集神州三寶感通錄 1.43

1.43

In the first year of the Yixing era of the Jin dynasty, there was a man from Linyi who once had a śarīra that emitted light on every fasting day. The monk Huisui followed Dao Kui, the Regional Inspector of Guangzhou, to the south. Reverencing its luminous appearance, he wished to request it. Before he could speak, the śarīra spontaneously divided into two. When Kui heard of this, he was delighted in his heart and further requested to keep one for veneration, whereupon it divided again into three. Kui wished to copy the Changgan image, but the monastery abbot obstinately refused. At night, he dreamed of a person several zhang tall who told him, 'The image is valued for propagation; why be stingy with it?' The next morning, the abbot granted permission to copy it. When it was finished, Kui placed the śarīra inside the topknot of the image. The reason why many images brought from the west emit light is largely because they contain śarīra.