宋高僧傳 21.18

21.18

釋慧聞，信安人也。多勸勉檀那以福業為最，常言未預聖位，於五道中流轉，非福何憑？甞於濲江鑄丈八金身像，州未聽許，銅何從致？且曰：「待大施主。」居無何，有清溪縣夫妻二人將嫁資鑑來捨，聞為誓呪之曰：「此鑑鼓鑄若當佛心前，乃是夫妻發心之至也。」迨脫摹露像，果然鑑當佛心胸間矣。又甞往豫章勸化，獲黃金數鎰，俄遇賊劫掠。事急，遂投金水中曰：「慮損君子福田，請自撈摝。」捨聞，聞去，賊徒泳水求之，不得。及聞到州，金冥然已在其院中。若役人用匠，不避譏嫌，得物見多，自提魚貫彘肩飼工人焉。又山路虎豹，聞或逢之，將杖叩其腦曰：「汝勿害人，吾造功德，何不入緣？」明日，虎銜野猪投聞前，弭尾而去。凡舉事皆成，歸信如流，率多奇異焉。

Shi Huiwen was a native of Xin'an. He often exhorted dānapatis that meritorious karma was paramount, frequently saying that before attaining the holy stages, when one is still transmigration through the five destinies, if not for merit, on what can one rely? He once wished to cast an eighteen-foot golden statue by the Gu River, but the prefecture had not granted permission, and whence could the bronze be obtained? He simply said: 'I await a great donor.' Before long, a husband and wife from Qingxi County brought a mirror from their dowry to donate. Wen made a vow and pronounced an incantation over it, saying: 'If, when this mirror is melted and cast, it comes to rest right before the Buddha's heart, it will show the utmost sincerity of this couple's resolve.' When the cast was removed to reveal the statue, the mirror was indeed right over the Buddha's heart and chest. On another occasion, he went to Yuzhang to solicit alms and obtained several ounces of gold, but suddenly encountered bandits who plundered them. In this urgent crisis, he threw the gold into the water and said: 'Lest I harm the gentlemen's field of merit, please dredge it up yourselves.' The bandits left Wen; Wen departed, and the bandits swam through the water to seek it, but could not find it. When Wen arrived at the prefecture, the gold had already miraculously appeared in his courtyard. When employing laborers and craftsmen, he did not shy away from slander and criticism: seeing that provisions were abundant, he would personally carry strings of fish and shoulders of pork to feed the workers. Moreover, when Wen encountered tigers and leopards on mountain paths, he would tap their heads with his staff and say: 'Do not harm people; I am creating merit, why do you not join in this cause?' The next day, a tiger carried a wild boar in its jaws and laid it before Wen, wagging its tail and leaving. Whenever he undertook an affair, it succeeded; those who turned to him in faith flocked like a flowing stream, and his deeds were mostly miraculous.