法苑珠林 14.64

14.64

又問。漢地所見諸瑞像。多傳育王第四女所造。其事匪幽冥難得其實。此事云何。答曰。此實不疑。為育王第四女厥貌非研久而未出常恨其醜。乃圖佛形相還如自身。成已發願。佛之相好挺異於人。如何同我之形儀也。以此苦邀彌經年月後感佛現。忽異本形。父具問之。述其所願。今此山玉華荊州長沙楊都高悝及京城崇敬寺像。並是育王第四女造。或有書其光趺。依梵本書。漢人讀者罕識其文。育王因將此像。令諸鬼神隨緣所感流傳開悟。今覩像面莫匪女形。其崇敬寺地本是戰場。西晉將末有五胡大起。兵戈相殺。此地特多。地下人骨今掘猶得。所殺無辜殘害酷濫。故諸鬼神携以鎮之。令諸冤魂得生善念。周朝滅法神亦徙之。隋祖載隆佛還重起。

It was also asked: "Among the various auspicious images seen in the land of Han, many are traditionally said to have been made by King Aśoka's fourth daughter. If this matter is not mysterious and obscure, it is difficult to obtain the truth of it. How is this?" It was answered: "This is truly beyond doubt. Because King Aśoka's fourth daughter's countenance was not fair, and she had remained unmarried for a long time, she constantly resented her ugliness. Thereupon she depicted the Buddha's physical form to look just like her own body. When it was finished, she made a vow: 'The Buddha's marks and signs are exceedingly distinct from ordinary people; how could he share my physical appearance?' With such earnest supplication, as the months and years passed, she subsequently evoked the Buddha's manifestation, and suddenly her original form transformed. Her father inquired about it fully, and she recounted her vow. At present, the images at Mount Yuhua, Jingzhou, Changsha, Gao Kui of the capital of Yang, and Chongjing Temple in the capital city were all made by King Aśoka's fourth daughter. On some of them, the halo and pedestal are inscribed; written in the Brahmī script, readers among the people of Han rarely recognize the text. King Aśoka therefore took these images and commanded various spirits to circulate them and inspire awakening according to conditions as evoked. Looking at the faces of the images today, none are not in female form. The site of Chongjing Temple was originally a battlefield. Toward the end of the Western Jin, the Five Barbarians rose in great force, and slaughter with weapons was particularly rampant in this place. Human bones underground can still be dug up today. Those killed were innocent, and the cruelty was excessive. Therefore, the spirits brought [an image] to suppress it, so that the aggrieved souls might give rise to wholesome thoughts. When the Zhou dynasty suppressed the Dharma, the spirits also removed it; when the founder of the Sui flourished, the Buddha [image] was erected once more."