道宣律師感通錄 1.21

1.21

About five to six hundred li south of Mount Heng, north of Yongzhou, there is a great river plain, extending over five hundred li east to west and over one hundred li north to south. Formerly, several hundreds of thousands of households lived on this plain. Now giant trees grow there, the largest having a diameter of twenty to thirty feet; below them there is no grass or wood, making a lovely deep forest. In its midst there is a great river flowing east into the Xiang River; following the ravine to see it, one reaches the plain. In the south, there is a valley entering northward; in the valley is a square pool, paved on all four sides with stone, with deep water where a dragon resides. Whenever anyone offends it, thunder shakes the mountain valley. On the left are many mountain fruits, such as oranges, pomelos, and bayberries, planted in succession. South of the pool is a great Aśoka stupa, upheld by stone flowers, covered with a stone niche level with the ground. On the cliff east of the stupa there is a full stele inscription, identifiable as seal script; climbing a ladder to copy it, one can fully know the reason the stupa was erected.