集神州三寶感通錄 3.44

3.44

In the fifth year of the Zhenguan reign era, there was Linghu Yuangui, magistrate of Baxi County in Longzhou, who had faith and reverence for the Buddha-dharma. Wishing to copy the Lotus Sūtra, the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā, the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, and other scriptures, but having no way to inspect and correct them himself, he relied on Chan Master Kang of that region to inspect and collate them. Kang had them copied cleanly in accordance with the Dharma at the temple. When the copying was completed, the scrolls were placed in cases and returned to the estate in Qizhou; the scriptures remained in the estate, kept together in the same place as the Laozi in Five Thousand Words. Suddenly, an external fire spread and burned; as the hall was thatched with grass, it was reduced to ashes in an instant. Yuangui was at that time serving in Fengyi, and he ordered his family members to sift through the ashes to retrieve the gilt-bronze sūtra rollers. Once they cleared away the ashes on top, the scriptures inside were completely intact as before, their yellow color unchanged; only the boxes and wrappers had turned to ash. They also searched for the Laozi, but it had perished with the fire. They then gathered up the scriptures, and the villagers marveled in awe. The title of one roll of the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra was scorched black. When they inquired into the reason, it turned out that when the sūtra was first titled, there was an official of the prefecture who was skilled in calligraphy; he was in a hurry and did not observe purity, directly writing the title while standing. Because of this, it was scorched. That person is still alive, and the auspicious scripture still exists. Shencha, abbot of Ximing Temple in the capital, witnessed this with his own eyes and related it.