An Unnamed Attendant: Continuing to Read the Sutra
Person：An unnamed attendant in Su Chang’s household
Period：Tang, Wude era
Tang Wude era; a crossing of the Jialing River and later marriage in Yangzhou.
Reading preferences
以下依所列原典轉述；神異內容均為原書所載。
故事
唐武德年間，蘇長授巴州刺史，帶家族赴任。《法華經顯應錄》記，一行人渡嘉凌江時，中流起風，船遇難，男女六十餘人喪失。其間有一位平日常讀經的女使，姓名沒有留下。
書中說，浪入船時，女使把經函戴在頭上，誓與經俱沒。然而她沒有沉下，而是隨波漂浮，很快到岸，捧著經函上去。開視經卷，沒有沾濕。這是原書的船難感應敘事，不是此次可獨立證實的航行或物理現象；女使獲救也不應掩去同船其餘人的死亡。
原書隨後只用一句，交代她後來嫁到揚州，篤信讀誦更勝從前。她不是以出家身分出現，也不是刺史的女兒。這則記載所保留的生活線索，是一位在他人家中任使役、姓名未傳的女性，在婚嫁之後仍持續讀誦。
對這樣一位人物，史料沒有讓我們知道她怎樣學字、何人教經或婚後家境。本稿不替她補上這些經歷，只保留文獻真正說出的身分、持誦與敘事。
編者省思（非原典）
一個人的名字與生平留下多少，並不決定其是否值得閱讀。今天可從穩定而合宜的讀誦開始；船難中的「誓與俱沒」不是要讀者仿效的處境選擇。
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