The death of Lingzhao
- Told in
- Recorded Sayings of Layman Pang (fascicle 1, the account of Pang’s death (X69n1336_p0134b08–b11))Jingde chuandeng lu (fascicle 8, entry for Layman Pang (T51n2076_p0263c12–c19))
- People
- Lingzhao (the daughter)Layman Pang (the father)
- Place
- Xiangzhou, Hubei
- Used as
- Death scene
- Standing
- Traditional: told by the tradition, not independently attested
When Layman Pang decided it was time to die, he sat down and told his daughter Lingzhao to go outside and see how high the sun was, and come back and tell him when it reached noon. She went out, came back, and said the sun was at noon and there was an eclipse. He went out to look.
When he came back she had taken his seat, put her hands together, and died. He laughed and said his daughter had been quick, and put off his own death by seven days.
Retold for this site from Recorded Sayings of Layman Pang, fascicle 1, the account of Pang’s death (X69n1336_p0134b08–b11).
In the text
居士將入滅。謂靈照曰。視日早晚。及午以報。照遽報。日已中矣。而有蝕也。士出戶觀次。照即登父座。合掌坐亡。
The Layman, about to die, said to Lingzhao: see how early or late the sun is, and tell me when it is noon. Lingzhao reported at once: the sun is at noon, and there is an eclipse. While the Layman went out to look, Lingzhao took her father’s seat, joined her palms, and died sitting.
What the tradition does with it
- lay practice
- a daughter outdoing her father
- death as a matter of timing
Sources
- Yu Di 于頔 (comp.), Pang jushi yulu 龐居士語錄 (Recorded Sayings of Layman Pang), Zokuzōkyō X.1336
- Daoyuan (comp.), Jingde chuandeng lu 景德傳燈錄 (1004), Taishō T.2076
Checked against sources 2026-10-31 by pipeline/opus@c0eea00. Report an error.