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CHINESE SUPERSTITIONS - University of Oregon

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— 441 —<br />

but were later on restored to the monastery, where they may be<br />

seen at the present day.<br />

In A.D. 1276, when the Mongol troops pursued Ti-ping '^f |||,<br />

last emperor <strong>of</strong> the Southern Sung- dynasty, Nan-Sang ]§ ^, to<br />

the South, and defeated him in Kwanglung Jf j|f (1),<br />

soldiers violated<br />

the tomb <strong>of</strong> the patriarch, and even went so far as to rip open the<br />

abdomen with a sword-thrust. On seeing<br />

that the heart and liver<br />

were still in a perfect state <strong>of</strong> preservation, they were filled with<br />

fear, and proceeded no further in their sacrilegious fury.<br />

The relics <strong>of</strong> Hwei-neng comprise<br />

a rich mantle bestowed on<br />

him by the emperor Hsuen-tsuug j|f ^ (A.D. 713-756), a begging-<br />

bowl made <strong>of</strong> precious wood, sandals <strong>of</strong> unknown material, 16 or 17<br />

pages <strong>of</strong> the Saddliarma-Pundurika (2), or Lotus <strong>of</strong> the Good Law,<br />

Fah-hwa-king j^ ip ^, and parcels<br />

in a small c<strong>of</strong>fer.<br />

<strong>of</strong> Buddha's bones contained<br />

At the time that the patriarch lived, a dragon abode in a deep<br />

lake, and inflicted much injury on the inhabitants <strong>of</strong> the country.<br />

Hwei-neng ||p "|£ <strong>of</strong>fered to assist them, and said : "you<br />

shall see<br />

the monster reduce in size". Hereupon, the dragon became smaller<br />

and smaller, and the patriarch received him in a bowl (3), which he<br />

placed in the monastery. In A.D. 1171, the dragon<br />

seen there.<br />

2°. Biography<br />

could still be<br />

as found in the General Mirror <strong>of</strong> Gods and<br />

Immortals, Shen-sien t'ung-kien ]ffi f[|j 3^ |§£ (4).<br />

(1)<br />

The defeated Chinese General drove his wife and family into the sea,<br />

then taking the young emperor on his shoulders, he jumped in after them,<br />

and thus all perished in the waters. M c Gowan. The Imperial History <strong>of</strong><br />

China, p. 435.<br />

(2) Saddharmct-Pundarika. One <strong>of</strong> the canonical books <strong>of</strong> the Nepalese,<br />

and the standard classic <strong>of</strong> the Lotus School. See Chinese Superstitions.<br />

Vol. VI p. 214. note 2.<br />

.'! See Illustration n° 07, representing Hwei-neng and the dragon.<br />

(4) General Mirror <strong>of</strong> Gods and Immortals, Shen-sien t'ung-kien %$ f|lj ill<br />

®t A Taoist work, published in IG40. A 2 ud edition was published in 1700,<br />

in 22 books; and a 3 rd and revised one in 1787, in 30 books. Wylie. Notes<br />

on Chinese Literature, p. 223.

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