法苑珠林 14.53

14.53

問江表龍光瑞像。人傳羅什將來。有言扶南所得。如何為定。答曰。此非羅什所得。斯乃宋孝武征扶南獲之。昔佛滅後三百年中。北天竺大阿羅漢優婆質那。以神力加工匠。三百年中鑿大石山安置佛窟。從上至下凡有五重。高三百餘尺請彌勒菩薩指揮作檀室處之。玄奘師傳云。百餘尺。聖迹記云。高八丈足趺八尺。六齋日常放光明。其初作時。羅漢將工人上天。三往方成。第二牛頭栴檀。第三金。第四玉。第五銅像。凡夫今見止在下重。上四重閉。石窟映徹見人藏腑。第六百年有佛柰遮阿羅漢。生已母亡。生扶南國。念母重恩。從上重中取小檀像令母供養。母終生楊州。出家住新興寺獲得三果。宋孝武征扶南獲此像來。都亦是羅漢神力。母今現在。時往羅浮天台西方諸處。昔法盛曇無竭者。再往西方。有傳五卷。略述此像。何忽云羅什法師背負而來耶。

He asked: "Regarding the auspicious Longguang ('Dragon Radiance') image of the Jiangbiao region, some tradition says Kumārajīva brought it, while others say it was obtained from Funan. Which is correct?"
He answered, saying: "This was not obtained by Kumārajīva; it was acquired by Emperor Xiaowu of the Song when he campaigned against Funan. In ancient times, within the three hundred years after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, the great arhat Upasena in Northern India used his supernatural power to employ craftsmen. For three hundred years, they excavated a great stone mountain to install Buddha caves. From top to bottom, there were five tiers in all, over three hundred feet high. He invited Bodhisattva Maitreya to direct the making of a sandalwood chamber to house it. Master Xuanzang's biography says it was over a hundred feet; the Shengji ji (Record of Sacred Traces) says it was eighty feet tall, with a pedestal of eight feet, and constantly radiated light on the six fasting days. When it was first made, the arhat took the craftsmen up to heaven, going three times before it was completed. The second [tier held an image of] ox-head sandalwood, the third of gold, the fourth of jade, and the fifth of bronze. What ordinary mortals see today is only in the lowest tier; the upper four tiers are closed. The stone cave is transparent, so that one can see a person's viscera. In the sixth century [after the nirvāṇa], there was the arhat Fo-nai-zhe, whose mother died right after giving birth to him and was reborn in the kingdom of Funan. Mindful of his mother's profound kindness, he took the small sandalwood image from the upper tier and gave it to his mother to worship. When the mother died, she was reborn in Yangzhou, where she renounced household life, dwelt in Xinxing Temple, and attained the third fruit [of anāgāmin]. When Emperor Xiaowu of the Song campaigned against Funan, he obtained this image and brought it back; this was also entirely due to the arhat's supernatural power. The mother is still living now, occasionally visiting Mount Luofu, Mount Tiantai, the western regions, and other places. In the past, Fa-sheng and Dharmodgata went to the western regions twice and wrote a biography in five fascicles that briefly described this image. Why would anyone suddenly say Master Kumārajīva carried it on his back when coming?"