Once the Chinese Emperor Mu Chung of the Tang dynasty, impressed by the level of cultivation of National Master Wu Yeh invited him to come for an audience. To just about any subject, this would have been an overwhelming honor. However, the master kept refusing because he did not want to be disturbed by worldly matters.
So the emperor told his envoy, “If you cannot persuade Master Wu Yeh to come, you will have to forfeit your life.” The envoy sought out the master and tearfully asked for his cooperation. The monk, unable to refuse the request at this point, said, “All right, I will go.”
So he gathered the whole assembly and asked his followers, “Who would like to join me for an audience with the emperor?”
When a disciple raised his hand, the master asked, “How many miles can you travel in one day?” The disciple answered, “Fifty.” The monk said, “That’s not good enough.”
A second disciple was asked the same question and said, “Sixty-five,” to which the monk replied again, “That’s not good enough.”
A third disciple said, “Seventy miles,” and for the third time, the monk said, “That’s not good enough.”
Then a young monk raised his hand and said, “I will go wherever you go, Master.”
So the Master did his ablutions, then went back and sat on his elevated seat, entered Samadhi and expired on the spot, in a seated position.
The young monk, seeing that, said, “Oh, Master, you have gone. Let me go too.” And he expired standing.
This anecdote illustrates that truly accomplished monks are free of mundane preoccupations – beyond the ken of ordinary people, beyond Birth and Death.
~ Seeker’s Glossary of Buddhism, Sutra Translation Committee, Second edition, pg. 552