續高僧傳 25.37

25.37

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.