Foreign Priests.

THE Buddhist priest, T‘i-k‘ung, relates that when he was at Ch‘ing-chou he saw two foreign priests of very extraordinary appearance. They wore rings in their ears, were dressed in yellow cloth, and had curly hair and beards. They said they had come from the countries of the west; and hearing that the Governor of the district was a devoted follower of Buddha, they went to visit him. The Governor sent a couple of servants to escort them to the monastery of the place, where the abbot, Ling-p‘ei, did not receive them very cordially; but the secular manager, seeing that they were not ordinary individuals, entertained them and kept them there for the night. Some one asked if there were many strange men in the west, and what magical arts were practised by the Lohans; whereupon one of them laughed, and putting forth his hand from his sleeve, showed a small pagoda, fully a foot in height, and beautifully carved, standing upon the palm. Now very high up in the wall there was a niche; and the priest threw the pagoda up to it, when lo! it stood there firm and straight. After a few moments the pagoda began to incline to one side, and a glory, as from a relic of some saint, was diffused throughout the room. The other priest then bared his arms, and stretched out his left until it was five or six feet in length, at the same time shortening his right arm until it dwindled to nothing. He then stretched out the latter until it was as long as his left arm.

番僧

釋體空言：「在青州，見二番僧，像貌奇古；耳綴雙環，被黃布，鬚髮鬈如。自言從西域來。聞太守重佛，謁之。太守遣二隸，送詣叢林。和尚靈轡，不甚禮之。執事者見其人異，私款之，止宿焉。或問：『西域多異人，羅漢得無有奇術否？』其一囅然笑，出手于袖，掌中托小塔，高裁盈尺，玲瓏可愛。壁上最高處，有小龕，僧擲塔其中，矗然端立，無少偏倚。視塔上有舍利放光，照耀一室。少間，以手招之，仍落掌中。其中僧乃袒臂，伸左肱，長可六七尺，而右肱縮無有矣；轉伸右肱，亦如左狀。」