Rebirth of Lady Wang and the Concubine, of the Song Dynasty
Lady Wang, the Empress of Yue, was the wife of Prince Jing, an uncle of Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty. Lady Wang exclusively practised the Pure Land dharma gate, doing so without interruption, day and night. She encouraged all the concubines and maids to also aspire for rebirth in the Western Pure Land. One concubine was particularly lazy and careless, so Lady Wang said, "I cannot let one person like you disrupt my rules." She then expelled her from the group. The concubine, frightened and regretful, became diligent and never slackened in her efforts. One day, the concubine told the other concubines: “I am leaving soon!” That night, everyone smelled a wondrous fragrance filling the room; the concubine had already attained rebirth without any illness.
The next night, another concubine told Lady Wang, “Last night, I dreamt of the concubine who attained rebirth asking me to thank you for her. She said it was because of your instructions and guidance that she could be reborn in the Pure Land. She is endlessly grateful for your kindness.” Lady Wang replied, “I’ll believe you only if she appears in my dream.” That night, the deceased concubine appeared in Lady Wang’s dream, expressing gratitude, exactly like the other concubine had described.
Lady Wang asked, “Can I also be reborn in the Pure Land?” The concubine answered, “Yes!” She guided Lady Wang toward a large lotus pond filled with lotuses of different sizes and in various states—some flourishing, others withered. Lady Wang asked why the lotuses were so different in appearance. The concubine explained, “When people in the world aspire to be reborn in the Western Pure Land, a lotus flower blooms in this pond with the arising of a single thought. However, because some people are diligent while others are lazy, the lotus flowers differ in terms of how lush or withered they are. Those who practise diligently have beautiful blooming lotuses, while those who are lazy and neglectful have withered ones. If one practises diligently and continues without interruption for a long time, when their mindfulness and visualisation are perfected, and when their physical form perishes and their consciousness leaves this world, they will undoubtedly be reborn in the lotus bud.
Later, they saw a seated person dressed in official attire and adorned with a precious crown and jewelry. Lady Wang asked, "Who is this person?" The concubine replied, "Yang Jie." There was another seated person in official attire with a rather withered lotus, and Lady Wang asked again, "Who is this person?" The answer was, "Ma Yu." Lady Wang then asked, "Where will I be reborn?" The concubine led her for several li[1] until they saw a lotus platform, dazzling with gold and jade, its light bright and clear. The concubine said, "This is where you will be reborn, on a golden platform of the highest level of the highest grade!" Upon waking, Lady Wang felt a mix of joy and sorrow.
In the same year, on the day of her birthday, she got up in the morning and then held a censer and burned incense while she stood gazing at the Guanyin Pavilion. As her family was about to approach her to wish her happy birthday, they found that she had already attained rebirth while standing. (The Collection of Pure Land Literature, or Lebang Wenlei)
[1] li, a traditional Chinese unit of length. 1 li is equal to 500 meters.
- Excerpt from ‘Records of the Pure Land Sages’
