廣弘明集 17.9

17.9

Formerly, when the Emperor was still a hidden dragon, a brāhmaṇa śramaṇa came to his residence, produced a packet of relics, and said: 'The dānapati has a wholesome mind; therefore, I leave these for you to make offerings to.' After the śramaṇa departed, they searched for him, but no one knew where he had gone. Later, the Emperor and the śramaṇa Tanqian each placed the relics in their palms to count them; at times they were few, at times many, and they could never determine the number. Tanqian said: 'I once heard a brāhmaṇa say that the Dharmakāya surpasses calculation and cannot be fathomed by worldly means.' Thereupon, they first fashioned a casket of seven treasures to hold them. The divine nun Zhixian said: 'The Buddha-Dharma is about to be extinguished, and all the divine spirits have now departed to the west. You, child, shall become the compassionate father of all under heaven, reviving the Buddha-Dharma, and all the divine spirits will return.' Later, the Zhou indeed extinguished the Buddha-Dharma. When the house of Sui received the mandate, it then revived it. The Emperor would often speak of the divine nun, saying: 'My rise stems from the Buddha.' Therefore, within the relic stupas across the empire, statues of the divine nun were made in each of them.