宋高僧傳 2.17

2.17

Furthermore, during a summer of severe drought, the Emperor dispatched the palace official Gao Lishi to hasten and summon Śubhakarasiṃha to pray for rain. Śubhakarasiṃha said: "The present drought is naturally ordained by fate. If we forcefully summon the dragons to bring rain, it will surely be violent and only cause damage; it must not be done." The Emperor insisted to him: "The people suffer bitterly from the summer heat and sickness; even wind and thunder would be quite pleasant." Unable to decline, the relevant officials laid out the rain-praying implements for him, complete with banners, pennants, conches, and cymbals. Śubhakarasiṃha smiled and said: "These are insufficient to bring rain." He had them promptly cleared away. He then filled a bowl with water, stirred it with a small knife, and incanted over it with several hundred Sanskrit words. Soon there was a creature resembling a dragon, about the size of a finger, red in color, which raised its head to gaze at the surface of the water and then dove back down to the bottom of the bowl. Śubhakarasiṃha stirred and incanted at the same time. After a short while, a white vapor arose from the bowl, went straight up several feet, and slowly drew away. Śubhakarasiṃha said to Gao Lishi: "Go quickly, the rain has arrived." Gao Lishi galloped away, and looking back, he saw the white vapor swirling swiftly, moving westward from the lecture hall, like a bolt of white silk turning and rising into the air. Soon, the sky became dark and overcast with great wind and thunderous lightning. Just as Gao Lishi reached the Tianjin Bridge, the wind and rain swept alongside his horse, and many large trees in the streets were uprooted. When Gao Lishi went in to memorialize, his garments were completely soaked through. The Emperor bowed his head to welcome Śubhakarasiṃha, expressing his thanks again and again.