集神州三寶感通錄 2.36

2.36

32. When Emperor Wu of the Chen passed away, his elder brother's son Qian ascended the throne. Intending to prepare for the burial and build a funeral carriage (wenliangche), since the state had only newly been established and there was no leisure to procure materials from scratch, [he recalled that] Emperor Wu of the Liang had previously erected the Chongyun Hall, wherein the scriptures and images were adorned with precious jewels that outshone those of other lands. Although the mandate had passed to the Chen, the hall and its images remained intact. Qian wished to take the pearl pendants from the Buddha canopies of Chongyun to adorn the funeral rites. When sufficient laborers had gathered from all four sides, they saw only swirling clouds gathering and circling around the Buddha hall, while outside the other directions it was clear and bright without a shadow. The myriad craftsmen found it strange and raced to watch. In an instant, torrential rain poured down and lightning flashed. Smoke spread across the owl-tail ridge ornaments, and fire blazed fiercely amidst the clouds. Luminous flames spread, flickering high and low. Suddenly, the silhouette of the Chongyun Hall and its two images were seen standing aloft; the divine kings of the four divisions and the jewel-adorned pedestals all soared upward together, borne along by the smoke and fire, and vanished far away in an instant. The onlookers from the entire realm all embraced faith. After the rain cleared, when they went back to inspect the old site, only the plinths remained. More than a month later, someone came from the eastern provinces saying that on that day, he had seen the hall and images flying across the sky over the sea. Today, those who look out over the sea occasionally catch sight of them. The stūpa of the Yongning Temple in the Wei capital of Luoyang stood a thousand feet above the ground and was struck down by heaven; the circumstances were roughly similar. Someone on the Eastern Sea is said to occasionally see its traces.