集神州三寶感通錄 2.33

2.33

二十九梁祖天鑒初。於本宅立光宅寺。造丈八金像。圖樣既成不爽分寸。臨鑄疑銅不足。始欲上請。忽有使者領銅十五車至云。勅遣送寺。便即鎔寫。一冶即成。冠絕通國。唯覺高大。試以量之。乃長二丈二尺。以狀奏聞。鑄像已成不改元樣。所續送銅用亦俱盡。更重審量乃增四尺。勅云。初不送銅何緣乃爾。豈不以真相應感獨表神奇乎。可鐫著花趺以為靈誌。乃具疏而勒于足下。於今存焉。梁祖為父於鍾山造大愛敬寺。中殿大像神相有之。故不重顯。廣如別記。有梁佛像多現神奇。剡縣大石像者。元在宋初育王所造。初有曇光禪師。從北來。巡行山川為幽栖之所見。此山崇麗乃於峯頂構小草室。空中聞天樂聲曰。此是佛地。如何輒有蔬圃耶。光聞之南移天台。後遂繕造為佛像。積經年稔終不能成。至梁建安王患。降夢能引剡縣石像病可得愈。遂請僧祐律師。既至山所。規模形製嫌其先造太為淺陋。思緒未絕。夜忽山崩其內佛現。自頸已下猶在石中。乃剗鏨浮石至本仍止。既都除訖。乃具相焉。斯則真儀素在石中。假工除剗故得出現。梁太子舍人劉勰制碑。於像所備之。

29. In the early Tianjian era, Emperor Wu, founder of the Liang, established Guangzhai Temple at his former residence and made an eighteen-foot golden image. The blueprint was completed without a hair's breadth of discrepancy. When about to cast it, they suspected there was not enough copper. Just as they were about to petition the throne, an envoy suddenly arrived leading fifteen carts of copper, saying: 'An imperial decree ordered this sent to the temple.' They immediately melted and cast it, and it was completed in a single smelting, surpassing everything in the entire realm. Only, they noticed it was tall and large; upon measuring it, it was twenty-two feet tall. They memorialized the circumstances to the throne: the cast image was completed without altering the original design, and the additional copper sent had also been completely used up, yet upon remeasuring, it had increased by four feet. The edict said: 'At the outset, no copper was sent; how could this have happened? Is it not that the true likeness's sympathetic resonance uniquely manifests the miraculous? Let this be engraved upon the lotus pedestal as a numinous record.' A full description was thus inscribed beneath its feet, which remains there today. Emperor Wu of the Liang built the Da'aijing Temple on Mount Zhong for his father; the large image in the central hall also possessed miraculous marks, so it is not set forth again here, but is fully detailed in a separate record. Under the Liang, many Buddhist images manifested miracles. The large stone image in Shan County was originally made in the early Song by King Aśoka. Initially, Dhyāna Master Tan'guang came from the north, touring the mountains and rivers in search of a secluded dwelling. Seeing the grandeur and beauty of this mountain, he built a small thatched hut on the peak. In midair, he heard heavenly music saying: 'This is a Buddha-land; why should there suddenly be a vegetable garden?' Guang heard this and moved south to Tiantai. Later, [people] undertook the making of a Buddha image, but after accumulating years, it could never be completed. When Prince Jian'an of the Liang fell ill, he received a dream saying that if he could complete the stone image of Shan County, his illness could be cured. He then invited Vinaya Master Sengyou. When Sengyou arrived at the mountain site, he examined the design and proportions, disliking that the previous work was too shallow and crude. Before his thoughts were settled, the mountain suddenly collapsed at night, and inside it a Buddha appeared; from the neck down, it was still inside the stone. They then chiseled away the superficial stone until reaching the original body, whereupon they stopped. Once it was entirely cleared, the marks were fully complete. Thus, the true likeness had originally been inside the stone, and by relying on craftsmen to clear it away, it was able to appear. Liu Xie, Gentleman of the Heir Apparent's Household under the Liang, composed a stele inscription, which is fully preserved at the image's site.