法苑珠林 17.16

17.16

晉潘道秀。吳郡人。年二十餘。為軍亂主。北為征固。既而軍小失利。秀竄逸被掠。經數處作奴俘虜異域。欲歸無因。少信佛法常至心念觀世音。每夢寐輒見像。後既南奔迷不知道。於窮山中忽覩真形。如今行像。因作禮。禮竟豁然不覺失之。乃得還路。遂歸本土。後精進彌篤。年垂六十而亡。

Pan Daoxiu of the Jin was a native of Wu Commandery. When he was in his twenties, he was captured during military turmoil and sent north to garrison. Soon, the army suffered a slight reverse, and Xiu fled but was seized again. Passing through several places as a slave and captive in foreign territory, he had no means of returning home. Having had faith in the Buddha's Dharma since youth, he constantly and earnestly remembered Avalokiteśvara. Whenever he dreamed, he saw the image. Later, when he fled south, he was lost and did not know the way. In the deep mountains, he suddenly beheld the true form, just like a processional image. Thereupon he bowed; when his bowing was finished, it vanished without him realizing it. He then found the route home and returned to his native land. Thereafter, his vigor became even firmer, and he died when nearly sixty years of age.