高僧傳 13.6

13.6

Furthermore, formerly during the Xianhe era of the Jin, Gao Kui, the Governor of Danyang, excavated a golden image at the creek of Zhanghou Bridge. It lacked a halo and pedestal, but its craftsmanship was exceptionally exquisite. Sanskrit writing on its front said that it was made by the fourth daughter of King Aśoka. When Kui loaded the image and returned to the entrance of Changgan Lane, the oxen would walk no further and could not be controlled by human strength. Thereupon, he let the oxen go where they would, and they went straight toward Changgan Temple. About a year later, Zhang Xishi, a fisherman of Linhai, found a bronze lotus pedestal floating upon the water at the mouth of the sea, and he immediately took it and delivered it to the county office. The county presented a memorial to the Imperial Court, and an imperial decree ordered that it be placed beneath the feet of the image; they matched together seamlessly. Later, five monks from the Western Regions visited Kui, saying: "Formerly, in Tianzhu, we obtained an image of King Aśoka. When we reached Ye, we encountered turmoil and hid it by the riverbank. Once the king's highway was open again, we searched for it but lost its location. Recently, we received a dream saying that the image had already appeared east of the Yangtze and had been acquired by Gao Kui. Therefore, we traveled across distant mountains and seas merely wishing to see and revere it." Kui thereupon led them to Changgan. When the five men saw the image, they sobbed and wept, and the image immediately emitted light that illuminated the inside of the hall. The five men said: "Originally it possessed a circular halo; now it is far away, but it too should arrive in due course." In the first year of the Xian'an era of the Jin, Dong Zongzhi, a pearl diver of Hepu County in Jiaozhou, obtained a Buddha halo on the seabed. The regional inspector presented it to the court, and Emperor Jianwen of the Jin decreed that it be bestowed on this image. The apertures aligned exactly, and the lustrous color was of the same kind. After more than forty years, with auspicious responses from east and west, the halo and pedestal were finally complete. Because the stupa and image were miraculous, Huida redoubled his devotion and effort. Later, he traveled east to Wu County to pay homage to stone images. The images, toward the close of the Western Jin, in the guiyou year, the first year of the Jianxing era, had floated to the mouth of the Hudu River on the Wusong River. Fishermen suspected they were sea spirits and invited shamans and priests to welcome them, whereupon the wind and waves both surged, so they returned in terror. At that time, there were followers of the Huang-Lao tradition who claimed they were the spirits of the Celestial Masters and went together to receive them, but the surging waves were as before. Later, there was a Buddhist lay devotee, Zhu Ying, a man of Wu County, who heard of it and sighed, saying: "Could these not be the descending response of the Great Awakened One!" He then purified himself by observing a fast and, together with the nun Shi of Dongyun Temple and several believers, went to the mouth of the Hudu River. Bowing their heads in utmost devotion and singing hymns to the supreme virtue, the wind and tide immediately became calm and quiet. From afar, they saw two figures floating down the river; they were stone images. On their backs were inscriptions: one named "Vipaśyin" and the other named "Kāśyapa." They immediately received them back and installed them in Tongxuan Temple. The gentry and commoners of Wu marveled at their miraculous power, and those who took refuge in their hearts were numerous.