Three Three Before, Three Three After

Wuzhu Wenxi was a disciple of Yangshan Huiji. While on his way to Mount Wutai, he came to a wild and remote place. Manjushri Bodhisattva transformed the place into a monastery for him, and Manjushri himself appeared as an old man.

The old man asked: Where have you come from?

From the south.

The old man asked: How does the Dharma fare in the south?

In this age of the Final Dharma, few monks can truly keep the precepts.

The old man asked again: How many are there?

Some three hundred, some five hundred. How does the Dharma fare here?

The old man answered: Sages and ordinary folk dwell together; fish and dragons mingle.

How many are there?

The old man answered: Three three before, three three after.

Later, over tea, Manjushri raised a glass cup and asked Wuzhu: Do you have anything like this in the south?

No.

Then what do you ordinarily eat from?

Wuzhu had no answer and could only take his leave. The old man told a young attendant to see him off. Wuzhu asked the attendant: That "three three before, three three after" just now—how many exactly are they?

The attendant called out: Venerable One!

Wuzhu answered, "Yes?"

The attendant then asked: How many?

Wuzhu asked again what monastery this was. The attendant pointed behind the Vajra.

Wuzhu turned to look. The monastery and the attendant had both vanished—only an empty valley remained. Only then did he realize that Manjushri had revealed himself. This place later came to be known as the Vajra Cave.