282 pol vanden broucke and sem vermeersch
the Yaksagyöng.^32 After a few passages the [staff with] six rings^33
which he held in his hands ew into her bedroom. It pierced an old
fox and Pöpch’ök. They fell down and were thrown into the courtyard.
The queen recovered from her illness. At that moment a ve-coloured
divine light radiated from the top of Milbon’s head. Everyone who
saw this was amazed.
[One day], when Prime Minister^34 Kim Yangdo 35 was a
boy, he suddenly became dumb and paralysed. He was neither able to
speak nor move. All the time he saw a large demon coming [into his
house] and leading a group of smaller demons. They ate up all the
food which was served up in the house. A shaman came to perform a
sacri cial rite, but the group of demons tried to outdo one another in
insulting this person. Kim Yangdo wanted to tell the demons to get out
of his house, but he could not speak. His father invited a monk from
the Pömnyu-sa 36 whose name is unknown to come and to read
a Buddhist scripture. The large demon ordered the smaller demons to
strike the head of the monk with an iron hammer. He fell down on the
ground, vomited blood and died. A few days later, [the father] sent a
messenger to invite Milbon. The messenger returned and said, “The
monk Milbon accepted our invitation and will come.” Hearing this,
the group of demons all turned pale with fear. The smaller demons
said, “If the monk comes, this will be unfavourable to us. It would
be better to escape.” But the large demon became rude and said in a
self-possessed manner, “What harm can he do to us?” All of sudden,
mighty gods appeared in the four directions. They were all wearing
golden armour and carrying long spears. They caught the demons,
tied them up, and left. Next, innumerable heavenly gods [descended].
They stood in a circle and waited. Shortly after Milbon arrived. Even
(^32) Bhaiajyagurustra (Medicine Buddha Scripture). See below, note 109.
(^33) Probably a sistrum (Skt. khakhara). On this Buddhist attribute, see Saunders 1985,
pp. 179–181. 34
Sngsang.
(^35) The Samguk sagi informs us that he went to Tang six times and that he died at the
Western Capital. His rank is given as haech’an , presumably the same as p’ajinch’an
, the fourth of Silla’s seventeen of ce ranks. See Yi P. 1996, p. 414. In the Samguk
yusa (HPC, vol. 6, p. 316c6–7), it is stated that he gave his two daughters Hwabo
and Yönbo as maidservants to the H ngnyun-sa in the reign of King T’aejong
(Muyöl, r. 654–661). See Lee 1969, p. 62, n. 283; KYIK, p. 536, n. 7.
(^36) Location unknown. Also mentioned in the section on the sixth year of the reign
of the Uni ed Silla King Hyosöng (r. 737–742) in the Samguk sagi. See Yi P. 1996,
p. 91.