan jing (ref. T.125:646a8-b10) say:

There are four kinds of garuḍa birds: those born from an egg, from a womb, from moisture, and through spontaneous generation. They all previously generously made offerings. Because their minds were lofty they fly high in the sky, but they tormented sentient beings and their minds became full of anger and pride, and so they were born among these birds. They have a garland made of wish-fulfilling jewels and so they can transform themselves in ten thousand ways and their every need is met. Their bodies are forty miles in height and their clothes are eighty miles in width. They weigh two and half ounces. For physical food, they eat turtles and crocodiles (Note: The Niepan jing, T.374:437b8-9; T.375:678c24-25, says that they can eat and digest all kinds of fish, gold and silver, and so forth. The only exception is vajra.) To increase the pleasure of their sense of touch, they wash their clothes. They also marry: two bodies touch each other and form yin and yang. Their life spans are one world age, though some are shorter.

On the northern shore of the great ocean is a tree called Jiuluozhenma. Its height is one hundred yojanas and its shade extends fifty yojanas. To the east of the tree is the palace for the egg-born dragons and the palace for the egg-born garuḍas. To the south of the tree is the palace for the 256

Fascicle 6

womb-born dragons and the palace for the womb-born garuḍas. To the west of the tree is the palace for the moisture-born dragons and the palace for the moisture-born garuḍas. To the north of the tree is the palace for dragons born through spontaneous generation and the palace for garuḍas born through spontaneous generation. Each of these palaces is six thousand yojanas long and wide. Each is decorated as described above. When an egg-born garuḍa flies down to the ocean it hits the water with its wings and the water opens up to a depth of two hundred yojanas. The garuḍa captures egg-born dragons and eats them freely. (Note: The Huayan jing, ref. Dazhidu lun, T.1509:566b18-21, says: This bird eats dragons; if the wind that it stirs with its wings goes into human eyes, it blinds them at once; therefore this bird does not appear among humans as it fears damaging human eyes.) The cases of womb-born and moisture-born garuḍas and those born through spontaneous generation are similar. (Note: The Niepan jing, T.374:437c1; T.375:679a17-18, says that the only creature garuḍas cannot eat are those that have received the Three Refuges.) There was a dragon who was receiving the eight precepts on an important day of fasting that occurs once every six years. At that time a garuḍa wished to eat it and carried the dragon in its beak to the top of a great iron tree north of Mount Sumeru. The tree was one hundred and sixty thousand miles in height. When the garuḍa looked for the dragon's tail he could not find it. The bird listened to the teaching and also received the five precepts. Furthermore, the Guanfo sanmei jing (T.643:15.646b2-17) says: The king of the garuḍas, named Zhengyin, was happy and lived free among numerous species of birds. In this world he ate one dragon king and five hundred small dragons each day. In all of the four continents surrounding Mount Sumeru he ate the same number of dragons every day. He toured around the continents, eating every day, and started all over again the next day. After eight thousand years the sign of death appeared and many dragons spat out poison. The garuḍa could not eat [the dragons]. Hungry and afraid, it found no peace and came to Vajra Mountain. The garuḍa went straight downward from Vajra Mountain and from the edge of a large body of water proceeded to the edge of a circle of wind. It was blown by the wind back up to Vajra Mountain. This was repeated seven 257

319a

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

319b

times, and then the garuḍa died. The poison that the bird had eaten caused the ten jewel mountains to all catch fire at the same time. The dragon king Nanda feared that they might burn down Vajra Mountain so he caused torrential rainfall with raindrops as big as the axle of a chariot. The flesh of the dead garuḍa completely disappeared and only its mind remained. It went downward and returned seven times, and then it rested on Vajra Mountain as before. The dragon king Nanda picked it up and treated it as if it were a clear jewel. The universal monarch obtained it and treated it as a wish-fulfilling jewel. If a person contemplates the Buddha his mind becomes like this garuḍa's mind.

Furthermore the Loutan jing (ref. T.23:288a24-289a16) and the Chang ahan jing (ref. T.1:127a28-128a8) say:

There are four kinds of dragons. All of them had previously been full of anger, with dishonest and perverse minds, but they later performed a great act of giving, as a consequence of which they received their present bodies. Due to this merit of giving, their palaces are made of seven jewels. (Note: The location of these palaces is as described above in the section on garuḍas.) The dragons are forty miles in height, and their clothes are forty miles long, eighty miles wide, and weigh two and half ounces. They have full command of supernatural powers. They eat and drink food of a hundred flavors. After they eat the last mouthful of food they turn into frogs. If they teach their attendants, causing them to make the intention to pursue the religious path and make offerings to monks, and if they let the dragons make offerings to monks, the sand does not fall over them and they are free from many afflictions. (Note: They can also transform themselves into snakes, and then they do not encounter frogs nor garuḍas.) They eat turtles and crocodiles for physical food. They wash their clothes to increase the pleasure of the tactile sense. They also marry: two bodies touch each other and form yin and yang. Their life span is one kalpa, though some have shorter life spans. They can avoid being eaten by garuḍas. There are sixteen kinds of dragons: (1) Sāgara, (2) Nanda, (3) Upananda, (4) Elā pattra, (5) Dhṛtarāṣṭra, (6) Shanjian, (7) Alu, (8) Qiejuluo (Kāḷa?), (9) Qiepiluo, (10) Apalāla, (11) Qienou, (12) Quqienou, (13) Anavatapta, (14) Supratiṣṭhita, (15) Yuoshanqiebotou, and (16) Takṣaka. 258

Fascicle 6

The Loutan jing T.23:288b1-b8) and the Huayan jing (ref. Chang ahan jing, T.1:127b3-5) say:

The dragon king Sāgara lives at the bottom of the ocean to the north of Mount Sumeru. His palace is seven thousand yojanas long and wide and made of seven jewels. It is surrounded by seven walls, which are decorated with balustrades covering them like a net. In the palace garden, groves, and bathing pool many birds sing in harmony. The palace has golden walls and silver gates. Each gate is two thousand four hundred miles in height and two thousand two hundred miles wide. They are beautifully painted in wonderful colors and constantly guarded by five hundred demons and gods. There it rains according to the dragon king's wishes. Ordinary dragons cannot reach the palace of the dragon king nor stay there. The tide from the palace flows into the ocean. Its color is that of lapis lazuli. The Hailongwang jing (T.598:143a12-28) says:

The dragon king said to the Buddha, "From the beginning of the world age I have lived in the great ocean. From the time of Krakucchanda Buddha there have not been many wives for me nor many children born to me in the ocean. Yet, there are many ocean dragons now." The Buddha told the dragon king, "When someone leaves the householder's life, following the Buddha's teaching, and breaks the precepts but does not abandon the correct views, he does not fall into hell. When such a person ends his life span, he is reborn among dragons." The Buddha told the dragon king, "At the time of Krakucchanda Buddha, nine billion eight hundred million lay followers renounced the householder's life. Those who broke the precepts were all reborn among dragons. At the time of Kanakamuni Buddha, eight billion lay followers renounced the householder's life. Those who broke the precepts and indulged in their whims without restraint were all reborn among dragons when their lives ended. At the time of Jiashe (Kāśyapa) Buddha six billion four hundred million lay followers renounced the householder's life. Those who violated the precepts were all reborn among dragons. During my lifetime, ninety-nine billion lay followers will renounce the householder's life. Those who fight and revile the scriptures and precepts will be reborn among dragons after their death. Those who have 259

319c

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

committed these crimes in the past have for this reason already been reborn in the great ocean. This is the reason why there are countless numbers of dragons in the great ocean. After my death many lay devotees will violate the precepts and will either be reborn among dragons or fall into hell. Furthermore, the Senghu jing (T.749:565c13-15; 566c12-18; 571c4-c7) says:

At that time the World-honored One told the monk Senghu (Saṃgharakṣita), "You saw the dragon king in the great ocean. Having received a dragon's body with fangs, shells, fins, and horns, his appearance is fearsome. He is unapproachable because of his bad smell and his filthiness. Because he has been born as an animal he cannot practice the teaching of renouncing the householder's life. He cannot escape being eaten by the king of garuḍas. "Dragons sleep a lot by nature. There are five occasions in which a dragon cannot hide itself: (1) when it is born, (2) when it dies, (3) when it performs sexual acts, (4) when it is angry, and (5) when it sleeps. "There are also four poisonous flaws because of which he cannot act according to the correct teaching: (1) Because of the flaw of poisonous speech he cannot live according to the teaching. If he speaks and someone hears it, the one who heard him speak is harmed. (2) Because of the flaw of poisonous appearance he cannot live according to the teaching. If someone sees his body he will necessarily harm the one who saw him. (3) Because of the flaw of poisonous breath he cannot live according to the teaching. If he breathes upon someone, the one his breath touches is harmed. (4) Because of the flaw of poisonous touch, he cannot live according to the teaching. If someone touches him, the one who touches him is harmed." 8. Cultivation of Merit

The Pusa chutai jing (T.384:1050c5-1051a27) says:

The Buddha told Zhiji Bodhisattva, "Once, for a period of innumerable world ages, I was a king of the garuḍas. My palace, back garden, and bathing pool were all made of seven jewels. I felt free at heart, just like a universal monarch. I could go into the ocean and look for dragons for food. "At that time, in that ocean there was a dragon that had been born through transformation. On days of fasting it upheld the eight precepts. 260

Fascicle 6

At that time the kings of the garuḍas were eight thousand yojanas in length. Their right and left wings were each four hundred yojanas long. I hit the ocean with my wings in order to seize a dragon. Before the wave ended and the water came back together, I flew out holding the dragon in my beak. When garuḍas eat a dragon, they swallow it tail first. I then proceeded to the great iron tree north of Mount Sumeru, sixty thousand miles in height. Having arrived there, I wished to eat the dragon I had caught and looked for its tail but could not find it. One day and night later, on the next day, the dragon showed its tail for the first time and said to me, 'I am a dragon born through transformation. If I fail to uphold the teaching of the eight precepts on fasting days, you will immediately perish.' "When I heard this, I repented and said, 'The power of the Buddha is very difficult to fathom. I have a palace not far from here. Go there with me and let us enjoy ourselves.' The dragon then followed me to my palace and, looking upon it, said, 'Now these dependents of yours have not heard the Tathāgata's teaching of the eight precepts for fasting days. Let me instruct them on the precepts and rites. Then when their life spans are finished they can be reborn among humans.' Then the dragon read aloud all the teachings of the eight precepts and he preached the following verses at my palace." I am a dragon prince.

I cultivated the Buddha's doctrine for seven thousand world ages. I had a mind that was as sharp as a needle that can pierce the leaves of a tree.

But I broke a precept and was reborn in the body of a dragon. My palace is inside the ocean.

It is also made of seven jewels, gems and crystal, clear moonstones, and gold and silver.

You may follow me there and observe the cultivation of Buddha's teaching,

And further increase the foundation of good deeds.

The Buddha's compassion extends everywhere.

"At that time, the birds heard the dragon's preaching and received the instruction of the eight precepts for fasting days. They spoke out spontaneously, 'From now on until the end of this life span, we will refrain from 261

320a

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

killing as the Buddha taught.' The dependents of the garuḍa received the Three Refuges and followed the dragon to the ocean palace. There was a stupa of seven jewels in which the teachings of the buddhas were hidden. There was also a box of seven jewels filled with Buddhist scriptures. People brought offerings, as in heaven. The dragon said to the garuḍa, 'I have received the body of a dragon and my life span in this body, lasting many world ages, has not yet been exhausted. I have not yet committed killing which would disturb my nature as a being who lives in water.' At that time the male and female dragons achieved understanding. After their life spans were completed they all were reborn in the land of Amitābha Buddha." 9. Pain and Pleasure

According to the scriptures there exist fortunate dragons. Due to their karmic retribution all pleasures are available to them: wives, concubines, and performing girls; clothing, food, and drink; elephants, horses, and the seven precious objects. All these are available. They enjoy leisurely pleasure at will to a much greater degree than do humans. Also in the six heavens of desire there are birds and animals, and they enjoy pleasures at will. On the other hand, there are dragons that have not been greatly blessed with fortune. Every day they are exposed to hot sands and small insects bite them. Among humans, animals are whipped, forced to carry light and heavy burdens, and made to run quickly. There is no freedom for them. They live in the water, on land, or in the sky, but as with insufficient water and grass they fight and harm each other. Again, in the Iron Surrounding Mountains, animals of two realms permanently live together in darkness, subject to pain without relief and they do not enjoy any pleasure even for a brief moment. We cannot describe their pain in detail.

10. Beautiful and Ugly Appearance

According to the scriptures, people love and treasure dragons, supernatural horses, phoenixes, peacocks, parrots, mountain and day pheasants; people hate to see and are unhappy to hear the sounds of monkeys, mountain dogs, wolves, tigers, single-horn water buffaloes, venomous and nonvenomous snakes, owls, and hawks. It is difficult to exhaustively list and describe the good and bad appearances of all creatures. We know whether creatures are noble or ignoble. We cannot describe them here in detail. 262

Fascicle 6

Miracle Stories

(Note: Seven stories are briefly cited:) In the [Cao] Wei dynasty (220-265 C.E.) a monster appeared during the Huangchu period (220-226 C.E.). A monster called Jiaguo appeared in the mountains of the Shu region. A bird monster appeared in the mountains of the Yue region. A sheep monster appeared in Ji Huanzi's well. During the Jin dynasty (265-420 C.E.) a dog monster appeared in the grounds of Huai Yao's house. A dog monster appeared during the time of Yi Xin. Monsters were born [of unions] between human beings and animals, according to the Record of the Western Regions. During the Huangchu period of the [Cao] Wei dynasty a man was traveling at night on a horse in an area of small hills. He saw an animal the size of a rabbit in the middle of the road. Its eyes were like mirrors. It had jumped over a bank and now blocked the horse's passage, preventing it from going ahead. Surprised and frightened, the man fell off the horse. The specter then seized him and the man fainted. After a while he revived. When he revived, the specter had departed and he did not know where it had gone. Thereupon he mounted his horse and traveled on for several miles until he met another man. After exchanging greetings the first man described the strange event that had happened to him and said that he was very happy to have found some company. The second man said, "I am also traveling alone. I am happy beyond words to be able to provide company for you. You should go quickly ahead on your horse. I will follow behind." So the two men traveled together. The second man asked, "What did the thing that frightened you look like?" The first man answered, "Its body was like a rabbit and its eyes were like mirrors. It was very ugly." His traveling companion said, "Just look back at me." The first man looked back and saw that [the man] was again the same specter, which then jumped on the horse; the man fell on the ground and fainted out of fear. The man's family found it strange that his horse came back alone, so they went out looking for him. They found him on the road. After the night had passed he regained consciousness and described his experiences as above. On a high mountain in the southwest region of Shu is a creature similar to a monkey. It is seven feet tall and can walk [upright] like a human being. [This creature,] called Jiaguo, is good at running and chasing people. It is 263

320b

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

also called Mahua, and sometimes it is called Jueyuan. This creature hides on the road. When an adult woman passes by, the creature seizes her and takes her away. People can never find where the abducted person has been taken. When someone passes by this creature, it pulls the person in with a long rope and no one can escape it. This creature can distinguish men from women by smell; it takes women but does not touch men. When the creature gets a woman, it starts a family with her. If the woman is childless she is not allowed to return for the rest of her life. After ten years her appearance changes and she resembles the creature. Her mind is also disturbed and she does not wish to return. If the woman has a child she is sent back home, with the child. The baby always looks human. If she does not raise the child the mother dies immediately. For this reason, captured women are afraid and do not dare to abandon the children they have with the creature. When the children grow up they look no different from any human being. They all have the surname of Yang. Therefore, now in the southwest region of Shu there are many people with the surname Yang, and they are all descendants of Jiaguo or Mahua. Deep in mountains in the land of Yue there is a bird about the size of a pigeon, blue in color, called the zhi bird. It cuts a hole in a big tree and makes a nest that resembles a five- or six-gallon vessel and with an entrance that is several inches in diameter. The nest is decorated all over with [white] clay with red and white sections. The nest looks like a shooting target made of animal skin. When woodcutters see a tree with such a nest, they flee from it. Sometimes in the dark of night someone does not see the bird. The bird also knows that the person has not seen it and calls out, "Oh, how extraordinary! Climb up. Climb up tomorrow. Oh, how extraordinary! Climb down. Climb down tomorrow." Even if the zhi bird does not let the person leave and talks and laughs like a human being, one should never cut down the tree. If an impure and defiled person comes to the place, a tiger appears and guards the area through the night. If the person does not leave the tiger will attack and hurt them. If you were to look at this bird during the day, its form is that of an ordinary bird. Listening to it at night, the sound is also that of an ordinary bird. When pleasure-seekers arrive, these creatures take on human form, three feet in height, harvest crabs from a creek, and roast them at the newcomers' fire. The people cannot touch the creatures. The people of Yue call these birds the ancestors of the priests in the Yue region. 264

Fascicle 6

Ji Huanzi dug a well and obtained an earthenware pot, which contained a yangma ("sheep-horse"). He asked Confucius, "I dug a well and obtained a dog. What does this mean?" Confucius said, "From what I have heard, it should have been a sheep. I heard that the spirits of wood and stones are called quqi ("driving crawler") and wangliang ("mountain spirit"); the spirit in the water is longmang ("dragon spirit"); and the spirit in the ground is called biyang ("beautifully patterned sheep").

The Xiading zhi says that the water monster Wangxiang looks like a threeyear-old child: its eyes are red; it is black in color; it has large ears, long arms, and red nails. If you catch this creature, you can eat it. The Wangzi says, "The spirit of wood is floating light; the spirit of metal is clear brilliance."

During the Yuangang period (291-299 C.E.) of the Jin dynasty (265-420 C.E.), in Huai Yao's house in the Lou district of Wu Commandery, the sound of puppies was suddenly heard. The place over the sound had a small hole, like a hole made by an earthworm. Yao poked into the hole with a stick. The stick went in for several feet and then struck something. Yao then dug up the place and found one male and one female puppy. Their eyes had not yet opened. Their size was that of ordinary dogs. Yao fed the dogs and they ate. Neighbors all came to see the dogs. An elder said, "These dogs are called Xi dogs. If one obtains them, his family will prosper." Because their eyes had not opened, Yao put the puppies back and covered the surface of the ground with soil, patting it down so that the spot was flat. When Yao looked for the place after a while, there was no hole and he could not find its exact location. For many years there was no particular fortune or misfortune in Yao's family. During the Daxing period (318-321 C.E.), in the government office of Wu Commandery, two animals, similar to the two dogs described above, were found. After that the governor, Zhang Mao, was killed by the soldiers of Wuxing. The Shizi says, "There is a dog in the ground. The dog is called Ground Wolf. There is a man in the ground. The man is called No Harm." The Xiading zhi says, "If one digs the ground and obtains a dog, the dog is called Gu; if one digs the ground and obtains a pig, the pig is called Xie; if one digs the ground and obtains a man, the man is called Ju," Ju is the same as No Harm mentioned above. All these are natural creatures; we should 320c

265

321a

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

not call them spirits or treat them as if they were monsters. The dogs in the ground described here have been called by names other than Ground Wolf but their substance is one and same.

The book Wanbi by the Prince of Huainan says, "The liver of the one thousand-year-old sheep becomes the minister of the earth (dizai); if a toad obtains gu grass, at that time the toad becomes a quail." These are all the products of the transformation of material substance (qi). Cosmic responses cause these confusing phenomena.

An old woman of the Gaoxin clan lived in a king's palace. She suffered from an ear disease, and a doctor later treated her, digging out a worm the size of a silk cocoon from her ear. After the lady left, the doctor placed the worm inside a gourd-shaped fence and covered it with a bowl. Suddenly the worm became a dog with a pattern of five colors. Therefore, the people called the dog Panhu (Bowl Gourd), and kept it.

At that time, the barbarous people called Wu were very powerful and frequently invaded the border region. The king sent his generals against the invaders, but they could not achieve victory and capture the barbarians. So the king announced publicly that if some able person were to obtain the head of the general of the Wu barbarians, he would be rewarded with one thousand ounces of gold, a tract of land with ten thousand families, and even the king's own young daughter.

Later Panhu came to the palace gate, holding a severed human head. When the king inspected it, the head turned out to be none other than the head of the general of the Wu barbarians. What should the king do? All the ministers said, "Panhu is an animal, he should not be given the income of an official, nor should he be given a wife. Although he has performed a meritorious service, we should give him nothing." The young daughter of the king heard this and said to the king, "The great king offered me to anyone in the realm under heaven. Panhu came holding the head in his mouth, having removed a harmful enemy for the sake of the state. Heaven has caused this. How could such a deed be attributed to the intelligence of a dog? The king treats faithfulness to his words as a weighty matter. The military leader treats his credibility before the people as a weighty matter. You should not renege on your promise, made clearly to everyone in the realm under heaven, just for the sake of the insignificant body of a young 266

Fascicle 6

daughter. That would lead to misfortunes in the state." The king was afraid and obeyed her, allowing his young daughter to go with Panhu. Panhu took the woman to Mount Zhongnan, where the grasses and trees were dense and there were no traces of human paths. Thereupon, the woman removed her top robe and took on the appearance of a young servant, carrying a spear with a single twisted point. Following Panhu, she climbed the mountain, entered the valley, and they finally stopped at a rock cave. The king yearned for her and sent people to look for her, but the winds and rains came and the peaks quaked under the dark clouds. None of those who went [in search of her] ever found her. In this way, three years or so passed during which the woman gave birth to six sons and six daughters. After Panhu's death their sons and daughters married each other. They wove cloth with wood bark and dyed them with grass seeds. They liked clothing of five colors, and so they cut and sewed the materials they prepared to wear as clothes. After a while the woman returned and spoke to the king. The king sent for the men and women who were the woman's offspring, and it did not rain anymore. These people wore loose clothes, spoke a foreign language, and drank and ate while crouching. They loved the mountain and hated the capital city. The king followed their wishes and granted them famous mountains and wide marshes. He called them the Manyi barbarians. Manyi barbarians appear ignorant from the outside, but they are intelligent within. The king granted land to them again and again. Because they were endowed with an unusual substance from heaven, these creatures were treated differently by the ruler. They sold the products of their fields and were exempt from government taxation. All the heads of their villages were provided with a seal. They use otter skin for their crowns and live in leisure near water. The barbarians who presently live in the Liang, Han, Ba, Shu, Wuling, Changshe, and Lu Jiang regions are their descendants. They mix different kinds of fish and meat and sing while banging on buckets, and they sacrifice to Panhu regularly. This custom is preserved even today. Therefore, people say that the Jigan and Hengrun people are Panhu's descendants. (All the above six stories come from the Soushen ji.)

The Record of the Western Regions by Dharma Master Xuanzang (T.2087: 932b18-933a14) says:

267

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

321b

The kingdom of Siṃhala (Note: This is not a kingdom in India but since it is on the route to India its description is appended.) was originally a treasure island. There are many rare treasures and ghosts and spirits dwell there. Later there was a king in South India whose daughter visited a neighboring state. She was sent back on an auspicious day but encountered a lion on the road. Her guards abandoned her and fled. The woman was in a carriage and she accepted the fate of death.

The lion king carried her away on his back. He entered deep mountains and dark valleys, catching deer and collecting fruit, to provide for her needs regularly. Months and years later, the woman gave birth to a boy and a girl. They looked human in appearance but their nature was like that of animals. When the boy grew up his physical power matched that of carnivorous animals. While he was still young he displayed human intelligence. So he asked his mother, "What am I? My father is a wild animal and my mother is human. As I do not belong to one category, how am I to marry?" The mother then told her son the events of the past. The son said, "Humans and animals belong to two different categories of existence. We must escape as soon as possible." The mother said, "I once tried to escape but I could not succeed by myself."

Thereafter the son followed his lion father, climbing mountains from peak to peak, observing how his father roamed and rested, so that he would know how to escape from him. Finally, when the father was away he carried his mother on his back and went to a village. The mother said, "Let's be careful about the secret and not tell others about your origin. If people learn our past they will despise us." In the kingdom of the woman's father's the government was no longer ruled by her family and the ancestral shrine had been destroyed. So they stayed with a villager. People asked them, "Which is your kingdom?" They said, "We originally were from this kingdom but we have been roaming around in foreign regions. Together we, a son and his mother, have now returned to our home village." All the people took pity on them and gave them food.

When the lion king returned he found his lair empty. He missed his wife and child and became angry. So he went out into the mountains and valleys, roaming around the villages and uttering frightening roars. He attacked people and animals with great cruelty. When the villagers were 268

Fascicle 6

away from their village and let down their guard, he caught and killed them. Only when they struck drums and blew conch shells, carried arrows on their backs and held shields, and traveled in groups could they avoid being harmed.

The king feared that his humane government was being disrupted, and undisciplined hunters wanted to capture the lion. The king himself led four divisions of soldiers and tried many different strategies, laying ambushes in forests and bushes and traveling across mountains and valleys. Yet when the lion roared both people and animals fled in fear. Because he could not capture the lion, the king made an announcement: "Whoever catches the lion and removes this pest from the kingdom will be heavily rewarded and honored with flags."

When the son heard the king's announcement he said to his mother, "We have suffered from hunger and cold for a long time. I should respond to the announcement. If I can catch the lion I can provide comfort for you." The mother said, "What you say is not right. If it is that lion, even if it is an animal, it is still your father. How can you commit the eternal sin of patricide because of life's hardships?" The son said, "Humans and animals belong to different species. How could there be ceremonial conduct and righteousness in this case? We have already disobeyed him. Why should we change our minds?"

Thereupon, he drew a dagger and went out to respond to the announcement. At this time, thousands of soldiers and horsemen were gathering together, like clouds or fog. The lion huddled in the forest and nobody dared to approach him. Because the lion was his former father, however, the son could approach him. The lion became affectionate and forgot his anger. Thereupon, the son thrust the dagger into the lion's belly. The lion, still loving and free from anger, and with his belly cut open and bearing his pain, died.

The king said, "Who is this man? How extraordinary is this!" He tempted him with rewards and threatened him with horrifying punishment. Thereupon, the son described the details of his circumstances. The king said, "This amounts to the crime of patricide! You went so far as to kill your father. How much more willing would you be to kill those who are not your parents? Animals are difficult to tame and they are easily affected 269

A Forest of Pearls from the Dharma Garden, Volume I

321c

by evil emotions." The king turned to the others and said, "But this man has also performed the highly meritorious service of removing the lion that was harming everyone's lives. He has committed a crime by terminating his father's life. Reward him greatly to match his service. Exile him afar as punishment for his crime. Then we shall not counter the law of the state and at the same time we are not reversing my earlier promise of a reward." On hearing these words, the people filled two boats with a great deal of food and supplies. The mother remained in the country and was provided generously with rewards. The son and the daughter set off in separate boats, drifting along with the waves. The boat carrying the son floated into the ocean and reached the treasure island [of Siṃhala]. Seeing plentiful rare types of jade, the son settled there. Later, a merchant traveling to gather treasures also reached this island. The son killed the merchant and kept his children and women. Thus, the son's descendants increased, and eventually they established the ranks of ruler and ministers to maintain hierarchical order. They linked the cities [with roads] and built villages, forming a feudal territory. Because their ancestor had captured a lion, this ancestral feat was used as the name of the state.

The daughter's boat drifted to Pārṣa. There, bewitched by spirits, she gave birth and raised numerous daughters. The consequence of this is the current Western Country of Big Women. For these reasons, the people of Lion Country (Siṃhala) are dark and base in appearance, with square jaws and large foreheads. They have a violent temperament and are resistant to poisoning. This is all because they inherited something of animal nature. It is also said that these people are often courageous and strong. In the Buddhist records, if one follows the Qishi jing, in the past five hundred female demons lived within an iron city on this treasure island. Furthermore (ref. Record of the Western Regions, T.2087:870a27-b7), in a large dragon pond in front of the divine shrine to the north of the city at the eastern border of the state of Kucha, dragons transformed their appearance and mated with mares. This led to the birth of the hybrid dragon horse. They were then tamed and ridden. For this reason, this state produced many good horses.

We heard the following story from an early gazetteer. Not too long ago, there was a king, called Suvarṇapuṣpa, who established an enlightened 270

Fascicle 6

government and who communed with and rode a dragon. When the king wished to go underground he touched the dragon's ear with his whip. It then disappeared into hidden places. The city does not have wells even now so people used the water of the dragon pond. The dragon changed his appearance into that of a human being and mated with many women. The children born from this union were brave and could run as fast as horses. Through this contamination, all of the people in this state came to have the dragon seed. Being so strong, they terrified others and they did not honor the king's order. Thereupon, the king plotted and brought in some Turks (Tujue) to murder them. Both young and old were massacred and there were no survivors. Their city is now deserted and no smoke, which would indicate human communities, is ever seen to rise from there. (The above two miracles come from the Biography of Dharma Master Xuanzang.)

Compiler's Comment: I have frequently heard ignorant people of wrong views say, "There is a difference between noble and humble; humans and animals differ from each other. How could a human being become an animal or an animal a human being? The teaching of the Buddha is empty and false, not based on reality." Why do you hold on to ignorant views and not believe the sayings of the Buddha? The above examples are described in detail in secular scriptures and histories. If you were to see the phenomenon with your own eyes, would you still disbelieve it? If one's conduct is compassionate and patient, then the outcome will be exactly like that of Zhi, Prince of Chu, whose chronic diseases were all cured. Or it will be like the case of the Duke of Song: even though he did not pray, the inauspicious stars disappeared in the evening. If one's conduct is evil then the consequence is illustrated by events such as the following: The Han people poisoned Ruyi, Prince of Zhao, and a blue dog appeared; the Qi people murdered Pengsheng and the wild boar became the curse. Even short-lived consequences illustrate the principle. How much more clearly does the relationship between one's conduct as cause and good and evil karmic results prove the truthfulness of the principle— sentient beings rise and fall among different realms of existence and receive punishments through many eons!

271