續高僧傳 25.37

25.37

釋超達。未詳其氏。元魏中行業僧也。多學問有知解。帝禁圖讖尤急。所在搜訪。有人誣達有之。乃收付滎陽獄。時魏博陵公檢勘窮劾。達以實告。大怒以車輪繫頸。嚴防衛之。自知無活路。專念觀世音。至夜四更忽不見車輪。所在見守防者皆大昏睡。因走出外將欲遠避。以久繫獄。脚遂攣急不能及遠行至天曉。虜騎四出追之。達惟逃必不免。因伏草中騎來蹋草並靡。雖從邊過對而不見。仰看虜面。悉以牛皮障目。達一心服死。至誠稱念。夜中虜去。尋即得脫。又僧明道人。為北臺石窟寺主。魏氏之王天下也。每疑沙門為賊。收數百僧五繫縛之。僧明為魁首。以繩急纏從頭至足。剋明斬決。明大怖一心念觀音。至半夜覺繩小寬。私心欣幸精到彌切。及曉索然都斷既因。得脫逃逸奔山。明旦獄監來覓不見。惟有斷繩在地。知為神力所加也。即以奏聞。帝信道人不反。遂一時釋放。

Shi Chaoda: his clan name is unknown. He was a monk devoted to religious practice during the Northern Wei, possessing much learning and intellectual understanding. The emperor strictly prohibited prophetic apocrypha and searched for them everywhere. Someone falsely accused Da of possessing them, whereupon he was arrested and remanded to the prison in Xingyang. At that time, the Duke of Boling of the Wei investigated and thoroughly interrogated him; Da reported the truth, but the duke was greatly enraged and fastened a cart wheel around his neck, keeping strict guard over him. Knowing that he had no way to survive, Da single-mindedly recollected Avalokiteśvara. When the fourth watch of the night arrived, the cart wheel suddenly disappeared, and he saw that all the guards on watch were in a deep slumber everywhere. He therefore slipped outside, wishing to escape far away; but because he had been tied up in prison for a long time, his legs had become cramped and stiff, so he could not walk far. When dawn broke, barbarian cavalry rode forth in all directions to pursue him. Da reflected that he would inevitably fail to escape, so he hid in the grass. The cavalry came and trampled the grass completely flat; although they passed right by his side, facing him directly, they did not see him. Looking up at the faces of the barbarians, their eyes were all obstructed as if by ox hide. Da surrendered himself to death with single-minded devotion, reciting [Avalokiteśvara's name] with utmost sincerity. In the middle of the night, the barbarians departed, and immediately thereafter he managed to escape.

There was also the monk Daoren of Sengming, who served as the abbot of the Northern Terrace Grotto Monastery. When the Wei clan ruled the world, they constantly suspected śramaṇas of being rebels. They rounded up several hundred monks and bound them with fivefold bonds, with Sengming as their leader. Binding him tightly with ropes from head to foot, they set the dawn as the time for his beheading. Ming was terrified and single-mindedly recollected Avalokiteśvara. By midnight, he felt the ropes loosen slightly; secretly joyful in his heart, his focused devotion became all the more earnest. When dawn arrived, the ropes suddenly snapped entirely and fell away. Having thus obtained liberation, he fled and rushed into the mountains. The next morning, when the prison warden came to look for him, he could not be found; only the severed ropes remained on the ground. Recognizing that this was brought about by divine power, he immediately reported it to the throne. The emperor believed that the monk had not rebelled and thereupon released them all at once.