集神州三寶感通錄 2.35

2.35

31. During the Tianping era of the Northern Wei, Sun Jingde, an enlisted soldier from Dingzhou stationed at the northern frontier, made a gilt image of Avalokiteśvara. When his term of service was completed and he was about to return, he worshipped it constantly. Later, he was falsely implicated by bandits and imprisoned in the capital jail. Unable to endure the torture, he falsely confessed to the crime and was condemned to death, with his execution set for the following morning. That night, prostrating in repentance, his tears fell like rain. He prayed, saying: "That I am wronged in this life must be because I wronged others in past lives. I wish to repay the debt completely and vow never to do it again." He also made great vows, and so on. Shortly after he spoke, as if in a dream, he saw a śramaṇa teaching him to recite the Avalokiteśvara Life-Saving Sūtra, which contained the names of Buddhas, telling him that if he recited it one thousand times he would be delivered from suffering and hardship. Jingde suddenly awoke and sat up, reciting it without the slightest mistake. By dawn, he had already completed one hundred recitations. The officials bound him and led him toward the marketplace; as he walked, he continued to recite. Just as the execution was about to be carried out, he had completed the one thousand recitations. The blade was brought down to strike, but it broke into three pieces without harming his skin or flesh. The sword was changed and struck again, and through three replacements, the swords broke as before. The supervising officials were all astonished and marveled at it, and reported the matter in detail [to the throne]. Prime Minister Gao Huan memorialized to request his pardon, and so he was spared from death. An imperial edict was issued to transcribe this sūtra and propagate it; this is what is now called the Avalokiteśvara Sūtra of King Gao. When Jingde was released and returned home, he held a vegetarian feast to fulfill his vow. Bringing out the image he had kept during his border service, he saw three blade marks on its neck. His relatives and neighbors all witnessed it and sighed in admiration at its sympathetic resonance. This is recorded in the Qi Zhi and Jingyi [zhuan].