樂邦文類 3.106

3.106

The Tang Dynasty Nanshan Vinaya Master's Record of the Resonances of the Three Jewels in Successive Generations states: "In ancient times at Kukkuṭārāma in India, a bodhisattva with the five supernatural powers traveled to the Land of Peace and Joy and petitioned Amitābha Buddha, saying: 'The sentient beings of the Sahā world wish to be born in the Pure Land. They lack an image of the Buddha; please grant permission to descend.' The Buddha said: 'You go ahead; I will appear there presently.' When the bodhisattva returned, the sacred visage had already arrived: one Buddha and fifty bodhisattvas, each seated upon a lotus flower beneath the leaves of a tree. The bodhisattva with the five supernatural powers took the leaves where they were and drew them to circulate and spread. Later, when Emperor Ming of the Han had a resonant dream and sent envoys to seek the Dharma, they obtained Kāśyapa Mātaṅga and others, who arrived in Luoyang. Afterward, Mātaṅga's nephew became a monk; carrying this auspicious image, he also reached this country and circulated it wherever he went. Before long he returned to the west with the image, so paintings of the image did not spread very widely in this land. With the many troubles between North and South, scriptures and images were buried and lost, and this auspicious trace was nearly extinguished. When Emperor Wen of the Sui revived the teachings, there was the monk Mingxian, who obtained a copy from Dharma Master Daozhang of the Northern Qi and related its origins, which matched the account above; thus it was once again transmitted to the world. At that time there lived Cao Zhongda, an artisan of the Northern Qi, who excelled in painting and rendered Indic traces with wondrous skill. His copies of this image were celebrated throughout the capital, which is why the southern-facing walls of temples today all bear his surviving brushwork."