集神州三寶感通錄 3.56

3.56

武德年中。都水使者蘇長。為巴州刺史。度嘉陵江。中流風起船沒。男女六十餘人皆溺死。唯有一妾。常讀法華經。及水入船妾頭戴經函。誓與俱死。乃隨波泛濫。頃之達岸。經函外濕內乾。于今尚在。

During the Wude era, Su Chang, Commissioner of Waterways, served as Prefect of Ba Prefecture. While crossing the Jialing River, a wind arose in midstream and the boat sank; more than sixty men and women were all drowned. Only one concubine constantly read the Lotus Sūtra; when the water entered the boat, the concubine placed the sūtra case atop her head, vowing to die together with it. She drifted and floated with the waves, and in a short while reached the shore. The sūtra case was wet outside but dry inside, and it still exists today.