集神州三寶感通錄 3.31

3.31

Formerly, during the Tianping reign era of the Northern Wei, Sun Jingde, a conscripted soldier of Dingzhou, made an image of Avalokiteśvara while serving at a border post. When his term was completed and he was about to return home to worship and serve it, he was later implicated by bandits. Unable to endure the torture, he falsely confessed to the crime. He was to be executed the next day. That night, weeping tears as he performed rites of repentance, suddenly, as if in a sleep-dream, he saw a śramaṇa teaching him to recite the Avalokiteśvara Sūtra for Saving from Suffering. The sūtra contained the names of various Buddhas, and he was told that reciting it one thousand times would allow him to escape suffering and distress. Jingde suddenly awoke, and everything was completely without error, just as it had appeared in his dream. He then recited it one hundred times. The officials bound him and led him toward the marketplace; he recited as he walked, and as he faced execution he completed the thousand recitations. When the blade struck down, it broke into three pieces; his skin and flesh were unharmed. They changed the blade and struck again, but through three changes of the blade, it broke as before. The supervising official questioned him, and he related the whole affair from beginning to end. They reported the circumstances to Prime Minister Gao Huan, who submitted a memorial requesting his exemption from death. Because of this, it circulated widely in the world; this is the so-called Gao Wang Avalokiteśvara [Sūtra]. When Jingde returned home, he hosted a vegetarian feast and welcomed the image, whereupon he saw three blade marks on the neck of the image. This appears in the Book of Qi.