法苑珠林 14.18

14.18

陳武帝崩。兄子蒨立。將欲修葬造轀輬車。國創新定未遑經始。昔梁武帝立重雲殿。其中經像並飾珍寶映奪諸國。運雖在陳殿像仍在。蒨欲取重雲佛帳珠珮以飾送終。人力既足四面齊至。但見雲氣擁結流繞佛殿。自餘方左開朗無陰。百姓怪焉。競往看覩。須臾大雨橫澍雷電振擊。煙張鴟吻火列雲中。流布光焰高下相涉。欻見重雲殿影。二像峙然四部神王并及寶座一時上騰。煙火挾之忽然遠逝。觀者傾國咸歸奉信。雨晴之後覆看故處唯礎存焉。至後月餘有人從東洲來云。於此日見殿影像乘空飛海。今望海者有時見之。又魏氏洛京永寧寺塔。去地千尺。為天所震。其像略同。有人東海時見其迹云。

When Emperor Wu of the Chen died, his elder brother's son, Chen Qian, ascended the throne. When he was about to prepare the funeral and build the hearse, the state had just recently been established, and there was no leisure to undertake the project from scratch. Formerly, Emperor Wu of the Liang had erected the Chongyun Hall, wherein the scriptures and images were adorned with rare jewels outshining all other states. Although the mandate had passed to the Chen, the hall and its images remained. Chen Qian wished to take the pearl pendants from the Buddha canopy of the Chongyun Hall to ornament the burial. When the manpower was gathered and approached from all four directions simultaneously, they saw only clouds and vapors gathering and swirling about the Buddha hall, while the other directions were clear and overcast-free. The populace found it strange and raced to watch. In an instant, a heavy rain poured down, and thunder and lightning shook the area. Smoke spread from the owl-tail roof ornaments, and fire arrayed in the clouds, spreading blazing flames that surged high and low. Suddenly, the reflection of the Chongyun Hall appeared: the two images stood majestically, and the divine kings of the four classes along with the jeweled thrones ascended at once, accompanied by smoke and fire, and suddenly flew far away. The spectators from throughout the state all turned to faith. After the rain cleared, when they inspected the former site, only the plinths remained. Over a month later, someone came from the eastern islands saying that on that very day he had seen the image of the hall flying across the sea through the void. Nowadays, those who look out over the sea still catch sight of it at times. Furthermore, the pagoda of the Yongning Temple in Luoyang of the Wei dynasty, which was a thousand feet above the ground, was struck by lightning from heaven. Its image was similar, and someone on the Eastern Sea has occasionally seen traces of it.