集神州三寶感通錄 2.40

2.40

36. During the Kaihuang era of the Sui, the Buddha hall of Xinghuang Temple in Jiangzhou was burned down. Directly facing the sun stood a sixteen-foot gilt bronze large image and two bodhisattvas, all sixteen feet tall; their molds had been cast by Dai Yong, and they were positioned directly beneath the main ridgepole. At that time, the blazing flames were raging fiercely, and the assembly could only fold their hands and mourn together. Just as the large image was about to melt and be destroyed, it was suddenly seen to rise up and move one pace south; the ridgepole and beams collapsed downward, and the image retained its complete form. The bricks, tiles, and charcoal were cleared away on all four sides, leaving the image standing five or six feet clear of them. Although burned by the fire, its golden color remained unchanged. Beneath its pedestal was an inscription. The great assembly was all astonished, and their sighs of admiration filled the roads. It has now been moved to the Baima Temple, and birds never alight on it. In the second year of the Yonghui era, a thief wished to profit from the bronze of the image; he sawed through the window lattice and was about to pull it out when his wrist was clamped tight, and he could not free it despite trying. At dawn, when the monks questioned him, the thief said: "There was a person wearing white clothes inside the hall holding my hands, and I could not break free," and so forth.