集神州三寶感通錄 1.48

1.48

宋元嘉十九年。高平徐椿讀經。及食得二舍利。盛銀瓶中。後看漸增。乃至二十。後寄廣陵今馥私開之空甖椿。在都忽自得之。後退轉皆失。舍利應現值者甚多。皆敬而得之。慢而失也。舍利東流綿歷帝代。傳記所及略陳萬一。由事相重沓屢現非奇。佛現栖隱誠其致也。然有國興塔無勝。有隋一化之中百有餘所。神瑞開發陳諸別傳。今略出之。以顯盛德云爾。隋高祖昔在龍潛。有神尼智仙。無何而至曰。佛法將滅。一切神明今已西去。兒當為普天慈父重興佛法神明還來。後周氏果滅佛法。及隋受命常以為言。又昔有婆羅門僧。詣宅出一裹舍利曰。檀越好心。故留供養。尋爾不知所在。帝曰。我興由佛。故於天下立塔。并置神尼像焉。又於京師法界寺。造連基浮圖。下安舍利。開皇十五年秋。夜神光自基上遶。露盤赫若冶焰。一旬內四如之。帝於仁壽宮。仁壽元年六月十三日。御宮之仁壽殿降生日也。帝於此日追惟永往報父母恩。延諸沙門與論至道。欲於海內清靜處三十所建塔。下詔曰。仰惟正覺大慈大悲。救護群生津梁庶品。朕歸依三寶重興聖教。思與四海共修福業。令使現在未來俱為利益。宜請沙門三十人解法相堪宣導者。各將侍者散官分道。送舍利於諸州。起塔盡州。現僧為朕及皇后太子諸王官人民庶幽顯生靈。七日行道懺悔打剎。布施限以十文。以供塔用。不充役丁用正庫物。其刺史以下常務停七日。專知塔事。同至十月十五日正午入函一時起塔。帝以起塔之旦。在京大興殿。西執珽而立延佛像。沙門三百六十人上殿。左右密數三度常䞉一人。帝見異僧披褐色覆膊。語左右曰。勿驚置之。及行道散不復見。帝曰。今佛法重興。立舍利塔必有感應。果如言矣。

In the nineteenth year of the Yuanjia era of the Song dynasty, Xu Chun of Gaoping was reading scriptures, and at mealtime obtained two śarīra. He placed them in a silver bottle; looking at them later, they gradually multiplied, reaching up to twenty. Later, they were entrusted to Jin Fu of Guangling, who secretly opened it and found the vessel empty. When Chun was in the capital, he suddenly found them again. Later, when his faith retrogressed, they were completely lost.
The sympathetic manifestations of śarīra encountered by people are exceedingly numerous; all are obtained through reverence and lost through disrespect. The transmission of śarīra to the east has spanned many imperial reigns; what the records cover barely presents one out of ten thousand. Because events overlap and recur, their frequent appearance is no marvel; yet that the Buddha appears or conceals himself is truly due to sympathetic resonance. However, in any state, the erection of stūpas has never surpassed the Sui dynasty: in the course of its single transformation, there were more than a hundred places. The unfolding of their numinous portents is presented in various separate biographies; they are briefly set forth here to illustrate the ruler's abundant virtue.
When Emperor Gaozu of the Sui was still in hiding before his accession, there was a numinous nun named Zhixian who arrived unexpectedly and said, 'The Buddha-Dharma is about to be destroyed; all the spiritual deities have already gone west. You, child, shall become the compassionate father of the entire realm, re-establishing the Buddha-Dharma, and the spiritual deities will return.' Later, the Zhou dynasty indeed eradicated the Buddha-Dharma. When the Sui received the mandate, he frequently spoke of this. Furthermore, in the past a Brahmin monk visited his residence, brought out a bundle of śarīra, and said, 'The dānapati has a good heart, therefore I leave these for you to make offerings.' Soon afterwards, his whereabouts were unknown. The Emperor said, 'My rise was due to the Buddha; therefore I shall erect stūpas throughout the realm and install images of the numinous nun.' He also built a multi-stūpa complex with connected bases at Fajie Temple in the capital, enshrining śarīra underneath. In the autumn of the fifteenth year of the Kaihuang era, at night a numinous light circled up from the base, and the dew basin blazed like a smelted flame; within ten days it happened four times.
When the Emperor was at the Renshou Palace, on the thirteenth day of the sixth month of the first year of the Renshou era, in the Renshou Hall of the palace—the day of his birth—the Emperor on this day recalled those who had passed away to repay the kindness of his parents, inviting monastics to discuss the ultimate Way with them. Wishing to construct stūpas in thirty pure and quiet places within the realm, he issued an edict saying:
'We reverently reflect that the Truly Enlightened One possesses great kindness and great compassion, rescuing and protecting all living beings, serving as a bridge and ford for the myriad classes. We take refuge in the Three Jewels and re-establish the sacred teachings, wishing to cultivate blessed karma together with the four seas, so that both the present and the future may reap benefit. It is fitting to invite thirty monks who understand the marks of phenomena and are capable of propagation, each taking attendants and civil officials along separate routes to convey the śarīra to the various prefectures and raise stūpas. The existing monks of each prefecture shall, on behalf of Us, the Empress, the Crown Prince, the various princes, officials, and the common people, both the living and the spirits of the unseen and visible realms, practice the Way, repent, and strike the spire for seven days. Donations shall be limited to ten coins to supply the needs of the stūpa; laborers shall not be conscripted, nor shall standard treasury goods be used. From regional inspectors on down, regular duties shall be suspended for seven days to attend solely to stūpa affairs. Concurrently, at noon on the fifteenth day of the tenth month, the śarīra shall be placed in the caskets, and the stūpas raised at the same hour.'
On the morning when the stūpas were raised, the Emperor stood in the Daxing Hall of the capital holding a jade tablet, welcoming the Buddha image. Three hundred and sixty monks ascended the hall. When attendants secretly counted them three times, there was always one extra person. The Emperor saw an unusual monk wearing a brown shoulder-covering cloth and said to the attendants, 'Do not be alarmed; leave him be.' When the practice of the Way dispersed, he was seen no more. The Emperor said, 'Now that the Buddha-Dharma is re-established, the erection of śarīra stūpas will surely have sympathetic responses.' It turned out indeed as he said.