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CHINESE SUPERSTITIONS - University of Oregon

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— 465 —<br />

J§. It is very high, and in the neighbourhood <strong>of</strong> the Julai ^p ^<br />

1<br />

,. At that<br />

peak, and that <strong>of</strong> the Seven Buddhas, Ts'ih-fuh Jfc fjjj<br />

time, it afforded a retreat to wild animals, panthers,<br />

bears etc.<br />

The monk supplied them with a special kind <strong>of</strong> food, which succeeded<br />

in taming them, so that they withdrew to their dens, and caused<br />

no further harm to the inhabitants <strong>of</strong> the place. Throughout the<br />

whole country, he was universally honoured, and known as the<br />

scholarly monk Fu, Fu-ta-shi $}. -fr db- He- had a copy <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Suddharma-pundarika (1), or Lotus <strong>of</strong> the Good Law, Fah-hwa-king<br />

$c ^ $£.-> lD his little temple, and studied it day and night.<br />

Wu-ti jj£ ^, founder <strong>of</strong> the Liang ^ dynasty,<br />

special esteem. During his stay at Nanking ffo ffi,<br />

held him in<br />

the monarch<br />

<strong>of</strong>fered him a longevity staff, a begging-bowl, some crystal articles,<br />

gems and brass crowns for the statues <strong>of</strong> his 7 Buddhas. He cared<br />

little to have the hair <strong>of</strong> his head shaved regularly,<br />

are wont to do. Probably<br />

not make the monk.<br />

as Buddhists<br />

he felt that the cowl and the habit did<br />

It has been stated in the article on Bodhidharma (2), that<br />

Wu-ti ]j£ ^f, in a conversation with Fu-ta-shi ^ ^; i, asked<br />

him how to escape from the endless wheel <strong>of</strong> metempsychosis.<br />

"The only means, replied the monk, is by following<br />

the advice <strong>of</strong><br />

Bodhidharma". He was, therefore, at Nanking, when this famous<br />

Indian Patriarch happened to pass through that city, proceeding to<br />

the kingdom <strong>of</strong> Wei fj|.<br />

After his death, the emperor Chung-hsien t& |p£ repaired to<br />

Wu chow ^ jl'l'l,<br />

and had a tower erected there in memory<br />

<strong>of</strong> the<br />

monk. When about to return, he secured a large bone <strong>of</strong> the<br />

deceased, which he placed at the foot <strong>of</strong> the Dragonless Hill, Puh-<br />

(1) Saddharma-pundarika,<br />

Superstitions. Vol. VII. p. 441. note 2.<br />

or Lotus <strong>of</strong> the Good Law. See Chinese<br />

(2) Chinese Superstitions. Vol. VII. p. 'i27 (Bodhidharma. 28«'i Indian,<br />

and First Chinese Patriarch).

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