[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [宋高僧傳](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2061) › 18.13 # 宋高僧傳 18.13 宋高僧傳 18.13 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [18.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2061.18.13) 釋欽師者，不知何許人也。大業中，至廣平，形神乖謬，造次難知，發語不常，既往爰中。見靈通寺樹甎浮圖五級，欲務高敞，工作殽雜。欽望而笑，謂寺眾曰：「造此奚為？」眾曰：「功德佛事，須用壯觀，法師何斯怪問耶？」笑曰：「造烽火樓也。」當時緇伍互相非之曰：「風狂輩言，何可取！」至九年，塔尚未成，賊寇四起，州官警嚴，於浮圖上置候望烽火，方信欽言不妄矣。在所耆舊亦不知欽從何而來。止宿之處，亦無蹤跡。然則時時變身，在豕彘之牢，即隨㹠狶群隊。童子馬世達等數人覩欽始變之時，乃停留伺察，意更觀其復人形也。後果忽復形，却於看人之後大叫曰：「爾輩欲何所觀耶？」群人驚愕，合掌拜之。其變無常，皆若此也。及天下喪亂，亦失欽聲迹矣。 > Shi Qin was a person whose origin is unknown. During the Daye era, he arrived in Guangping; his demeanor and mind were erratic, his actions difficult to understand, and his utterances unusual. Thereupon he went into the city. He saw that Lingtong Temple was erecting a five-tiered brick pagoda, striving for height and grandeur, with workers in chaotic commotion. Qin looked at it and smiled, saying to the temple assembly: 'Why build this?' The assembly said: 'Meritorious deeds and Buddhist endeavors must be magnificent. Why do you, Dharma Master, ask such a strange question?' He laughed and said: 'You are building a beacon tower.' At that time, the monastic assembly criticized one another about him, saying: 'These are the words of a madman, how could they be taken seriously!' By the ninth year, before the pagoda was even completed, bandits and rebels arose on all sides; prefectural officials maintained strict vigilance and set up a lookout beacon atop the pagoda, only then believing that Qin's words were not false. The local elders also did not know where Qin had come from. There was no trace of where he lodged. Moreover, he would transform his body from time to time; in a pigpen, he would follow along with the herds of piglets and swine. Several young boys, including Ma Shida, saw Qin when he first transformed, so they lingered and watched, intending to see him resume his human form. Afterwards, he indeed suddenly resumed his form, and coming up behind the onlookers, shouted loudly: 'What do you all wish to see?' The crowd was startled and frightened, and bowed to him with palms joined. His transformations were unfathomable, all being like this. When the world fell into turmoil, all traces and reports of Qin were lost. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 18.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2061.18.12) - [Next: 18.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2061.18.14) - [Up: 18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2061.18) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2061~en-mt.18.13) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2061.18.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2061.18.13) · Pramāṇa