釋氏稽古略 3.238

3.238

觀世音菩薩現像　帝嗜蛤蜊。㳂海官吏先時遞進。人亦勞止。至是太和五年一日。御饌蛤蜊有擘不開者。一聞于帝。焚香祝之。乃張菩薩形儀梵相具足。帝貯以金粟檀香合。賜興善寺令眾瞻禮。因問群臣。斯何祥也。或奏太乙山惟政禪師深明佛法博聞知見。乞詔問之。即詔師至。帝問其說。政曰。物無虛應。此乃啟陛下信心耳。契經云應以此身得度者即現此身而為說法。帝曰。菩薩身已現。且未聞說法。政禪師曰。陛下覩此為常耶非常耶。信耶非信耶。帝曰。希有之事朕深信焉。師曰。陛下心信聞說法竟。皇情悅豫得未曾有。詔天下寺院。各立觀音像以答殊休。留師於內道場。累辭歸山。詔令住聖壽寺。師平原人。姓周氏。受業本州延和寺之詮澄法師。得法於嵩山普寂禪師。隱居太乙山。學者盈室。武宗初入居終南山。終後闍維。收舍利四十九粒建塔焉。嵩山寂嗣北宗秀禪師（傳燈）癸丑太和七年十月。帝誕節召法師知玄與道士。入麟德殿論道。

Manifestation of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva: The Emperor was fond of clams. Coastal officials previously relayed them in swift succession, which was toilsome for the people. By the fifth year of Taihe, one day among the imperial delicacies there was a clam that could not be pried open. As soon as it was reported to the Emperor, he burned incense and prayed over it. Thereupon it opened, fully endowed with the physical form and Indian features of a bodhisattva. The Emperor stored it in a sandalwood box ornamented with gold grains and bestowed it upon Xingshan Monastery, ordering the assembly to view and venerate it. He then asked his ministers, "What kind of omen is this?" Someone memorialized, "Chan Master Weizheng of Mount Taiyi profoundly understands the Buddha's teachings and possesses extensive knowledge and discernment. We beg you to issue an edict to interrogate him." The Master was immediately summoned. The Emperor asked for an explanation. Weizheng said, "Things do not respond in vain; this is simply to open Your Majesty’s faithful mind. A sutra states: 'To those who are to be saved by this body, he immediately manifests this body and preaches the Dharma for them.'" The Emperor said, "The bodhisattva's body has already appeared, yet I have not heard the Dharma preached." Chan Master Weizheng asked, "Does Your Majesty regard this as ordinary or extraordinary? Do you believe it or not believe it?" The Emperor said, "It is an extraordinary occurrence, and I believe it deeply." The Master said, "Your Majesty's heart has believed; the preaching of the Dharma is already complete." The Emperor was delighted, experiencing what he had never had before. He issued an edict to monasteries throughout the realm, commanding each to erect an image of Avalokiteśvara to repay this extraordinary grace. He retained the Master in the Inner Bodhimaṇḍa. After repeatedly declining in order to return to his mountain, an edict ordered him to reside at Shengshou Monastery. The Master was a man of Pingyuan, surnamed Zhou. He was tonsured under Dharma Master Quancheng of Yanhe Monastery in his home prefecture, and attained the Dharma under Chan Master Puji of Mount Song. He lived in seclusion on Mount Taiyi, where students filled his room. At the beginning of Wuzong's reign, he entered and resided in the Zhongnan Mountains. After his passing, he was cremated; forty-nine relics were gathered and a stupa was erected for him. [Chan Master] Ji of Mount Song was the heir of Chan Master Xiu of the Northern School (Transmission of the Lamp). In the guichou year, the seventh year of Taihe, in the tenth month on the Emperor's birthday, Dharma Master Zhixuan and Daoist priests were summoned to enter the Linde Hall to debate the Way.