CHINESE SUPERSTITIONS - University of Oregon

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A youth placed nearby noticed that the basket contained 4 little
dwarfs, onlv a few inches in height, richly dressed and of exquisite
Li ^ of the discovery he had made. The
beauty. He warned M 1
monk was, therefore, invited to stay in the house, and give the
names of his "little heavenly kings". Their names, said he, are:
Hsi-ts'ilen }j* -$ t Wan-kieh ^ $£, S/iu/i-hv'an §§ $g, and Chang*
k l
i ^ ^E. He remained in the place for about a hundred days.
This monk was not a vegetarian (1), ;
as his other brethren he
ate
meat, and enjoyed a glass of wine like ordinary mortals. The
Prefect of Yenchow-fu ^ ^'H j{-f, in Shantung |jj ^,
named Liu
Hsing-peh ||lj fit f£|, invited him to his official residence, whereupon
the monk took up his basket, and proceeded to the place. The
Prefect wished to examine the contents of the basket with his own
eyes, but strange to say, he found therein only a used up garment
and the monk's begging-bowl.
2' The monk expires for the first time.
Pei-tn jpf, $g returned to Mr Li's house, and one morning said
to him: "prepare a new garment for me to-day;
sorely". About mid-day, he went out, saying
I shall need it
he would be back in
a short time. Evening, however, set in, and he had not yet
returned. An extraordinary fragrance was perceived throughout the
whole village ; later on, some one said that the monk was seen lying
at the foot of a hill to the North, clad in a new garment, and
apparently dead. Lotus flowers (2) sprang up beside his head, and
shedding a sweet fragrance around, withered away
night.
monk.
M r
Li ^ buried respectfully the corpse
3° The Monk returns to life.
after the first
of the deceased
Several days after his demise, the monk was seen as usual
(1) See on Buddhist abstinence and Vegetarian Sects. Chinese Super-
stitions. Vol. IV. p. 451-463.
(2) The Lotus is a symbo of self-creation. Every
Buddha and Bodhi-
sattva is supported by a Lotus flower, to indicate his divine birth. Getty.
The Gods of Northern Buddhisn p. 172.