續高僧傳 26.87

26.87

Śramaṇa Zhineng, surnamed Li, was a native of Henei in Huaizhou. He set his mind far from worldly dust and bound his heart to the Vinaya teachings. He gathered an excellent reputation, and his influence reached the west of the Yellow River. At the beginning of the Kaihuang era, he went to observe the Dao south of the Wei River, following and serving in provision of practice, and resided at Zhuanlun Monastery. When the Renshou relic pagodas were established, he received an imperial decree summoning him to escort relics to Shengfu Monastery in Qingzhou. Situated amid secluded, hanging peaks that reached up to the edge of the sky, where wind and trees intertwined, it overlooked a thousand li from afar. Anciently it was called the bodhimaṇḍa of Crag Formations; in the late Northern Wei, this plaque was first founded. On the day the foundation was first laid, as the mountain was cleared and the earth excavated, upon digging three feet into the soil an ancient stone casket was discovered, about eight feet long and roughly six feet deep, smooth inside and out, virtually beyond human power to create. This was what is called the ultimate resonance penetrating the unseen, where whatever is prayed for is answered. When the relics were lowered, a great light shone forth, overflowing through the mountain halls. Monastics and laity alike beheld it, even witnessing it appear, vanish, flow, and turn, its changing manifestations matching the earlier accounts. Later in life, Neng returned to the monastery to further revere the practice of dhyāna. Sheltered in forests and springs, he did not take part in monastic ranks. Fleeing fame, he passed away for good, and none could fathom his end.