法苑珠林 14.12

14.12

宋徐州刺史王仲德。於彭城宋王寺造丈八金像。相好嚴華江右之妙製也。北境兵起或貽僧。像輒流汗。啇其多少則難之小大。逆可知矣。郡人常以候之。齊建元初像復流汗。其冬魏寇淮上。時兗州數郡起義南附。鳩略甚眾。亦驅迫沙門助其顫守魏軍屠其營壘悉欲夷滅。表奏魏臺誣以助亂。頃及斬決。時像大汗殿地流濕。魏徐州刺史梁王奉法勤勤至寺親使人以巾帛拭。隨拭隨出不已。至數十人交手競拭。猶不能止。王乃燒香禮拜執巾呪曰。眾僧無罪誓自營護。必不罹禍。若幽誠有感當隨拭即止。言已自拭果應手而燥。王具事表聞。下詔皆見原宥云。

Wang Zhongde, inspector of Xuzhou under the Song dynasty, made an eighteen-foot gold statue at Songwang Temple in Pengcheng. Its marks and signs were adorned and splendid, a wondrous creation west of the Yangtze River. Whenever troops rose in the northern borders, or if harm was to befall the sangha, the statue would perspire profusely. By estimating the amount of sweat, the magnitude of the disaster could be known in advance. The people of the commandery regularly looked to it for signs. At the beginning of the Jianyuan reign of the Qi dynasty, the statue perspired again. That winter, the Wei forces invaded the Huai River region. At that time, several commanderies of Yanzhou rose in righteous rebellion and aligned southwards, gathering great numbers of people. They also coerced śramaṇas into helping them defend the ramparts. The Wei army slaughtered their camps and fortresses, intending to annihilate them all. They submitted a memorial to the Wei court falsely accusing them of aiding the rebellion, and execution was imminent. At that time, the statue perspired heavily, wetting the floor of the hall. The Wei inspector of Xuzhou, the Prince of Liang, revered the Dharma with great devotion; arriving at the monastery, he personally had people wipe it with cloth and silk. As soon as it was wiped, it kept sweating without cease. Even when several tens of people joined hands vying to wipe it, it still could not be stopped. The prince then burned incense, bowed, held the cloth, and prayed, saying: 'The assembly of monks is blameless; I vow to protect them myself, and they will certainly not suffer calamity. If this hidden sincerity evokes a response, let it immediately cease when wiped.' Having spoken, he wiped it himself, and indeed it became dry to the touch. The prince submitted a detailed report of the matter to the throne, and an edict was issued pardoning them all.