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CHINESE SUPERSTITIONS - University of Oregon

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— 483 —<br />

When travelling' in the streets and lanes, he walked at times<br />

barefoot, and at others wore a pair <strong>of</strong> wooden cloys. He ever<br />

carried on his back a small wicker-basket. His teacher, named<br />

Fah-i Tao-jen fe ^ jj| \ (1), lived in the monastery <strong>of</strong> Yen-sien-<br />

sze. During- his early training, this teacher treated him with great<br />

consideration, and let him have a private cell beside his own one.<br />

One day, he reached the brink <strong>of</strong> the Kwa-pu river, Kwa-pu-<br />

kiang /T\ j£ jf£, and begged the ferryman to take him across, but<br />

this latter refused. Hereupon, our monk laid his begging-bowl on<br />

the water, stepped into it, and in a moment found himself at the<br />

other side <strong>of</strong> the river.<br />

Subsequently, he proceeded to Kwang-ling |if |||,<br />

ing a village,<br />

encountered there a certain M r<br />

invited several Buddhist monks to perform<br />

and on reach-<br />

Li ^, who had<br />

in his house the cere-<br />

mony <strong>of</strong> "releasing souls out <strong>of</strong> Hades", Tso-chai f^ ^ (2;. Fei-tu<br />

|?» $t ^d down his basket in the midst <strong>of</strong> the courtyard, quite in<br />

front <strong>of</strong> the doorway, and advanced towards the central hall <strong>of</strong> the<br />

house. The guests and the monks themselves were disgusted in<br />

seeing a man covered with rags and filth associate with them. M r<br />

Li ^£, observing that the basket obstructed the passage, and hin-<br />

dered his friends from entering, wished to place it near the wall.<br />

As he endeavoured to remove it, he found it was impossible<br />

to do<br />

so. Some friends came to his assistance, but with no greater<br />

success. Meanwhile, our monk seated himself at table, and enjoyed<br />

with his brethren a hearty meal. The dinner being over, Pei-tu ffi<br />

•$£ took up the basket, and exclaimed: "Four heavenly kings" (3).<br />

(1) Tao-jen *f A- Up to A. D. 500, Buddhists called themselves Taojen<br />

M Ai i- e - men seeking for reason, or intelligent men, denoting thereby<br />

their aspirations after Bodhi (enlightenment). Chinese Superstitions. Vol.<br />

VI. p. 217. note 3.<br />

(2) Tso-chai f# j$f. See this Buddhist ceremony<br />

described. Chinese<br />

Superstitions. iJVol. I. p. 151-153.<br />

(3)<br />

Kings,<br />

These must not be confounded with the 4 Maharajas, or Diamond<br />

Sze-ta t'ien-wang ;*: ^ 3E, already described in this volume.<br />

Chinese Superstitions, p. 394-408.'<br />

32

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