(Narrated by Wu Che, the Emperor' s Court Councillor and Assistant)

In the winter of the 26th year of Kai Yuan (738 AD) in Shen Du, there was a senior government official called Zhang Yi, who had been very filial to his parents from young. After his parents passed away, he was very much afraid that they had fallen into the evil paths. He sincerely wanted to repay their kindness in bringing him up and had always thought of saving them. Hence, he made a vow and wholeheartedly went into the hills to uphold the Usnisa Vijaya Dharani hoping to witness his late parents reborn in a peaceful and happy place. Day and night he diligently recited the Dharani, continuously and earnestly seeking response for six years. During this time, he never saw his parents. He suspected that the Mantra was not effective and began to have doubts over its efficacy. He lost his faith and just as he was about to stop reciting the Mantra, an old man with a very distinctive countenance suddenly appeared before him, saying, "It is not that the Mantra is not efficacious, nor is it that you have not been sincere in your recitation, but it has been a long time since the Buddha attained nirvana, so the translated text that you have now is full of errors, and many sentences in the Mantra have been left out, therefore causing it to lose its efficacy"

The old man immediately transmitted the Dharani verbally so that Zhang Yi could follow his verbal rhyme and make a copy of it. "Recite the Dharaniaccording to this copy for seven days, and you will definitely see your late parents and know their place of rebirth," the

old man told him. Very respectfully, Zhang Yi bowed to offer reverence, but when he looked up, the old man was nowhere to be found.

"Who was the wise sage that appeared to guide me?" he thought to hirnself. He was very surprised, but became even more sincere and concentrated all his attention towards upholding and reciting the version taught by the old man. At the beginning of the sixth day, his late parents appeared before him; they were still as loving as they had been when they were alive. Hugging and crying, they were both happy and sad, completely overcome with emotion, at a meeting of beings between the two realms (spiritual and human). His father told Zhang Yi, "After death, we fell into the big hell and suffered all types of pain and miseries. In these past few years, the transference of merits from your sincere and whole-hearted recitation of the Mantra has gradually reduced our sufferings. Only recently were we reborn in heaven. Now we have come from the higher realm to see you." Although the powerful aura radiating from their celestial bodies caused them to look rather different, their original appearance could still be recognised. The father clearly explained the causes and conditions of their present existence, just as when he was alive.

When any filial son hears of this miraculous incident, how could he not place his heart in this saintly teaching? However, what good will there be in indulging in the six desires under the delusion of seeking pleasure and enjoyment? Moreover, the story of how the Buddha's great disciple Maudgalyayana saved his mother from the realm of hungry ghost was all recorded in the Sutras. Now Official Zhang's sincerity, too, had such efficacious results.

Later, a monk who recited this divine Dharani transmitted that if one recited this Dharani in thc presence of relics, one would experience many levels of realms. This monk came to Dongdu and all these efficacious incidents were recorded and were madc known to many people. Many Buddhist followers propagated and spread this information.

In mid-April in the 3rd year of Chang Qing (823 AD), the retired

officer in charge of palace horses of the Fengtian District, Yang Qiu Man, moved back to Puban and lived in his old house at Stone Lane in the eastern side of the city. He upheld Buddhapala's version of the Usnisa Vijaya Dharani as his regular recitation for 15 years, and had never laxed in his practice. Arriving back at Puban for several months, one night he dreamt of a divine being with a very unique appearance, clad in a full suit of armour, saying, "Since you are so sincere in upholding this Dharani, why don't you pay a visit to a monk of the Jing Fu Monastery at the Eastern Lane who upholds this practice? He has the efficacious version of the Dharani and the merit accrued from upholding this version is nine times more superior to yours."

Having heard that, Yang suddenly awoke and found himself drenched in sweat. The next day, he visited the temple especially to seek out the monk. He had to go back there over several days before he finally met the monk, whose Dharma name was Yi Zui. He was very earnest in upholding and reciting this divine Mantra. He had many followers, who came from far and near. When he enquired about the reason of Yang's visit, Yang told the monk of his dream. The monk said, "This is truly remarkable! I have a copy of the Sanskrit text, which no one knows about. Since you bave been directed here by a divine being, how can I remain so selfish?"

Immediately Bhiksu Yi Zui asked his disciple to take out the Sanskrit text froni his bamboo case and taught Yang the Mantra. Yang then asked his permission to take the Mantra text home to compare with his copy of Buddhapala's text. Only then did Yang realise that Buddhapala's version did have some phrases missing. From then onwards, he upheld and recited the Mantra according to the new version and found that its efficacy was so much different from before. The bhiksu also passed over two volumes of Usnisa Vijaya Dharani Yogakalpa Sutra. Since then, Yang realised that this saintly teaching had a clear fixed method of upholding and reciting the Dharani and that one cannot do so according to whims and fancies. Hence, this particular cause and affinity was recorded for the reference of fellow cultivators.