續高僧傳 16.37

16.37

Shi Fajing was surnamed Sun and was a native of Taiyuan, residing in Jiangling. When his mother was about to conceive, she dreamed of entering a lotus pond and holding a boy, handsome and pleasing; she subsequently became pregnant. When about to give birth, she dreamed again that she was riding a white lion, roaming and playing in the empty sky. Jing left household life at the age of seven. At thirteen, together with his fellow student Zhiyuan, he ascended the high seat and expounded the Dharma without impediment. Old and young within the temple all dreamed that a holy monk told them: "Jing is the temple's original dānapati. By the power of his vows, he was born here to become a pillar [of the sangha]." Therefore, in whatever he initiated, people followed him as the wind blows and water flows; wealth accumulated like mountains, and the gate of merit was widely expanded. Halls and buildings, large and small, numbered fifteen hundred bays, all built by Jing. The monastic assembly gathered to more than a thousand people. The great image housed in the Great Changsha Temple was acclaimed under heaven as foremost, the first in the Eastern Flower. This was brought about by the power of the Way, reaching both the unseen and seen realms. Later, two rulers of the Later Liang heard of him, revered him, and honored him as Sangha Commissioner to regulate the bequeathed teachings. In his later years, he suffered a grave illness. Monks circumambulated before the holy image for seven days. Śramaṇa Fatai dreamed that the image came to Jing's room. The pure person Yuanzhi personally saw the image return to the great hall from Jing's room. That very day, he recovered. From this it is known that the auspicious descent of King Aśoka's image depends upon the person; when prayed to with singleness of mind, there is none that does not respond. Not long after, he passed away at the temple at the age of seventy-six.