律相感通傳 1.60

1.60

He replied: “Daming is the original image. When Emperor Gaozu of the Liang passed away, the image came to Jingzhu. By the third year of Chengsheng of Emperor Yuan, after the Zhou pacified the Liang, the national treasures were all taken into the Northern Zhou. As for that sandalwood image, Dharma Master Sengzhen hid it inside his chamber and gave many gifts and bribes of wealth to the envoys, so the image was able to remain. In the ninth year of Kaihuang of the Sui, Gaozu sent the envoy Liu Guyan to welcome the monastery monks, and also requested the image to protect the Jing-Chu region. As Guyan was a local, he complied with them. He had another sandalwood image carved and took it to fulfill the imperial order. When searching for craftsmen at that time, he found a Brahmin monk named Zhenda to make it; this is the image at Xingshan Monastery today, which is also very miraculous. As for the original image in Jingzhou, the monks covered it with lacquered cloth, so its major and minor marks were not as fine as of old. It was originally made as the Buddha's body when he was seven days old. Now, with the cloth and lacquer added, it resembled the appearance of a mature adult; thus it was completely different from the original. Daming was originally the dwelling place of an ancient Buddha, which was why the spiritual image was unwilling to move north. Recently there was Dharma Master Yifa of Changsha; aided invisibly by devas, he became inspired and peeled off the lacquered cloth, so that the true countenance was revealed again, greatly stirring faith. Beholding the spiritual form, it was made entirely of sandalwood without any joins or repairs; its halo and pedestal were extraordinary, carved from ivory, and not at all something achieved by human craftsmanship. The body of the Xingshan image departs from the original in every respect.”