神僧傳 3.10

3.10

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.