高僧傳 13.26

13.26

Shi Fayue was a śramaṇa of strict moral discipline. At the end of the Qi dynasty, he was appointed head of the saṃgha by imperial decree and resided at Zhengjue Temple in the capital. He devoted himself to cultivating karmic merit, and the fourfold assembly turned to him. Yue had once heard that the Songwang Temple in Pengcheng possessed an eighteen-foot bronze-gilt image made by the Song General of Chariots and Cavalry and Regional Inspector of Xuzhou, Wang Zhongde, whose radiance and physical marks were praised as the finest in the Jiangzuo region. Whenever a calamity or ominous omen was about to occur within the region, or when monks and nuns were unjustly drawn into transgressions, the image would stream with perspiration. The amount of sweat indicated the severity of the disaster. At the beginning of the Taishi era of the Song, when Pengcheng fell under northern rule, the hordes of northern invaders collectively tried to move the image. Even after bringing up ten thousand men, they could not move it in the end. At the beginning of the Qi, several commanderies of Yanzhou wished to rise in righteousness and align with the south, and they also forced many monks to help guard their encampments and trenches. At that time, the northern general, the Duke of Lanling, attacked and captured this camp, taking the śramaṇas prisoner. Thereupon, he seized all the monks of the two provinces and imprisoned them within an encirclement. He submitted a memorial to the puppet court, falsely accusing them of aiding the rebellion. At that time, the image streamed with perspiration so abundantly that the entire hall was damp. At that time, the illegitimate King of Liang, Liang, who was stationed in Pengcheng, also had some slight faith; he personally went to the site of the image and ordered people to wipe it, but as soon as it was wiped it came forth again, and in the end could not be stopped. The king then burned incense, prostrated himself, and vowed with a sincere heart: 'The monks are guiltless; I, your disciple, shall myself protect them and not let them incur disaster. If my hidden sincerity is felt, may the sweat cease as soon as it is wiped.' Thereupon, he wiped it with his own hands, and as soon as it was wiped, it dried. The king fully memorialized the matter, and the monks were all pardoned. Having rejoiced at seeing such spiritual marvels, Yue vowed to behold and pay reverence to it; yet because the border barriers were blocked, he had no means of fulfilling his wish.