釋氏稽古略 3.464

3.464

鐘聲息苦　南唐江南上元縣一民暴死三日復甦云。至一殿庭。忽見先王縲械甚嚴。近問之曰。主何至此。曰吾為宋齊丘所誤。殺和州降者千餘人。冤訴囚此。汝得還可語嗣君。凡寺觀鳴鐘須延其聲。受苦聞鐘得暫休息。或能為造一鐘尤善。吾在位甞交聘于闐國。彼王遺吾一玉天王像。吾常置於髻中。後藏於瓦棺寺佛左膝無知者。汝以此像為驗。民既還具奏之。唐主親詣瓦棺寺。果得玉像於佛膝。感泣造一鐘於建康清涼寺。其文曰。薦烈祖孝高皇帝。脫幽出厄以玉像。建塔葬於蔣山（法苑珠林）。

The Toll of the Bell Quiets Suffering: In Shangyuan County, Jiangnan, of the Southern Tang, a commoner died suddenly and revived after three days. He recounted: “I arrived at a palace courtyard, where I suddenly saw the late King [Liezu] in extremely heavy fetters and bonds. Approaching, I asked him, ‘How did my lord come to this?’ He said, ‘I was led astray by Song Qiqiu into slaughtering more than a thousand men who had surrendered at Hezhou. By their resentful accusations, I am imprisoned here. When you return, you may tell the reigning ruler: In all Buddhist and Daoist monasteries, when the bells are struck, their resonance must be prolonged. Those enduring suffering hear the bell and obtain a brief respite; if he can cast a bell for me, that would be even better. When I was on the throne, I once exchanged embassies with the Kingdom of Khotan. Their king presented me with a jade statue of a Heavenly King, which I always kept tucked in my topknot. Later, I hid it in the left knee of the Buddha at Waguan Temple, unknown to anyone. You may take this statue as proof.’” When the commoner returned, he submitted a full memorial of the matter. The Tang ruler personally went to Waguan Temple and indeed found the jade statue in the Buddha’s knee. Moved to tears, he cast a bell at Qingliang Temple in Jiankang, bearing an inscription that read: “Offered on behalf of Emperor Liezu Xiaogao, to release him from the underworld and extricate him from distress.” With the jade statue, he built a stupa and enshrined it on Mount Jiang. (Fayuan zhulin)