集神州三寶感通錄 3.96

3.96

今慈州郭下安仁寺西劉薩何師廟者。昔西晉之末。此鄉本名文成郡。即晉文公避地之所也。州東南不遠。高平原上有人名薩何。姓劉氏。余至其廟備盡其緣。諸傳約略得一涯耳。初何在俗不異於凡。人懷殺害全不奉法。何亦同之。因患死。蘇曰。在冥道中見觀世音曰。汝罪重應受苦。念汝無知且放汝今洛下齊城丹陽會稽並有育王塔。可往禮拜。得免先罪。何得活已。改革前習土俗無佛。承郭下有之。便具問已。方便開喻通展仁風。稽胡專直信用其語。每年四月八日大會。平原各將酒餅及以淨供。從旦至中酣飲戲樂。即行淨供至中便止。過午已後共相讚佛歌詠三寶。乃至于曉。何遂出家。法名慧達。百姓仰之敬如日月。然表異迹生信愈隆。晝在高塔為眾說法。夜入繭中以自沈隱。旦從繭出初不寧舍。故俗名為蘇何聖。蘇何者稽胡名繭也。以從繭宿故以名焉。故今彼俗村村佛堂無不立。像名胡師佛也。今安仁寺廟立像極嚴。土俗乞願萃者不一。每年正月輿巡村落去住自在。不惟人功。欲往彼村兩人可舉。額文則開顏色和悅。其村一歲死衰則少。不欲去者十人不移。額文則合色貌憂慘。其村一歲必有災障。故俗至今常以為候俗。亦以為觀世音者假形化俗。故名惠達。有經一卷。俗中行之。純是胡語。讀者自解。余素聞之。親往二年周遊訪迹始末斯盡。故黃河左右慈隰嵐石丹延綏銀。八州之地無不奉者。皆有行事。如彼說之。然今諸原皆立土塔。上施柏剎繫以蠶繭。擬達之栖止也。何於本鄉既開佛法。東造丹陽諸塔禮事已訖。西趣涼州番（音槃）和御谷禮山出像。行出肅州酒泉郭西沙礰而卒。形骨小細狀如葵子。中皆有孔。可以繩連。故今彼俗有災障者。就礰覓之。得之凶亡不得吉喪。有人覓既不得。就左側觀音像上取之。至夜便失。明旦尋之。還在像手。故土俗以此尚之。

As for the shrine of Master Liu Sahe to the west of Anren Temple below the outer walls of present-day Cizhou: formerly, at the end of the Western Jin, this locality was originally called Wencheng Commandery, which was the place where Duke Wen of Jin had fled for refuge. Not far southeast of the prefecture, upon a high plateau, there was a man named Sahe, of the Liu clan. When I arrived at his shrine, I fully learned his history; the various biographies have only sketched a bare outline of it. At first, while in the secular world, He was no different from ordinary folk; people harbored intentions of killing and harming and completely failed to uphold the Dharma, and He was just like them. He fell ill and died, but revived, saying that in the unseen realm he saw Avalokiteśvara, who said, 'Your sins are heavy and you ought to suffer torment. Taking pity on your ignorance, I will release you for now. At present, there are King Aśoka stūpas in Luoxia, the Qi capital, Danyang, and Kuaiji; you may go pay homage to them, and you will be able to avoid your former sins.' After He was restored to life, he reformed his former habits. In the local custom there was no Buddhism; upon hearing that there was some below the outer walls, he inquired thoroughly about it and used skillful means to explain and edify them, widely unfolding a benevolent breeze. The Jihu people were straightforward and upright, and trusted his words. Every year on the eighth day of the fourth month they held a great assembly; from across the plateau, each brought wine, cakes, and pure offerings. From dawn until noon they drank heavily and made merry; then they made the pure offerings, stopping promptly at noon. After noon, they joined together in praising the Buddha and singing of the Three Jewels, continuing until dawn. He subsequently went forth from the household, receiving the Dharma name Huida. The common people looked up to him and revered him like the sun and the moon. However, as he displayed miraculous traces, their faith grew ever firmer. By day he would preach the Dharma to the multitude atop a high stūpa, and by night he would enter a cocoon to conceal himself in seclusion. Emerging from the cocoon at dawn, he never stayed in a house. Therefore, the common folk called him the Suhe Saint; 'Suhe' is the Jihu word for cocoon, and because he stayed in a cocoon, he was named after it. For this reason, in the local custom today, every single village has established a Buddha hall with an image called the Barbarian Master Buddha. At present, the image erected in the shrine at Anren Temple is exceedingly awe-inspiring, and the local folk who assemble to pray are numerous. Every year in the first month, it is carried in procession around the villages, coming and going at will, not relying solely on human strength. When it wishes to go to a certain village, two men can lift it; the creases on its forehead open, and its facial expression is pleasant and joyful; in that village, deaths and misfortunes will be few for that year. When it does not wish to go, ten men cannot move it; the creases on its forehead knit together, and its appearance is sorrowful and distressed; in that village, there will certainly be disasters and obstacles for that year. Thus the common folk down to the present day always take this as an omen. The folk also believe that Avalokiteśvara assumed this borrowed form to transform the world, and was therefore named Huida. There is a one-scroll sūtra circulating among the populace written entirely in a barbarian language, which readers understand spontaneously. Having long heard of this, I personally went there for two years, traveling all around to investigate the traces, and uncovered the entire story from beginning to end. Therefore, on both sides of the Yellow River, throughout the eight prefectures of Ci, Xi, Lan, Shi, Dan, Yan, Sui, and Yin, there is none that does not revere him. All have ceremonies just as described there. Moreover, earthen stūpas have now been erected on all the plateaus, with cypress spires on top to which silkworm cocoons are tied, imitating the dwelling place of [Hui]da. After He propagated the Buddhadharma in his native land, he went east to pay homage to the various stūpas of Danyang. That completed, he headed west toward Fanhe and Yugu in Liangzhou to pay homage to the image that emerged from the mountain. Traveling beyond the west of the outer wall of Jiuquan in Suzhou, he passed away among the gravel sands. His physical bones were small and fine, shaped like mallow seeds, each with a hole through the center so that they could be strung with a cord. Therefore, in the local custom today, those who encounter disasters and obstacles go to the gravel to search for them: finding one brings an end to misfortune; failing to find one portends an auspicious death. A person who searched and could not find one took one from the Avalokiteśvara image on the left; when night came, it was lost, and when they looked for it the next morning, it was back in the image's hand. Therefore the local folk venerate it for this reason.