集神州三寶感通錄 2.17

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.