釋鑑稽古略續集 3.247

3.247

素菴法師　諱真節。號素菴。襄陽人。少為郡諸生。忽宿根內萠。辭割親愛。禮明休和尚祝髮遊燕都。居秀法師座下。深得賢首之旨。學富內外諸方以龍象推之。久之甫還。住持棲霞眾逾三百。教備三觀五乘。居十年一時名公陸五臺李石麓等。盟為方外交。甞講法華寶塔品。空忽現寶塔於座前。一如經言。四眾跂觀灑然希覯。中使奏。慈聖皇太后命至。同覩聖瑞。乃出上方金縷僧伽黎衣一襲。宣慈旨賜之。即於講堂之西。建一浮屠以徵神化。汪道混記其事。

Dharma Master Su'an: His taboo name was Zhenjie, and his sobriquet was Su'an; a native of Xiangyang. In his youth he was a student of the prefecture. Suddenly, his past roots sprouted within; he renounced and severed his ties to loved ones, shaved his head under the Venerable Mingxiu, and traveled to the capital of Yan. Residing under Dharma Master Xiu, he deeply grasped the purport of Xianshou. Rich in learning, both internal and external, he was revered by all quarters as an elephant-dragon. After a long time, he just returned and served as the abbot of Qixia, where his assembly exceeded three hundred. His teachings encompassed the three contemplations and the five vehicles. After he had resided there for ten years, prominent figures of the time, such as Lu Wutai and Li Shilu, formed non-secular friendships with him. Once, when he expounded the "Jeweled Stupa" chapter of the *Lotus Sūtra*, a jeweled stupa suddenly appeared in the void before the seat, exactly as described in the sūtra. The fourfold assembly stood on tiptoe to gaze upon it, amazed at such a rare sight. A palace eunuch reported it, and an imperial decree from Empress Dowager Cisheng arrived; they witnessed the holy auspicious sign together. She then produced a robe of saṅghāṭī woven with gold thread from the imperial workshops and bestowed it in proclamation of her gracious intention. Immediately to the west of the lecture hall, a stupa was erected to attest to this spiritual transformation. Wang Daokun recorded this event.