RAS-1961 — Page 86

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch

RASHKB and author

Vol. 1 (1961)

ISSN 1991-7295

82

floated up again, until the Buddha of Light transformed himself into a monk to advise the elder that it was not a lump of flesh, and that inside it were five children.

No-cha's mother was pregnant for three years and six months. I think this is derived from the Pei-yu-chi ( "The Dark God Chên-wu or The Voyage to the North"), Ch.6, which depicts one of the re-incarnations of the god Chên-wu (EH). In that story it is said the queen of Li T'ien-fu (X), a king of the Kingdom of Hsi-hsia (E), was pregnant for three years and sixty days. The king was vexed about it and thought it inauspi- cious. When the baby was born at last, the whole chamber was "full of an extraordinary fragrance."

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4. THE COMBAT AND THE STORY OF THE PAGODA-BEARER

When No-cha was only seven he was six feet in height. It was in the fifth month, the weather was hot and that made No-cha irritable and uneasy. He went to request his mother to allow him to go out of the Pass for a walk. The mother was very fond of him and approved his request but said, "You must be accompanied by an attendant and must not stay outside very long lest your father should come back.” (Fêng-shên Yen-i, Ch.12)

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In Ch. of the Nan-yu-chi we read: "The young Intelligent Light (XAF) prostrated before his mother and said, "Your son knows that the hills around here have lovely scenery. Please allow me to ramble about them.' The mother said, 'You may go, but you must be accompanied by an old servant, lest you rush into calamity. Do not stay too long and forget your home-work. When we come back again to the Fêng-shên, we read: No-cha and the attendant went out of the Pass for about one li, when he was covered with perspiration and could not continue the journey. They decided to rest under the shade of some willows. Sitting there he unfastened his waist belt, opened his coat and enjoyed the cool air. A stream of green water running between two banks of willows with a lively current was in front of them. A gentle breeze blew over its surface, and the murmur of the water flowing through the rocks could be heard. No-cha hastened to the bank and cried out, "I will bathe here on the rock." "Hurry up," the attendant reminded him, "and take care of yourself. Your father will be anxious if he returns and does not find you. No-cha agreed. He stripped off his clothes, and dipped his seven feet of red silk gauze, which covered his body, into the water as a towel. When this precious gauze was immersed in the water its brilliant ray turned the river to a reddish