神僧傳 3.10

3.10

釋僧亮。未詳何許人。以戒行著名。欲造丈六金像。聞湘州伍子胥廟多有銅器。亮告刺史張劭借健人一百大船十隻。劭曰。廟既靈驗犯者必死。且有蠻人守護。詎可得耶。亮曰。若果福德則與檀越共。如其有咎躬自當之。劭即給人船。三日至廟。廟前有兩鑊容百餘斛。中有巨蛇。長十餘丈。出遮行路。亮乃執錫呪之。蛇即隱去。俄見一人秉笏出云。聞師道業非凡營福事重。今特相隨喜。於是令人輦取廟銅。既多十取一。而舫已滿。及歸遇風水甚利。群蠻相報追不及矣。還都鑄像既成。唯焰光未備。文帝為造金薄圓光。安置彭城寺。至太始中明帝移像湘宮寺焉。

Shi Sengliang: it is not clear where he came from. He was renowned for his strict adherence to the precepts. Wishing to cast a sixteen-foot golden statue, he heard that there were many bronze vessels in the temple of Wu Zixu in Xiangzhou. Liang informed the inspector Zhang Shao and asked to borrow one hundred robust men and ten large boats. Shao said, "Since the temple is efficacious, anyone who violates it is certain to die. Moreover, it is guarded by indigenous tribesmen. How could it be attained?" Liang said, "If it brings about merit, I will share it with you, the dānapati; if there is blame, I shall bear it myself." Shao then provided him with men and boats. In three days, they reached the temple. In front of the temple were two caldrons with a capacity of over a hundred hu. Inside was a huge serpent, over a hundred feet long, which emerged to block the way. Liang held his khakkhara staff and recited incantations over it, and the serpent immediately vanished. Soon after, a person holding a tablet emerged and said, "Having heard of the master's extraordinary religious cultivation and that he is undertaking a great deed of merit, I now especially rejoice in accordance." Thereupon, he had men transport and take the temple's bronze. There being so much, they took only one-tenth, yet the boats were already filled. When returning, they encountered very favorable winds and waters, so that although the tribesmen alerted one another, they could not catch up. After returning to the capital, the casting of the statue was completed, but the flaming halo was not yet ready. Emperor Wen made a gilded round halo for it and enshrined it in Pengcheng Monastery. During the Taishi era, Emperor Ming moved the statue to Xianggong Monastery.