10. Tao-jung
[OMITTED]
The nun Tao-jung (Look of the Way) of New Grove Convent
Tao-jung originally lived in Black River Convent of Li-yang [southwest
of the capital, along the north bank of the Yangtze River], where
her practice of the monastic rules was lofty and undefiled.[77] She was
good in the arts of divination and could predict fortune and misfortune.
People in the surrounding area passed it about that she was a
holy person.
The Emperor Ming (300-323-326) of Chin[78] revered her and
secretly spread flowers under her sitting mat to verify whether she was
an ordinary worldling or really was holy—the flower did not wither
[thus her holiness was confirmed].[79]
Many years after that, before the Emperor Chien-wen (320-371372)
ascended the throne,[80] he first honored as teacher the Taoist master
of Pure Water.[81] This Taoist master was known in the capital by
the name of Wang P'u-yang. The future emperor built a Taoist worship
hall in his own mansion, and, although Tao-jung frequently tried
to guide him to the Way [of Buddhism], he did not listen to her. Later,
however, each time the future emperor entered his Taoist worship
hall, he would see spirits in the form of Buddhist monks filling the
whole room. He suspected Tao-jung was responsible, but he could not
prove it.
After Chien-wen's accession to the throne a flock of crows [an evil
omen], nested in the emperor's own palace. He employed a fortune-teller
named Ch'ü An-yüan to divine it, and the fortune-teller reported
back to him saying, "Southwest of here lives a female master who can
destroy this evil omen."
[82] Therefore the emperor sent an envoy to
Black River Convent to welcome Tao-jung to his presence to consult
about the matter.
Tao-jung said, "Your majesty need only hold a pure vegetarian fast
for seven days and receive and keep the eight fundamental Buddhist
precepts; then of itself the omen will disappear."[83] The emperor, with
proper demeanor and concentrated mind, carried out her orders, and,
before the seven days were over, the crows all flocked together, moved
their nests, and left. The emperor then deeply trusted and respected
Tao-jung and built a convent for her, providing all the necessities. The
convent was called New Grove [Convent] after the grove of trees in
which it stood.
The emperor served Tao-jung with all the rites proper to serving a
teacher, and, furthermore, he honored the True Law [of the Buddha].
That the people of the Chin dynasty in subsequent years respected the
Way of the Buddha was because of Tao-jung's strong influence. By the
time of Emperor Hsiao-wu (362-373-396) [who succeeded Chien-wen
to the throne], Tao-jung was even more respected and honored.
In the t'ai-yüan reign period (376-396), she suddenly disappeared,
and no one knew where she was.[84] The emperor issued an order to
bury the robe and begging bowl that she had left behind, and for this
reason there is a grave mound next to the convent.
[77]
Li-yang in present-day Anhui Province. See map.
[78]
Emperor Ming (Chin shu, chap. 6; Wei shu, chap. 96).
[79]
See introduction. It could also imply the suggestion of the Buddha
seated on a lotus blossom.
[80]
Because Chien-wen, youngest son of Emperor Yüan (276-322-323),
was never a crown prince, he is referred to merely as the future emperor. At
the death of his predecessor he was chosen by a group of officials to be the
emperor. Even when he was young, he was especially beloved of his father,
one of whose officials had said that Chien-wen was a man capable of restoring
the fortunes of the Chin dynasty. His third son and successor, Hsiao-wu,
while in a drunken stupor died by suffocation at the hands of a consort (
Chin
shu, chap. 9;
Wei shu, chap. 96).
[81]
The text is ambiguous as to whether Pure Water is a place-name, for
there is such a place, or is a type of Taoist practice. "Pure water" (Ch'ing shui)
can also refer to saliva. See Maspero, Le Taoïsme, p. 527, n.2.
[82]
Ch'ü An-yüan. See Kao seng chuan 5:356.c.19-20; and Chin shu,
chap. 76, where he is described as a wonder worker (pu shu chih jen).
[83]
A common list of the eight is the five precepts described above (in n.
52), plus the sixth, refraining from applying perfume to the body, wearing
adornments, watching entertainments or listening to singing; the seventh,
refraining from sitting or lying on a high and wide bed; and the eighth,
refraining from eating at proscribed times, i.e., after noon.
[84]
A Taoist way of death is to disappear and leave behind a sandal or a
robe. See Maspero, Le Taoïsme, p. 335.
