集神州三寶感通錄 2
English (machine translation) 2
- Language
- English
2.1
Compiled by the monk Daoxuan of Mount Zhongnan in the first year of Linde of the Tang
2.2
From the time the Dharma moved to the Eastern Han and the teachings gradually spread to Southern Wu, numinous signs of Buddhist images have filled the land. Although various records cite different cases with variations in appearance and disappearance, their auspicious traces are essentially without distinction. They are now arranged in sequence, though seldom separated strictly by dynasty. Why so? Because in some cases an image was displayed in the Jin dynasty while its chronology extended into the Sui and Tang; or in other cases the transformation was centered on a person, while its traces fluctuated with circumstance. Thus they could not be cataloged in rigid order, and have instead been systematically assembled here.
2.3
1. Circumstances of the painted image of Śākyamuni in Yiyang during the Eastern Han
2. Circumstances of the gold image emerging from the earth in Jianye during Southern Wu
3. Circumstances of the stone image floating on the river in Wu Commandery during the Western Jin
4. Circumstances of the auspicious signs of the gold images of the Seven Kingdoms on Mount Tai during the Western Jin
5. Circumstances of the gold image emerging from the sandbank in the capital of Yang during the Eastern Jin
6. Circumstances of the gold image wandering the mountain in Xiangyang during the Eastern Jin
7. Circumstances of the distant descent of the gold image in Jingzhou during the Eastern Jin
8. Circumstances of the gold image emerging from the water in Wuxing during the Eastern Jin
9. Circumstances of the fragrant auspicious signs of the wooden image in Kuaiji during the Eastern Jin
10. Circumstances of the gold image transmitting the true likeness in Wu Commandery during the Eastern Jin
11. Circumstances of the gold image emerging from the earth at the Dongye Gate during the Eastern Jin
12. Circumstances of the image of the Pensive Prince in Xuzhou during the Eastern Jin
13. Circumstances of the gold image of Mañjuśrī on Mount Lu during the Eastern Jin
14. Circumstances of the stone image appearing when the mountain split in Liangzhou during the Northern Wei
15. Circumstances of the unadorned image on the southern cliff of the King of Hexi during the Northern Liang
16. Circumstances of the manifestation of the sixteen-foot stone image of the Juqu during the Northern Liang
17. Circumstances of the gold image of Mañjuśrī in the Song capital
18. Circumstances of the bronze image emerging from the earth in Dongyang during the Song
19. Circumstances of the gold image emerging from a tree and radiating light in Jiangling during the Song
20. Circumstances of the appearance of light and emergence of the gold image in Puzhong during the Song
21. Circumstances of the gold image in the Shangming marsh in Jiangling during the Song
22. Circumstances of the painted wall image reappearing after being covered over in Jingzhou during the Song
23. Circumstances of the vow of the small gold image in Jiangling during the Song
24. Circumstances of the paulownia wood shield producing the Buddha's halo through sympathetic resonance in Xiangzhou during the Song
25. Circumstances of the stone image rising lightly when encountering fire in Panyu during the Qi
26. Circumstances of the gold image sweating to manifest an omen in Pengcheng during the Qi
27. Circumstances of the gold image of Avalokiteśvara in the capital of Yang during the Qi
28. Circumstances of the sandalwood image of King Udayana in Jingzhou during the Liang
29. Circumstances of the gold image at Guangzhai Temple in the capital of Yang during the Liang (with the stone image of Shan County appended)
30. Circumstances of the life-sized gold and silver images of Emperor Gaozu of the Liang
31. Circumstances of the gold image of Avalokiteśvara in Dingzhou and the Gaowang Sūtra during the Northern Wei
32. Circumstances of the Chongyun Hall along with its images flying into the sea during the Chen
33. Circumstances of the stone image at Lingshi Temple in Jinzhou during the Northern Zhou
34. Circumstances of the iron-ore stone image on the Northern Mountain in Yizhou during the Northern Zhou
35. Circumstances of the Huayan processional image on Mount Xian in Xiangzhou during the Northern Zhou
36. Circumstances of the burned image at Xinghuang Temple in Jiangzhou moving during the Sui
37. Circumstances of the fifty bodhisattva images of the monk Mingxian during the Sui
38. Circumstances of the shadow of the auspicious stone image at Riyan Temple in the capital during the Sui
39. Circumstances of the four-sided image at Shahe Temple in Xingzhou during the Sui
40. Circumstances of the stone image emerging and appearing from the mountain in Fangzhou during the Tang
41. Circumstances of the divine light illuminating the Buddha's footprint in Jianzhou during the Tang
42. Circumstances of the stone patterns revealing the word 'Buddha' on a mountain in Liangzhou during the Tang
43. Circumstances of the Buddha's footprint appearing on stone at Xiangsi Temple in Yuzhou during the Tang
44. Circumstances of the Buddha's footprint at Lingkan Temple in Xunzhou during the Tang
45. Circumstances of the processional image descending from Fuzhou to Tanzhou during the Tang
46. Circumstances of the gold image emerging from stone in Lantian of Yongzhou during the Tang
47. Circumstances of the gold image emerging from the Li River in Hu County of Yongzhou during the Tang
48. Circumstances of the image radiating light that constantly illuminated the forest and valley in Qinzhou during the Tang
49. Circumstances of the image changing voice and manifesting on Mount Wutai in Daizhou during the Tang
50. Circumstances of the image naturally emerging when a mountain collapsed in Liaokou during the Tang
2.4
First, examining the Records of Unseen Auspicious Signs by Wang Yan of the Southern Qi: It states that Emperor Ming of the Han dreamed of a divine person nearly twenty feet tall, golden in color, with the radiance of the sun circling his neck. He asked his ministers about it, and someone replied, 'In the west there is a deity named the Buddha, whose form is like what Your Majesty dreamed; could it not be this?' Thereupon, envoys were dispatched to India to copy and bring back scriptures and images to make them known in China. From the Son of Heaven down to the princes and marquises, all served them with reverence. Hearing that upon a person's death the spiritual consciousness is not extinguished, there were none who were not terrified and lost in awe. At first, the envoy Cai Yin, accompanied by the Western Regions' śramaṇa Kāśyapa Mātaṅga and others, brought a painted seated image of Śākyamuni made by King Udayana. The emperor valued it highly, as it was just like what he had seen in his dream. He then dispatched painters to make several copies of it, to be venerated at the Qingliang Terrace of the Southern Palace and atop the Xianjie Longevity Tomb at the Gaoyang Gate. Furthermore, on the walls of Baima Temple, an image was painted of a thousand chariots and ten thousand cavalry circling the stūpa three times, as is fully recorded in the various biographies.
2.5
Second: During the Wu, on the level ground of a rear garden in Jianye, a gold image was discovered. Investigating its origin, it had in fact been made by King Aśoka at the beginning of the Zhou dynasty to guard the river commandery. How is this known to be so? From the Qin, Han, and Wei dynasties there had not yet been the Buddhist Dharma; how could there have been an image buried in the ground south of the Yangtze? When Sun Hao obtained it, he had never believed in the Dharma and did not venerate it greatly. He placed it in a privy and had it hold the toilet spatulas. On the eighth day of the fourth month, Hao went to the privy and jokingly said, 'Today is the eighth day, the time to bathe the Buddha,' and then urinated on the head of the image. Soon thereafter, his entire body swelled, particularly severely in his private parts, and he cried out in agonizing pain. The Grand Astrologer divined: 'This is caused by offending a great deity.' He then offered sacrifices to the various gods and spirits everywhere, but in the end there was no effect. Among the singing women was one who had always believed in the Buddha, who said: 'The Buddha is a great deity. Your Majesty previously defiled him; you may now pray to him.' Hao believed her, prostrated on his pillow, and took refuge. After a short while he recovered. Thereupon, he dispatched a horse-drawn carriage to welcome the śramaṇa Seng Hui into the palace, washed the image with fragrant water, expressed remorse and apologies, renewed the cultivation of merit, and sent it to Jianchu Temple.
2.6
3. In the first year of the Jianxing era under Emperor Min of the Western Jin, fishermen gathered at the mouth of Hudu on the Songjiang River in Lou County, Wu Commandery. Looking out into the distance, they saw two men floating on the waters in the sea. The fishermen suspected them to be sea deities and invited shamans and priests, preparing sacrificial animals to welcome them. The wind and waves surged even more violently, so they retreated in terror. Then there were followers of Huang-Lao who practiced the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice, who said, "These are Celestial Masters!" Together they went again to receive them, but the wind and waves remained as before. There was a Buddhist lay devotee, Zhu Ying of Huali in Wu County. Hearing of this, he sighed and said, "Could this not be the Great Awakened One condescending to descend?" He thereupon undertook pure fasting and, together with the nun Bo of Dongyun Temple and several faithful Buddhists, proceeded to the mouth of the waterway. They bowed their heads and invited them; thereupon the wind and waves grew calm. The two men floating on the river followed the tide into the inlet. As they drew nearer, they became clearer, and it was discovered that they were stone images. Just as the people were about to lift and receive them, human strength proved insufficient. Then, merely attempting to raise them lightly, the statues rose briskly into the air. They were immediately carried back to Tongxuan Temple. Looking at the inscriptions on the backs of the images, one was named Vipasyin and the other was named Kāśyapa. The imperial reign eras could not be determined, but the writing was distinct. Raised up, they were seven feet high. When dharma thrones were prepared with the intention of installing the two images, though there were several dozen men, they could not be moved at all. After supplicating and praying again, they suddenly were able to be lifted. When the matter was reported to the court, nine out of ten households among the court officials and commoners turned their hearts [to the Dharma]. The śramaṇa Śākya Fayuan came from the Western Regions and stated that sutras record that in the east there are two stone images and a King Aśoka stūpa, and that whoever makes offerings and bows to them will eliminate the transgressions accumulated over eons. Another biography also states that twelve Indian monks escorted the images to the commandery, and the images then stood upon the water, neither sinking nor proceeding. The situation was memorialized to the throne, and an imperial decree granted permission to keep them in Wu Commandery (see the Gaoseng zhuan, Jingyi ji, and other works). Recently, the Senior Princess of Xianyang in the capital heard of these miraculous traces and specially sent people to Tongxuan Temple to make drawings of them, making molds in the capital with the intention of fashioning images.
2.7
4. Master Lang Temple in Jinyu Valley of Mount Tai from the Western Jin: In the past, the Central Plains suffered the turmoil of the Yongjia era when the reins of government were lost. There was a śramaṇa named Śākya Senglang, whose secular surname was Li, a man of Jizhou. Having traveled to the west and returned to the east, he went into the Eastern Peak together with the monk Zhanyi. Divining the northwestern crag, he made it his final resting place. There were constantly clouds shading it, and both gentry and commoners marveled at it. The fame of his auspicious resonance shook foreign lands, as he lived in tranquility to the end of his days. At that time, all under heaven was without a ruler, and heroes harbored imperial ambitions. Qin, Song, Yan, and Zhao all without exception sent letters expressing revere and respect, ceding the taxes of counties to foster merit. Thus there were gilt-bronze images sent by seven kingdoms: the Prime Minister of Goryeo, the Hu kingdom, the Women's kingdom, the Wu kingdom, Kunlun, and Northern Dai. Senglang made offerings and served them with full ritual propriety, constantly displaying auspicious omens. Today they are housed in a single hall whose doors and windows are always open, yet no birds or sparrows ever tread there. Everyone respects and marvels at this. The temple has existed until now for about 350 years, and the foundation and structures of the temple and stūpa remain as original. In the Sui, it was renamed Shentong Daochang. At present, it is still established as a temple.
2.8
5. In the Xianhe era under Emperor Cheng of the Eastern Jin, Gao Kui, Prefect of Danyang, on his travels to and from the imperial palace, constantly saw an unusual light appearing at the inlet by Zhanghou Bridge. He sent officials to search for it, and they retrieved a golden image. It was of ancient Western Regions craft, lacking both halo and pedestal. Gao Kui dismounted his carriage and loaded the image into it. When he reached the mouth of Changgan Lane, the ox would go no further. Gao Kui stopped the driver and let the ox go where it wished; it then proceeded directly to Changgan Temple. He accordingly enshrined it there. The whole capital of Yangzhou assembled in reverence to view and worship it, and very many were enlightened. At midnight the image inevitably emitted golden rays of light for over a year. Zhang Houshi, a fisherman of Linhai County, saw a bronze lotus pedestal drifting on the sea with cinnabar light. He swiftly sailed his boat to intercept and retrieve it, presenting it fully to the imperial court. The emperor ordered that it be tested under the feet of Gao Kui's image, and it matched perfectly. After some time, five monks from the Western Regions carrying pilgrim's staffs arrived to visit Gao Kui, saying, "In the past we traveled to India and obtained a King Aśoka image. When we reached Ye, we encountered disorder and hid it on the riverbank. Once the royal roads opened, we searched for it but lost its location. Recently we had an evocative dream telling us: 'I have emerged in Jiangdong and have been obtained by Gao Kui, residing in King Aśoka Temple.' Therefore, we came from afar to seek refuge here, wishing to pay homage once." Gao Kui led them to the temple. When the five monks saw the image, they wept and sobbed; the image emitted light on their behalf, illuminating the interior of the hall and circling the monks' bodies. The monks said, "It originally had a circular halo, which is now in a distant place, but it too should arrive soon." The five monks then remained to make offerings. In the first year of the Xian'an era, Dong Zongzhi, a pearl diver in Hepu of Jiaozhou in the Southern Sea, constantly saw light floating on the water from the seabed. Searching for it, he obtained the Buddha's halo. When this matter was reported to the throne, Emperor Jianwen decreed that it be bestowed on this image. The apertures matched completely, and its radiance and color were without difference. In total, it took over forty years for the auspicious resonances of east and west to bring the halo and pedestal together. On the flower base of this image, there is Western script; many visitors could not recognize it, but Tripiṭaka Master Guṇavarman alone said, "This is ancient Sanskrit script. It was made by King Aśoka's fourth daughter." At that time, the śramaṇa Huisui of Fanguan Temple wished to make a replica of it. The abbot of the temple, Sengshang, feared damaging the gilding and said to Huisui, "If you can make the Buddha emit light and turn its body facing west, it will be beyond my control." Huisui prayed with utmost sincerity. In the middle of the night, he heard an unusual sound; opening the hall, he saw the image radiating great light and seated facing west. Thereupon permission was granted to make molds of it. Several dozen copies were produced and circulated everywhere. Under Emperor Wu of Liang, seven heavenly musicians and two bodhisattvas were added above the halo. In the second year of the Yongding era under the Chen, Wang Lin stationed troops at Jiangpu and was about to advance toward Jinling. Emperor Wu ordered generals to sail upriver. When the army departed, the body of the image shook and could not rest stably. This was reported to the throne. The emperor investigated and found it to be true; shortly thereafter, before weapons even clashed, Wang Lin's forces disbanded, and he fled north on a single horse. Thus the upper reaches were completely pacified. Therefore, it manifested this through movement. During the Tianjia era, when troops rose in the southeast, the emperor made vows before the image that the wicked bandits would be repelled. As he finished speaking, light illuminated the steps and eaves. Before long, Dongyang and Minyue were both pacified. The śramaṇa Huixiao was the leader at Changgan; wherever his conversion reached, matters were swept along like the wind. He then built a multi-storied pavilion, causing the colorful paintings to reach the pinnacle of wondrous beauty, commanding a panoramic view. At the beginning of the Zhide era, a square pedestal was additionally crafted. From the Jin through the Chen, none of the rulers and ministers of the five dynasties failed to pay homage and revere it. During severe droughts, the image was invited into the palace, riding on the imperial carriage with an oiled covering above. Monks prayed for rain, and heavy rains poured down midway; this omen was never missed. When the fortunes of the Chen declined, rumors and folk prophecies frequently circulated. In the second year of the Zhenming era, the image turned its face to the west on its own; though straightened, it returned to that position. The situation was memorialized to the throne. The emperor invited it into the Taiji Hall, holding a fast and circumambulating the altar. The image had previously possessed a crown of the seven treasures, adorned with pearls and jade, weighing about three catties, with a brocade cap placed on top. By dawn, the jeweled crown was hanging from the image's hand, while the brocade cap was still on its head. When the emperor heard of this, he burned incense and prayed, "If there is misfortune for the state, take off the jeweled crown again to show the warning omen." He then replaced the crown upon its head. By morning, it was removed and hung just as yesterday. Rulers and ministers lost color. When the Sui destroyed the Chen, the entire state went bare-headed with hands tied behind their backs, migrating westward, just as had been portended. When Emperor Gao of the Sui heard of this, he decreed that it be brought to the imperial palace in the capital for worship, constantly standing in attendance himself. He issued a decree saying, "We are old and cannot endure standing for long. Let the appropriate officials make a seated image resembling this standing original image, and send it to Daxingshan Temple." When the image first arrived, the hall was large and could not face directly south, so it was placed facing north. By dawn, it sat facing directly south. Though the assembly marveled at it, they moved it back facing north. By dawn, it again faced south as before. The assembly all felt shame and apologized for their negligence. At present, drawings and paintings of it are very numerous. I have excerpted and gathered from numerous accounts to compose this record; if there are aspects that are not comprehensive, may it be known that this is not due to exaggeration.
2.9
6. On the eighth day of the fourth month in the third year of the Ningkang era under Emperor Xiaowu of the Eastern Jin, the śramaṇa Śākya Dao'an of Tanxi Temple in Xiangyang, whose abundant virtue was illustrious and whose renown resounded through the world, cast an eighteen-foot gilt-bronze Amitāyus Buddha at a vihāra west of the city walls. In the final month of winter the following year, its ornamentation was completed. Xi Huizhi, General of the Guarding Army and Regional Inspector of Yongzhou under the Jin, newly arriving to preside over the Xiangyang region, assisted in opening the gate of merit. At night, the image went out and roamed westward to Wanshan, leaving a footprint imprinted into the stone. The monastics and laity of the local area rushed there together in excitement, gasping in admiration, and welcomed it back to its original place to make offerings. That same night, it came out again and stood at the temple gate. The assembly was all astonished and awed. Xi Huizhi thereupon changed the temple's name to Jinxiang Temple. Coming to the eighth day of the fourth month in the third year of the Putong era under the Liang, an imperial decree commanded that a gilt-bronze flower pedestal be cast at the Jianxing Park, five feet nine inches high and nine feet eight inches wide. After the decoration was completed, it was sent upstream to support the feet of the image. A stele was erected praising its virtue, with text by Liu Xiaoyi and calligraphy by Xiao Ziyun, acclaimed as the best in the realm; the stele is still extant. When Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou eradicated the Dharma in the third year of the Jiande era, the year of jiawu, Duke of Taiyuan Wang Bing was Regional Inspector of Xiangzhou, and Deputy Garrison Commander Senior Specially Promoted Zhangsun Zhezhi did not believe in the Dharma; hearing of the miraculous responses, he wished first to destroy it. Men and women in the city, seeing that the monks and nuns were about to be disbanded and hearing of the impending destruction, wailed and cried along the roads. Seeing the lamentations of monastics and laity, Zhezhi grew all the more enraged, urging his attendants to smash it quickly. He first ordered one hundred men to bind its neck with ropes, but pulling with all their might, it did not move. Zhezhi, thinking they were not exerting their strength, caned the supervisors and added one hundred more men, but pulling it was as before. He added another three hundred, yet it remained motionless as before. Zhezhi's anger grew fiercer; he added another five hundred men to pull, and only then did it topple over. The sound shook the earth, and everyone trembled in terror. Zhezhi alone leapt with joy and immediately ordered it melted down and destroyed, shouting out in self-satisfaction, and galloped on horseback to report to the Regional Inspector. After barely a hundred paces, he abruptly fell to the ground, losing his voice, staring blankly, with his four limbs paralyzed. By nightfall he died. Monastics and laity shouted with satisfaction. When the image was being destroyed, on the inside of the downward-draped robe under its armpit was an inscription reading: "In the nineteenth year of the Taiyuan era of the Jin, in the year of jiawu, on the first day of the month, the bhikṣu Dao'an made one eighteen-foot golden image at the western suburb of Xiangyang. This image will undergo three cycles of jiawu, one hundred and eighty years, when it shall be destroyed." Calculating the years and months later, its rise and fall matched completely. Thus one truly knows that the holy man of the sealed hand genuinely made no false record. Today the original residence is named Qifa Temple; people chiseled away the stone that was trodden upon, and it still exists today. Earlier, during the disintegration at the end of the Sui when regions held firm, the Xiangyang Garrison Commander Doulu Bao held provisional control of a region belonging to Wang Shichong. There was Master Xian of Qifa Temple, who was revered by both gentry and commoners; he repeatedly admonished Master Dou to submit to the Tang state, but Dou did not listen. Xian communicated with monastics and laity within and without, and the capital region dispatched troops to Xiangyang. Dou held firm; three times the army arrived to slaughter the city, but it did not fall. Later, discovering Xian's plan, he had him killed. Facing death, Xian said to his disciple Su Foulou: "Your father and I witnessed the destruction of Master Dao'an's golden image, and since then the legacy has not been continued. After I die, you may remake it according to the original." By the fourth year of the Wude era, the government forces laid tight siege; Dou surrendered, only then regretting that he had not taken Xian's counsel, wrongfully killing him in cruelty—thus he had performed service for the state, yet there was no one to vindicate him. Once the city was pacified, Foulou resumed lay clothing. Master Xian had monastic garments and personal belongings, which Foulou collected and gave away. He then set his mind on making the image, but did not know what model to follow. He subsequently dreamed of a Brahmin monk gesturing and sketching its appearance, and inquiring among the elders, there were also drawings. He immediately cast it according to the model, and in a single smelting it was completed without any defect. When the image was being cast, the sky was overcast with clouds and rained flowers like plums throughout the temple. Foulou was skillful by nature and affluent in resources; he also crafted a gilt-bronze Maitreya image over ten feet tall in his home. Later he again dreamed of Xian instructing him to make another Buddha image, so at Fanyun Temple he made a great image fifty-nine feet high, the details of which are recorded elsewhere. In the past, at the beginning of the Sui, Prince Xiao of Qin, Yang Jun, once garrisoned the Xiangyang region. Hearing that Master Dao'an's ancient image was extraordinary in form, he sent people to draw it and made a replica at Yanxing Temple in Chang'an. On the night it was first cast, it also inspired auspicious signs such as heavenly music and heavenly flowers; it still exists today (namely, the present Yongtai Temple, renamed Wanshan Temple).
2.10
7. In the Eastern Jin, under Emperor Mu, in the sixth year of the Yonghe reign period, the cyclical year dingwei—which according to the extended calendar was actually the third year—on the night of the eighth day of the second month, an image appeared north of the city of Jingzhou. It was seven feet five inches tall, and together with its halo and pedestal measured one zhang and one foot high. No one could fathom where it had come from. Earlier, in the fifth year of the Yonghe reign period, merchants from Guangzhou were loading cargo onto their vessel, but upon finishing they regretted that the boat was too light. In the middle of the night, they felt that someone came rushing aboard. Alarmed, they searched together, but saw nothing at all. Yet the ship's load had naturally become so heavy that no more could be added. Although astounded by its strangeness, they could not explain it. Steering onward, they navigated smoothly, continually staying ahead of the other boats, and before long reached the Zhugong palace [precinct]. Just as they moored at the water's edge, at night they again felt someone disembarking from the boat to the shore, and the ship's load became light once more. Only when the image appeared did they realize it had not been an ordinary occurrence. At that time, Huan Wen, the Grand Marshal, governed the western Shan region. He personally bowed and worshipped it, stirring the entire province and town. The monastic assemblies of the various monasteries all vied to welcome and conduct it, but it remained heavy and immovable. There was the Governor of Changsha, Teng Jun (another version says Teng Han) of Jiangling, who in the second year of the Yonghe reign period had donated his residence to be a monastery, with a plaque displaying the name of the commandery. Hearing that Master Dao'an was superintending Xiangchuan, he requested a guardian [for the monastery]. Dao'an said to his disciple Tanyi, 'The gentry and commoners of Jing and Chu are just beginning to have faith in the Dharma. Who other than you can accomplish this good work? You should go.' Tanyi, carrying his staff, journeyed south and undertook construction for a whole year. Although the monastic quarters were completed, the image installations were not yet arranged. He often sighed and said, 'The images of King Aśoka's monasteries are disseminated according to conditions. If one's utmost sincerity is not lacking, why worry that it will not descend?' When he heard that an image had arrived at the city of Jing[zhou], joyful and deeply moved, he said, 'This image is the object of my fundamental vow. It will surely come to my Changsha [Monastery]. It may be expected through the heart, but is difficult to bring by force.' The assembly all agreed, saying, 'If it is as you say, the proof will not be far off.' Tanyi burned incense, bowed, and prayed. He ordered three disciples to lift it, and it suddenly lifted as lightly [as a feather], and they installed it in their home monastery. Monastics and laypeople rejoiced. In the Eastern Jin, in the second year of the Xian'an reign period of Emperor Jianwen, a lotus pedestal was first cast for it. In the Taiyuan reign period of Emperor Xiaowu of the Eastern Jin, Yin Zhongkan was regional inspector. In the middle of the night, the image walked out through the western gate of the monastery. A night patrolman thought it was a person and questioned it, but received no answer. He struck it with his sword, which made a clanging sound. Looking closely, it was the image. The mark where the sword struck its chest appeared on the outside. There was the Dhyāna Master Saṅghananda of Kashmir, who was widely learned and well-travelled, coming from Shu to Jing[zhou]. He entered the monastery to pay homage to the image, and sighed with choked tears for a long time. Tanyi asked him the reason, and he replied, 'It was recently lost in India. How has it descended so far to this land?' Thereupon they verified the months and years, and all coincided. They then examined the back of the image's halo, and there was a Brāhmī inscription stating, 'Made by King Aśoka.' When people heard this inscription, their reverence redoubled. This was proof of Tanyi's thought evoking a response. When he was critically ill, the light of the image suddenly vanished. Tanyi said, 'The Buddha is showing this sign; my illness will not recover. The light has gone to other regions to perform Buddha-work again.' Within ten days, he passed away. Later, the monks, modelling upon the halo, cast another one, which is the present one. In the time of Emperor Xiaowu of the Song, the image emitted a great light, and the Buddha-Dharma in Jiangdong flourished greatly for a period. At the end of the Taishi reign period of Emperor Ming of the Song, the image often shed tears. Emperor Ming soon died, and his successor was deranged and violent, whereupon the dynastic change from Song to Qi took place. Shen Youzhi, regional inspector of Jingzhou, initially did not believe in the Dharma and purged the monks and nuns. Changsha was one monastery with over a thousand monks, of whom several hundred were to be returned to lay life. The entire assembly was terrified, and young and old wept in grief. The image perspired for five days without ceasing. When Shen heard of this, he summoned the monastery's Great Worthy, Master Xuanchang, and questioned him about the reason. Chang said, 'The holy is not far away; no grief fails to penetrate it. The Buddhas of the past, future, and present are mindful of one another. Could it be that the present Buddha is mindful of all the Buddhas? Wishing to purify the patron's unbelieving mind, this response has occurred.' He asked which sūtra it came from. [Chang] answered, 'It comes from the Amitāyus [Sūtra].' Youzhi obtained the sūtra, examined it, and was extremely pleased; he immediately halted the purge. In the second year of the Yongyuan reign period of the Qi, Xiao Yingzhou, General of the Guard, together with the founder of the Liang, joined with Xiao Baorong, Prince of Nankang and regional inspector of Jingzhou, to raise troops in rebellion. At that time, the image walked out of the hall and was about to descend the steps. Two monks saw it, cried out in alarm, and it returned into the hall. In the third year, Yingzhou died suddenly, Baorong was also deposed, and good fortune accrued to Gaozu [of Liang]. At the end of the Tianjian reign period of the Liang, the monastery prior Daoyue and a layman were clearing grass beside the stūpa; when they opened the stūpa door, they saw the image circumambulating its niche, practicing the way. Yue worshipped it in secret and forbade speaking of it. When the hall was fully opened, the image was also on its seat. When the Prince of Poyang of Liang was in Jingzhou, he repeatedly requested it to be brought into the city to establish great merit. When he fell ill, he went to welcome it, but it became twice as heavy and could not be raised; a few days later, he died. When Gaozu was formerly in Jingzhou, he had long harbored sincere devotion and repeatedly sent men to bring it, but could never succeed. In the third month of the fourth year of the Zhongdatong reign period, he sent the monk Jin of Baima Temple and the Chief Clerk He Siyuan, carrying incense and flowers for offering, to express his earnest sincerity. That night, it emitted light, seeming to follow the envoys. The next morning, when they received it, it was once again detained and obstructed. Only after they repeatedly entreated and prayed did it assent to go. The fourfold assembly, filled with yearning, saw it off to the riverbank. On the twenty-third day, it arrived at Jinling, eighteen li from the capital. The Emperor personally went out to welcome it. Along the entire road it emitted light continuously without cease. Monastics and laypeople rejoiced and exclaimed at such an unprecedented event. It was kept in the palace for three days, where he made offerings with the utmost sincerity (another version says it stayed at Zhongxing Temple), and held an unrestricted great vegetarian feast (pañcavārṣika) for twenty-seven days. Leaving and entering through the Datong Gate, it was brought to Tongtai Temple. That night, the image emitted a great light. An imperial decree ordered that a hall of three bays and two side-wings be built to the northeast of the main hall of Tongtai Temple, and a seven-jeweled curtained throne was provided to enshrine the auspicious image. In addition, two gilt-bronze bodhisattvas were made; mountains were piled up, ponds excavated, rare trees and strange rocks placed, and flying bridges and balustrades flanked both flights of steps to the hall. Furthermore, a pair of bronze caldrons was offered, each holding thirty hu. Multi-storied pavilions on three sides wound gracefully and exquisitely. In the third month of the second year of the Zhongdatong reign period, the Emperor visited Tongtai Temple, held an assembly, and delivered a lecture. Passing through the various halls to pay homage, he arrived at the Auspicious Image Hall at dusk. Just as the Emperor mounted the steps, the image emitted a great light, illuminating the bamboos, trees, mountains, and water, all turning them golden, which did not cease until midnight. When Tongtai Temple was burned down, the halls and chambers were completely destroyed, and only the hall where the image resided survived.
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In the second year of the Taiqing reign period, the image sweated profusely. In the eleventh month of that year, Hou Jing raised a rebellion. In the third year of the Dabaao reign period, the rebels were pacified, and the monk Fajing and others of Changsha Temple welcomed the image back to Jiangling to reside in its home monastery again. In the seventh year of the Dading reign period of the Later Liang, the image sweated again. In the second month of the next year, Emperor Xuan, Zhongzong, passed away. In the third year of the Tianbao reign period, Changsha Temple was reached by spreading flames; the entire monastery blazed, smoke and flames gathering from all four sides. They wished to rescue the auspicious image, but had no means to move it. This image had always required a hundred men to lift, but on that day, six men lifted it. In the fifteenth year of the Tianbao reign period, Emperor Ming invited the image into the palace to practice repentance and had an unseen spiritual resonance. In the twenty-third year, the Emperor died. His successor Xiao Cong moved the image to the Renshou Palace, and it again sweated profusely. In the second year of the Guangyun reign period, the Liang state was destroyed. In the seventh year of the Kaihuang reign period, the monk Faji and others of Changsha Temple again welcomed it back to the monastery. In the fifteenth year of the Kaihuang reign period, Tian Zongxian, regional inspector of Qianzhou, arrived at the monastery to worship, and the image immediately emitted light. His Lordship resolved to build a main northern hall of thirteen bays, and east and west side halls of nine bays. The timber for this was transported from over five thousand li upriver from Jing[zhou]; they cut the logs and transported them to the river to float freely. The timber floated down to Jingzhou and naturally moored at the shore; though wind and waves stirred and buffeted it, it never drifted far away. They then hauled it up and built with it. The columns were three feet in diameter, and the stone plinths beneath were eight feet wide. This was indeed unparalleled in all antiquity. The main hall was completely inlaid with agarwood, and inside were thirteen jeweled curtains, all adorned with gold and jewels, down to the rafters, purlins, and caisson ceilings, which were all interspersed with jeweled flowers. The east and west halls, where the auspicious image resided, were both lined with sandalwood, and within were jeweled curtains and flower lanterns, all fashioned from pure gold, reaching the extreme of magnificent splendor, the foremost under heaven. In the twelfth year of the Daye reign period, the auspicious image sweated several times. In that year, Zhu Can pillaged various prefectures, arrived at the town of Jing[zhou], and encamped inside the monastery. The main hall towered over the north of the city; the rebels climbed onto the hall to shoot arrows. The garrison in the city was troubled by this and burned it at night with fire arrows. Monastics and laypeople in the city mourned that the auspicious image was destroyed. That night, without anyone noticing, the image crossed the city wall, came to the gate of Baoguang Temple, and stood outside. At dawn, seeing that the image survived, the whole city rejoiced. After the rebels dispersed, they looked at the image's former site, and not a trace had been burned, untouched even by ash or charcoal. Now a hall has been rebuilt, but it is not equal to the former one. In the fifth year of the Fengming reign period of the false Liang ruler Xiao Xian, the false King of Song, Yang Daosheng, and others went to the monastery to worship, and the image sweated profusely; streams of rain flowed from its body and head, not ceasing all day long. In the ninth month of that year, the troops and horses of the Great Tang came down from the Shu River. On the twentieth day of that month, the temple monk Fatong, hoping for an auspicious sign as the Tang's fortunes were about to unite the realm, circumambulated the image, practicing the way. That night, it emitted bright light that filled the hall. By the twenty-fifth day, the radiant light gradually faded. On that day, the troops and horses of the Prince of Zhaojun entered the city. This was also a joyous celebration of the great unification, so it shed light as a favorable omen. When it comes to months of severe drought, whenever the governors and magistrates expressed utmost sincerity, it never failed to respond completely. In the sixth month of the sixth year of the Zhenguan reign period, there was a great drought. The Area Commander, Duke of Yingguo, Wu Shiyue, welcomed the image and held a vegetarian feast, practicing the way for seven days. Officials high and low stood before the image, contemplating the Buddha single-mindedly. After a good while, clouds spread on all sides, and sweet rain poured down. That year there was an abundant harvest. The Area Commander then donated gold to regild the auspicious image; carriage, palanquins, banners, and flowers, all manner of adornments were fully provided. It is now located at Changsha Temple in Jiangling. There is also a foreign bronze image, about seven feet tall, ancient and extraordinary, said not to be very heavy. When Dao'an was at Shicheng, it was sent from Chang'an; he instructed a disciple to find a śarīra within the usnīṣa, which radiated light and was lost.
2.12
8. In the Eastern Jin, Zhou Qi, courtesy name Xuanpei, was a native of Yangxian in Yixing. He was the second son of Zhou Chu, General Who Pacifies the West of the Jin. His rank reached Governor of Wuxing. His family worshipped the Buddha, and his daughter was particularly devoted and meticulous. A house servant was fishing when he suddenly saw golden light overflowing the river, shining against the current as it moved upstream. Immediately casting his net, he obtained a golden image about three feet tall, its marks dignified and clear. It floated upon the water and came to a stop; when pulled and hauled, it would not move, so he rushed to report to Zhou Qi. Zhou Qi told his daughter, and sent her with men and a boat to go and welcome it. Seeing it from afar, with a joyful heart she bowed and pulled it with her hands; it immediately was brought aboard the boat. It was worshipped in their home. At night, the daughter dreamed that the Buddha's left knee was painful. Waking up, she examined the image's knee and indeed found a hole there, so she cut her gold hairpin to mend it. Later, Zhou Qi gave his daughter in marriage to Zhang Cheng of Wu Commandery, and she took the image along with her, saying she was returning to the Zhang family. Later, she fell ill and died; people then saw the daughter on the city wall, her beauty and attire surpassing ordinary days. Inside and out, all beheld her; soon a purple cloud came down to welcome her, and she ascended into the sky, disappearing only when she reached the edge of vision. Cheng's great-grandson was involved in military affairs during the suppression of the rebellion of Sun En. Having long abandoned the vegetarian precepts, he inadvertently lost the image, while its halo remained behind. The whole household repented and prayed with utmost devotion. An old woman came carrying it to sell, asking for a very low price. Recognizing it as the former image, just as they were about to pay the price, they lost sight of where the old woman was. This image was thereby lost, while the halo remains in the Zhang family, and so forth.
2.13
9. The wooden image of Lingbao Temple in Shanyin, Kuaiji, from the Eastern Jin, was crafted by the recluse Dai Kui of the state of Qiao. Because anciently made images were generally simple and rustic, and as far as inspiring reverence was concerned, they were insufficient to stir the heart, Kui, who had always possessed pure faith and was also exceedingly ingenious, set about altering and carving the awe-inspiring visage, hoping to match the ultimate reality. Concentrating his thoughts for many years, he was finally able to accomplish it. In the excellence of image-making in the Eastern Land, there had never been an image like this. It caused monastics and laypeople who gazed upon it with reverence to feel suddenly as if they were meeting [the Buddha] in person. Xi Jiabin of Gaoping took up incense and prayed, saying, 'If [things] are permanent, may I behold the holy countenance again; if they are impermanent, may I meet before Maitreya!' The incense he held in his hand spontaneously sent up fragrant smoke, rising straight to the limits of vision at the edge of the clouds. The lingering fragrance hovered, scent filling the entire monastery. At that time, monastics and laypeople were all inspired and stirred. The image is now at Jiaxiang Temple in Yuezhou.
2.14
Tenth, in the second year of the Taiyuan reign era of the Eastern Jin, the monk Huihu founded a sixteen-foot golden image of Śākyamuni at Shaoling Temple in Wu Commandery. To the south of the temple, he dug a pit on high ground to begin smelting and casting. When it was finished and about to be moved, in the night the pit was luminous and clear, and there were six-petaled flowers, pure white and freshly radiant, fluttering and scattering in all directions. Before reaching the ground, they naturally gathered and returned upward. At dawn, white clouds like smoke came out from the pit where it had been cast. In the clouds, a white dragon appeared, several tens of rods in length; its radiance was bright and dazzling as it slowly coiled and circled the pit. Each time it came before the image, it gazed up and lingered, seeming to pay homage. At that time, the wind ceased and the air was clear, with fine rain carrying an added fragrance. Only when the image had been installed on its seat did the dragon ascend to heaven. In the early Yuanjia reign era, the recluse Dai Yong of Qiao Commandery felt its design was plain and archaic, so he reworked the image; its head, face, and majestic features appeared lifelike. Above the eyebrows, he shortened the original by six inches, and below the soles of the feet, he pared away one inch, and so forth.
2.15
Eleventh, in the first year of the Yixi reign era of the Eastern Jin, the Minister over the Masses Wang Mi entered the palace and stayed at the East Side Gate. An attendant saw five-colored light emerge from the ground to the east of the gate; surprised, he excavated it and found an archaic bronze basin, under which he obtained a golden image four feet high, complete with halo and pedestal. This again was like Sun Hao's King Aśoka image. He consequently presented it to the palace. Emperor Wu of the Song dynasty had not previously believed much, but upon obtaining this image, his respect increased and he was joyfully awakened, personally worshipping and attending to it. This image was originally in Waguan Temple, and was later moved to Longguang Temple, it is said.
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Twelfth, concerning the Prince in Contemplation image at Wu Temple in Xuzhou of the Eastern Jin: formerly, the Jin monk Faxian, striving with rigorous resolve in the Western Heavens, traveled through the sacred sites. He went to lodge at a temple, where both seniors and juniors came out to receive him. Faxian happened to fall ill at the time, and the host sthavira personally looked after him. He ordered a novice to fetch native vegetarian food for the guest monk. In an instant he went and returned, but had an ulcerous wound and blood on his foot, saying, "I went to the house of Wu Cangying in Pengcheng to beg for food, and was bitten by a dog." Faxian wondered how, in the time of a single turn, he could travel tens of thousands of li away; only then did he realize that the monks of the temple were no ordinary men. Later, he returned to his home country by ship and purposely went to Pengcheng to seek out and find Wu Cangying, inquiring of him in detail about the incident. Cangying replied that such a thing had indeed happened, and pointed to the spot where residual blood had smeared the gate. Faxian said, "This is the blood of an arhat, a holy man! At the time, it was merely to fetch food for me; how could he have suffered injury?" Hearing this, Cangying was ashamed and terrified; he immediately renounced his residence to make it a temple, and personally went to the capital Yangzhou to seek scriptures and images. Just as he was crossing the river, his boat tilted dangerously. Suddenly there was a pair of bones, each one rod long, rising and surging with the waves, instantly entering the boat. Immediately, they sailed smoothly and ascended the shore. When the matter was memorialized to the throne, they turned out to be dragon teeth. Cangying had not yet obtained an image, and as he sailed up the river westward, he briefly rested among the trees. He met an Indian monk carrying this image as he walked, who said he wished to go to Xuzhou to give it to Wu Cangying for veneration. Cangying said, "If it is truly as the Tathāgata says, this disciple is he!" The monk then handed over the image. Bringing it back, when he reached the capital, an imperial edict ordered a thousand copies to be cast, all with inscriptions inscribed under their feet, so that no one could distinguish the new from the old, leaving it to Cangying to pick at will. The image then manifested in a dream and showed him its original features, and he rightly retrieved the original image. Returning eastward to Xuzhou, it regularly emitted extraordinary light. Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei invited it into the Northern Terrace. In the time of the Later Ruler of the Northern Qi, the envoy Chang Biaozi was sent to welcome it back to Ye. When the Qi was extinguished and the Zhou suppressed Buddhism, a monk hid it. When the great Sui propagated the teaching, it shone forth with renewed glory. It is now in Daci Temple in Xiangzhou.
2.17
Thirteenth, concerning the Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva image of Mount Lu from the Eastern Jin: formerly, the famous Jin minister Tao Kan, courtesy name Shiheng, raised his banner over the Southern Sea. A fisherman every night saw light by the seashore, and accordingly reported it to Kan. Kan sent men to seek it, and soon saw a golden image skimming over the waves and heading for the side of the boat. Examining its engraved inscription, it was indeed an image of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva made by King Aśoka. An ancient tradition says that when King Aśoka governed this continent, he imitated the ghost king in establishing a prison, which was exceedingly cruel and resentful. Mañjuśrī manifested within the boiling cauldron; the fire blazed while the water turned pure, producing blue lotus flowers. The king's heart was awakened; on that very day, he demolished the prison, built eighty-four thousand stūpas, and erected images in the same number, this being one of them. At first, Kan was unable to believe deeply in cause and effect, but upon seeing this auspicious omen, he held it in great reverence and sent it to Hanxi Temple in Wuchang. Later, when he was transferred to Jingzhou, he purposely sent men to welcome it. When the image was first in the sedan chair, a few men could lift it, but now, even with dozens of robust men added, it remained firmly unmoved from its place. Further adding porters to haul it with carts, they barely managed to get it onto the boat, but the boat immediately began to sink. The envoys fully reported this to Kan; Kan permitted it to return to its original temple, whereupon two or three men could easily lift it. The monk Huiyuan, revering and bowing before its august bearing, welcomed it into the Lu peaks without the slightest impediment. Is this not that the descent of holy numinous power responds only to the right person? Thus the proverb says: "Tao was but a hero of the sword; the image is marked by the spirit. One soars among the clouds, the other lodges in the mud—how far apart they are!" This is it. At the end of the Sui dynasty, when bandits arose and the monks scattered in all directions, there was an old monk whose name is lost, who came to take leave of the auspicious image. The image said, "You are old; just stay. How can you abandon me?" He then stayed according to its words. At that time, the bandit gang of Dong Daochong disturbed Jiangzhou; his followers entered the temple seeking valuables, seized the monk, and demanded gold. The monk said, "There is none to be had." They then roasted him with fire. The monk said, "Dying from roasting in vain, my corpse will defile the saṅghārāma; how would it be better than going outside the temple?" The bandits took him outside, intending to kill him. The monk said, "I have lived for seventy years and never betrayed the Buddha's teaching. Wait until my right mindfulness is settled; when I stretch out my neck, you may bring down the sword." The bandits agreed. Seeing him stretch out his neck to receive the blade, they struck down, but the sword turned back and stabbed into the bandit's own heart, the blade coming out through his back. The bandits fled in fear eastward to the tomb of Huiyuan. At that time, the weather was clear and bright, but suddenly clouds like a canopy gathered darkly and spread below, with thunder and lightning circling on all four sides, instantly striking down nine bandits to their death. The sons, daughters, and clothing of Jiangzhou mostly took refuge in the mountains and hid; because of this, the bandit gang did not dare enter the mountains, while beneath the outer walls of Jiangzhou was almost entirely burnt to ashes. The image is now on the upper storey of Donglin Temple on the mountain. During the Wude reign era, wind from Shimen Gorge blew the pavilion so that it tilted to the north; they wished to straighten it, but had no place to apply their efforts. The monks then prayed to the mountain deity for wind to blow it straight; before long, another great wind blew from the north, and the pavilion returned to plumb as before.
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Linked texts (1)
- 集神州三寶感通錄 — 道宣, Classical Chinese