法苑珠林 14.15

14.15

梁祖天鑒初。於本宅立光宅寺造丈八金像。圖樣既成不爽分寸。臨鑄疑銅不足。始欲上請忽有使者領銅十五車至云。奉勅送寺。便即鎔瀉。一冶即成。冠絕通國。唯覺高大。試以量之。乃長二丈二尺。以狀奏聞。鑄像已成不改元樣。所續送銅用亦俱盡。更重審量乃增四尺。勅云。銅初不送何緣乃爾。豈不以真相應感獨表神奇乎。可鐫著華趺以為靈誌乃具疏而剋于足下。於今存焉。梁祖為父於鍾山造大愛敬寺殿。大像神相有之。故不重顯。廣如別記。有梁佛像多現神奇。剡縣大石像元在宋初。有王所造。初有曇光禪師。從北來巡行山川為幽栖之所。見此山崇麗。乃於峯頂構小草室。聞天樂空聲曰。此是佛地。如何輒有蔬囿耶。光聞南移天台。後遂繕造為佛像。積經年稔終不能成。至梁建安王患降夢。能開剡縣石像病可得愈。遂請僧祐律師。既至山所規摸形製。嫌其先造太為淺陋。恩緒未絕。夜忽山崩壓二百餘人。其內佛現。自頸已下猶在石中。乃剗鑿浮石至本仍止。既都除訖。乃具相焉。斯則真儀素在石中。假工除剗故得出現。梁太子舍人劉勰製碑於像前耳。

At the beginning of the Tianjian reign of the Liang founder, he established Guangzhai Temple at his former residence and made an eighteen-foot gold statue. Once the blueprint was completed, it did not deviate by the slightest fraction. When about to cast it, they suspected there would not be enough copper. Just as they were about to submit a request, an envoy suddenly arrived leading fifteen carts of copper, saying: 'By imperial decree, these are delivered to the monastery.' They then melted and poured it, and it was completed in a single casting, surpassing all in the realm. It was only noticed to be taller and larger; when they measured it to test, it was twenty-two feet tall. When a memorial was submitted to report the situation, [it was stated that] the casting of the statue had succeeded without altering the original design, yet all the copper successively delivered had been used up completely. Upon measuring it carefully again, it had increased by four feet. An edict said: 'We did not initially send the copper; by what cause did this happen? Is it not that the true likeness in sympathetic resonance uniquely manifests the divine and miraculous? It may be carved upon the lotus pedestal as a spiritual record.' Thus a full inscription was carved beneath its feet, and it remains there to this day. When the Liang founder built the hall of Da'aijing Temple on Mount Zhong for his father, miraculous signs of the great statue occurred; therefore, they are not recounted again here, as they are fully recorded in separate accounts. Many Liang Buddhist statues manifested divine wonders. The great stone statue of Shan County was originally made by a prince at the beginning of the Song dynasty. Initially, Dhyāna Master Tan'guang came from the north wandering among mountains and streams looking for a secluded dwelling; seeing this mountain lofty and beautiful, he built a small thatched hut upon the peak. He heard heavenly music and a voice from the sky saying: 'This is Buddha-ground; how can there suddenly be a vegetable garden here?' Hearing this, Guang moved south to Tiantai. Later, [people] carved it into a Buddha statue, but after accumulating years, it could never be completed. When King Jian'an of the Liang was ill, he had a dream that if he could complete the stone statue of Shan County, his illness could be cured. He then invited Vinaya Master Sengyou. When [Sengyou] arrived at the mountain and inspected the form and design, he was displeased that the previous work was too shallow and crude. Before his deliberation was finished, the mountain suddenly collapsed at night, crushing more than two hundred people. Inside it, the Buddha appeared; from the neck down, it was still inside the stone. They then chiseled away the loose rock until reaching the original body, whereupon they stopped. Once it was completely cleared away, the marks and signs were fully equipped. This was because the true likeness had originally been inside the stone, and by using craftsmanship to chisel away the rock, it was able to appear. Liu Xie, Secretariat drafter to the Liang Crown Prince, composed a stele before the statue.