道宣律師感通錄 1.8

1.8

I also asked: "Now in Fanhe (pronounced *pan*) County, west of Liangzhou, the mountain split open and a statue emerged. In what dynasty was it made?"
He replied: "In the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, there was Bodhisattva Libin. Seeing that the people of this mountain did not believe in karmic retribution and took slaughter as their occupation—at that time there were tens of thousands of households in this place, none of whom revered the Buddha-Dharma—the Bodhisattva came to save them, establishing a saṅghārāma for them. The Great Brahmā Heavenly King fashioned the statue's body with his own hands. After it was first completed, the Bodhisattva's supernatural power was able to make this statue indistinguishable from a true Buddha, walking about, preaching the Dharma, and teaching the people. Although they were granted this guidance, they still did not accept it in faith.
Then the Bodhisattva manifested the act of terror: he held up a huge boulder in his hands as if it were about to drop, intending to crush them beneath it. The Bodhisattva accompanied their terror by exhorting and converting the people, who suddenly changed their minds and had faith and reverence toward the Buddha. All slaughtering implements turned into lotus flowers, and wherever there were streets and alleys, flowers appeared as if planted. Such miraculous signs stemmed from the spiritual power of transformation in this region.
The Bodhisattva also urged the upāsakas to build seven monasteries, spanning one hundred *li* from north to south and eighty *li* from east to west, filling mountains and crossing valleys, with monastic quarters and Buddha halls everywhere. Only after thirteen years was this accomplished. Twenty thousand people went forth from the household at the same time to dwell in the seven monasteries. When three hundred years had passed, those people possessed great strength from their present karma: the evil karma they had created in the past was experienced lightly in their present lifetime without them falling into hell. Those who had previously been harmed by them were in the evil destinies, and made an evil vow: 'Before those who harmed us attain sagehood, I shall harm them; if I do not inflict harm upon them, their evil karma will be exhausted, and I shall have no way to take retribution.' Together they spewed out great fire, burning down the monastic dwellings and their settlements, incinerating them all at once; even if they managed to escape by stealth and survive, great floodwaters washed them away and drowned them, leaving not a single person surviving.
At that time, before the monastery was destroyed, the mountain spirit took this statue and held it high in the air. After the monastery was destroyed, it brought it down into a stone chamber to place and make offerings to it. As months and years grew long, the stone grew and the chamber vanished. As for Liu Sahe's paying homage at the mountain and revealing its statue, his previous existence was originally Bodhisattva Libin. The body and head being in separate places was due to yet other circumstances."