集神州三寶感通錄 2.35

2.35

三十一元魏天平中。定州募士孫敬德。防於北陲造觀音金像。年滿將還。常加禮事。後為劫賊橫引。禁於京獄不勝拷掠。遂妄承罪並斷死刑。明旦行決。其夜禮拜懺悔淚下如雨。啟曰。今身被枉。當是過去枉他。願償債畢誓不重作。又發大願云云。言已少時依俙如夢。見一沙門教誦觀世音救生經。經有佛名。令誦千遍得度苦難。敬德欻覺起坐。緣之了無參錯。比至平明已滿一百遍。有司執縛向市。且行且誦。臨欲加刑誦滿千遍。執刀下斫。折為三段。不損皮肉。易刀又斫凡經三換刀折如初。監當官人莫不驚異。具狀奏聞。丞相高歡表請其事。遂得免死。勅寫此經傳之。今所謂高王觀世音是也。敬德放還設齋報願。出在防像乃見項上有三刀痕。鄉親同覩歎其通感。見齊志及旌異等記。

31. During the Tianping era of the Northern Wei, Sun Jingde, an enlisted soldier from Dingzhou stationed at the northern frontier, made a gilt image of Avalokiteśvara. When his term of service was completed and he was about to return, he worshipped it constantly. Later, he was falsely implicated by bandits and imprisoned in the capital jail. Unable to endure the torture, he falsely confessed to the crime and was condemned to death, with his execution set for the following morning. That night, prostrating in repentance, his tears fell like rain. He prayed, saying: "That I am wronged in this life must be because I wronged others in past lives. I wish to repay the debt completely and vow never to do it again." He also made great vows, and so on. Shortly after he spoke, as if in a dream, he saw a śramaṇa teaching him to recite the Avalokiteśvara Life-Saving Sūtra, which contained the names of Buddhas, telling him that if he recited it one thousand times he would be delivered from suffering and hardship. Jingde suddenly awoke and sat up, reciting it without the slightest mistake. By dawn, he had already completed one hundred recitations. The officials bound him and led him toward the marketplace; as he walked, he continued to recite. Just as the execution was about to be carried out, he had completed the one thousand recitations. The blade was brought down to strike, but it broke into three pieces without harming his skin or flesh. The sword was changed and struck again, and through three replacements, the swords broke as before. The supervising officials were all astonished and marveled at it, and reported the matter in detail [to the throne]. Prime Minister Gao Huan memorialized to request his pardon, and so he was spared from death. An imperial edict was issued to transcribe this sūtra and propagate it; this is what is now called the Avalokiteśvara Sūtra of King Gao. When Jingde was released and returned home, he held a vegetarian feast to fulfill his vow. Bringing out the image he had kept during his border service, he saw three blade marks on its neck. His relatives and neighbors all witnessed it and sighed in admiration at its sympathetic resonance. This is recorded in the Qi Zhi and Jingyi [zhuan].