三寶感應要略錄 3.41

3.41

During the Qin dynasty of Yao Xing, the śramaṇa Shi Zhimeng from Jingzhao travelled to the Western Regions. In his youth he arrived at the stūpa of the Bodhisattva Śrīmitra in South India. Beside it was a vihāra, which had long been in ruins. Inside was a golden statue of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara; rain and frost did not wet the body of the statue. He prayed with a sincere mind and saw a canopy in the air. He heard from the elders: 'In the past there was a bodhisattva named Śrīmitra, who took benefiting sentient beings to heart and possessed both loving-kindness and compassion to save them. Having the greatest pity for the sentient beings suffering in the three wretched realms, he further resolved to make a statue of Avalokiteśvara. In three years the work was completed. Its efficacious wonders moved people; if one prayed with focused mind, it would manifest a wondrous body to instruct and fulfill what was wished.' Before that statue, the Bodhisattva had thought: 'The Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara can eradicate the sufferings of the twenty-five states of existence; among them, those of the three wretched realms are the heaviest. May the efficacious statue respond and assist my vow to rescue them from heavy suffering.' In the second watch of the night, the efficacious statue radiated light, making heaven and earth bright. In the light were seen the sufferings of the eighteen naraka hells, the sufferings of the thirty-six hungry ghost cities, and the sufferings of the forty billion beasts. The efficacious statue suddenly manifested hundreds of thousands of troops wearing golden armor, each holding staves, blades, halberds, and clubs, who entered the eighteen naraka hells. Beginning from Avīci, they destroyed the cauldrons one after another, and the instruments of torture were immediately broken and destroyed. At that time, all the hell wardens, such as the ox-headed ones, felt fear; casting aside their torture implements, they ran to King Yama's city and reported to the king, saying: 'Suddenly there are hundreds of thousands of cavalry and troops, clad in golden armor and wielding halberds and blades, who have destroyed the cauldrons and smashed the instruments of torture. The hells have instead become cool ponds, the torture cauldrons have all turned into lotus flowers, and all the sinners have been freed from suffering. We have never seen such a thing! What should be done?' The king said: 'Could this not be the work of Avalokiteśvara? It is beyond our power.' Then, pressing his palms together toward that direction, he spoke a verse: