宋高僧傳 27.23

27.23

釋明準者，不詳氏族，生緣本天台靈墟道場，出俗遊方。至京邑，觀古之神僧智苑於范陽北山刊石寫經、灌鐵，以俟慈氏下生，免水火之虞。又東洛長壽寺寫《華嚴》，聖善寺寫《法華》，嵩山嶽寺寫《楞伽》，悉刊貞珉，皆圖不朽。準遂於貞元戊寅歲春正月，見寺僧鏨山攻石，石悉頑惡，知匠氏不虔，山靈祕吝。時準疏告陰靈，請裨善務。俄於定中見若干幅貯無量石，冥冥之間，如有宰割，皆中刻字。時連率博陵崔公激勸幕府參佐各書一品，從〈序〉至〈勸發〉，凡二十八。圜廊挺立，不朞畢工。準之化人，皆此類也。元和元年八月中也。後不詳終所。

Shi Mingzhun's lineage is unknown. His origin was in the Lingxu bodhimaṇḍa of Mount Tiantai; leaving the worldly life, he traveled far and wide. Reaching the capital, he observed that of old, the divine monk Zhiyuan on the northern mountains of Fanyang had carved the scriptures into stone and poured iron [to seal them] in order to await the descent of Maitreya and avoid the perils of flood and fire. Furthermore, the Changshou Temple in the Eastern Capital of Luoyang carved the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, Shengshan Temple carved the Lotus Sūtra, and Mount Song's Yuesi Temple carved the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, all engraved upon fine stone, all seeking imperishability. In the spring, the first month of the wuyin year of the Zhenyuan era [798], Zhun saw the monks of the temple chiseling the mountains and quarrying stone, but the stones were all stubbornly flawed; he realized the craftsmen lacked reverence and the mountain spirits were secret and stingy. Thereupon Zhun composed a prayer to the unseen spirits, asking them to assist in the wholesome task. Soon, in samādhi, he saw several scrolls containing countless stones; in the darkness, as if cut and dressed, they were all carved with characters inside. At that time, the Regional Commander, Lord Cui of Boling, encouraged his administrative assistants each to write out a chapter, from the "Introductory" to the "Exhortation [of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra]," twenty-eight chapters in all. The circular corridor stood upright, and the work was completed in less than a year. Zhun's transformation of people was generally of this kind. This occurred in the middle of the eighth month of the first year of the Yuanhe era [806]. Later, the place of his death was not known.