高僧傳 13.27

13.27

又昔宋明皇帝經造丈八金像，四鑄不成，於是改為丈四。悅乃與白馬寺沙門智靖率合同緣，欲改造丈八無量壽像，以申厥志。始鳩集金銅，屬齊末，世道陵遲，復致推斥。至梁，初方以事啟聞，降勅聽許，并助造光趺。材官工巧，隨用資給。以梁天監八年五月三日於小莊嚴寺營鑄。匠本量佛身四萬斤銅，融瀉已竭，尚未至胸。百姓送銅不可稱計，投諸爐冶隨鑄，而模內不滿，猶自如先。又馳啟聞，勅給功德銅三千斤，臺內始就量送，而像處已見羊車傳詔，載銅爐側，於是飛韛消融，一鑄便滿。甫爾之間，人車俱失。比臺內銅出，方知向之所送，信實靈感。工匠喜踊，道俗稱讚。及至開模量度，乃踊成丈九，而光相不差。又有大錢二枚，猶見在衣條，竟不銷鑠，並莫測其然。尋昔量銅四萬，准用有餘。後益三千，計闕未滿。而祥瑞冥密，出自心圖。故知神理幽通，殆非人事。

Furthermore, in the past, Emperor Ming of the Song had once cast an eighteen-foot bronze-gilt image, but four castings were unsuccessful, so it was changed to fourteen feet. Yue, together with the śramaṇa Zhijing of Baima Temple, united their shared affinity, wishing to recast an eighteen-foot image of Amitāyus to express their aspiration. When they first began gathering bronze, it coincided with the end of the Qi dynasty; the affairs of the world were in decline, and the project was repeatedly cast aside and rejected. Only at the beginning of the Liang was the matter reported to the throne; an imperial decree was issued granting permission and providing assistance to craft the halo and pedestal. Skilled artisans and craftsmen from the Ministry of Works were supplied as needed. On the third day of the fifth month in the eighth year of the Tianjian era of the Liang, they undertook the casting at the Xiaozhuangyan Temple. The craftsmen originally measured out forty thousand catties of bronze for the Buddha's body; when the molten metal was exhausted, it had not yet reached the chest. The common people brought countless amounts of bronze and cast them into the smelters as they poured, yet the mold remained unfilled, just as before. They again swiftly reported this to the throne, and an imperial decree allocated three thousand catties of merit-bronze. The imperial storehouses had just begun measuring and sending it, when at the site of the image a sheep-drawn carriage was already seen conveying the edict and unloading bronze beside the furnace. Thereupon the bellows blew swiftly, melting it down, and a single pour filled it completely. Just a moment later, both the man and the carriage were gone. Only when the bronze from the palace storehouses arrived did they realize that what had just been delivered was truly a spiritual response. The craftsmen leaped with joy, and both religious and lay people praised it. When they opened the mold and took measurements, it had miraculously grown to nineteen feet, while its marks and radiance were flawless. Moreover, there were two large coins still visible in the folds of the robe that had never melted away, and none could fathom why this was so. In considering the past, the forty thousand catties of bronze originally measured should have been more than enough. When three thousand catties were later added, it was calculated that it would still be insufficient. Yet the miraculous omens were profound and hidden, arising from the designs of the mind. Thus one knows that the spiritual principle communicates invisibly, and it was hardly a human affair.