法苑珠林 14.13

14.13

齊建元初。太原王琰者。年在幼稚。於交阯賢法師所受五戒。以觀音金像令供養。遂奉還楊都寄南㵎寺。琰晝寢夢像立于座隅。意甚異之。即馳迎還。其夕南㵎失像十餘。盜毀鑄錢。至宋大明七年秋夕放光照三尺許。金輝映奪合家同覩。後以此像寄多寶寺。琰適荊楚垂將十載。不知像處。及還楊都夢在殿東。眾小像內的的分明。詰旦造寺如夢便獲。於建元元年七月十三日也。故琰冥祥記自序云。此像常自供養。庶必永作津梁。循復其事有感深懷。沿此徵覿綴成斯記。夫鏡接近情莫踰儀像。瑞驗之發多自是興。經云。鎔斵圖繢類形相者。悉能行動及放光明。今西域釋迦彌勒二像輝用若真。蓋得相乎。今東夏景模神應極著。亦或當年群生因會所感。假憑木石以見幽異。不必剋由容好而能然也。故沈石浮深。寔闡閩吳之化。塵金瀉液。用舒彭宋之禍。其餘銓示繁方雖難曲辯。率其大抵允歸自從。若夫經塔顯効旨證亦同。事非殊貫故繼其末。

At the beginning of the Jianyuan reign of the Qi dynasty, Wang Yan of Taiyuan was still of a young age. He received the five precepts from Dharma Master Xian in Jiaozhi, who gave him a gold statue of Avalokiteśvara to worship. Thereupon he carried it back to the capital Yangdu and deposited it at Nanjian Temple. While napping during the day, Yan dreamed that the statue stood at the corner of his seat; he felt this was very strange, and immediately galloped to fetch it back. That night, Nanjian Temple lost more than ten statues, stolen and melted down to mint coins. In the autumn of the seventh year of the Daming reign of the Song dynasty, one evening it emitted light illuminating about three feet around; its golden radiance was dazzling, and the whole family witnessed it together. Later, this statue was deposited at Duobao Temple. Yan went to Jingchu for nearly ten years, not knowing the whereabouts of the statue. When he returned to Yangdu, he dreamed it was east of the main hall, clearly visible among numerous small statues. At dawn he went to the monastery and found it just as in the dream. This occurred on the thirteenth day of the seventh month in the first year of the Jianyuan reign. Therefore, Yan's own preface to the Mingxiang ji says: 'I have constantly made offerings to this statue myself, hoping it will eternally serve as a ferry. Reflecting upon these events, my heart is deeply moved; following these evident signs, I have compiled this record. For reflecting that which is near to human sentiment, nothing surpasses statues and icons; the arising of auspicious verifications mostly stems from this. The scriptures say that those who cast, carve, paint, and depict similar forms and appearances can all move and emit light. Now, the two statues of Śākyamuni and Maitreya in the Western Regions are so resplendent and efficacious as if real; is this not because they have attained the true likeness? Now the sacred copies in the Eastern Xia display divine responses most prominently. Perhaps it was also evoked by the karmic affinities of sentient beings at that time, borrowing wood and stone to display hidden marvels, not necessarily because the physical appearance alone could achieve this. Thus, the sunken stone floating on the deep sea truly unfolded the conversion of Min and Wu; the dripping sweat of the gilded bronze served to alleviate the calamity of Peng and Song. The rest of the diverse demonstrations are difficult to explain in detail, but in general they all follow this principle. As for the manifest efficacy of scriptures and stūpas, their import and evidence are the same; since the matter is of the same thread, I continue it at the end.'”