弘贊法華傳 1.19

1.19

Empress Dowager Luzhao, Chongxian, of the Song, had planted causal roots over vast kalpas and was paired with the summit of the imperial house. Yet she viewed noble status as an illusory dream and precious treasures as dust and grime. Longing to exalt the correct teaching, she sought to depict the Dharma-body. In the fourth year of the Daming era, she commanded the bhikṣu Tanbiao of Baima Monastery to make an image of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva riding a white elephant, its six tusks slender and pointed, its seven limbs well-rounded and complete. Its design was grand and magnificent; the casting was refined and austere. The cast metal was equal to refined copper, overlaid with lustrous gilding. The Bodhisattva shone with the marks of purple-gold, while the elephant king gleamed with the form of white silver. Brilliant, splendid, and radiant, it seemed as though taking flight—truly a wondrous achievement of Buddhist work and a genuine model for stūpas and shrines. Her vast vows being inexhaustible and her cultivation of merit untiring, in the eighth year of the Daming era she further constructed Puxian Monastery, whose breathtaking splendor was destined to adorn and embellish.