宋高僧傳 19.33

19.33

系曰：塔焚皆云往東海，海豈納煨燼耶？通曰：「五行為物亦七大性，可弗周遍法界乎？順則相生，逆則相害。雖逆順各時，與法界同其分齊，證知唯有『識』耳。且天仙鬼物與人相反：殊勝諸天則定果宮殿，神仙則附物變化，鬼神則歆其食氣——質礙之流，火化則得受用也。凡塔剎嚴麗，多被鬼神取旃。海若川侯，亦非人也，如陳重雲殿天火焚，東海人時見殿影焉。又近馬氏霸湖南，末年天冊閣為天火焚，朗州守此夜聞空中呵喝言『迴避，天冊閣來也。』雲中騰沸，若千萬人舁荷重物然，累日，方潭州火矣。若懷信見劉隱之夢，信亦不可測之僧也。」

The appraisal states: When pagodas burn, it is always said that they go to the Eastern Sea; could the sea truly receive ashes and embers? A response says: "The Five Elements as matter are also the natures of the Seven Great Elements; how could they not pervade the dharma realm? When in accord they generate one another; when in conflict they harm one another. Although accord and conflict occur at different times, they share the same scope with the dharma realm, proving that there is only 'consciousness.' Moreover, heavenly immortals and spirits are the reverse of humans: the superior devas possess palaces of meditational fruition; immortals transform by attaching to things; ghosts and spirits enjoy the scent of food—for classes of obstructive matter, when consumed by fire they can enjoy it. In general, adorned and magnificent pagodas are mostly taken by ghosts and spirits. The spirit of the sea and the lord of the rivers are also non-humans; just as when the Chongyun Hall of the Chen dynasty was burned by heavenly fire, the people of the Eastern Sea occasionally saw the hall's reflection. Moreover, recently when the Ma clan dominated Hunan, in their final years the Tiancè Pavilion was burned by heavenly fire; that night the governor of Langzhou heard shouting in the sky saying, 'Make way, the Tiancè Pavilion has arrived!' It seethed among the clouds like tens of thousands of people carrying a heavy burden; only after several days did fire break out in Tanzhou. As for Huaixin appearing in Liu Yinzhi's dream, Xin was also an unfathomable monk."