法苑珠林 17.23

17.23

晉竇傳者。河內人也。永和中。并州刺史高昌冀州刺史呂護。各權部曲相與不和。傳為昌所用作宮長。護遣騎抄擊為所俘執。同伴六七人共繫一獄。鎖械甚嚴。剋日當殺之。沙門支道山。時在護營中。先與傳相識。聞其執厄出至獄所候視之。隔戶共語。傳謂山曰今日困厄命在漏刻。何方相救。山曰。若能至心歸請必有感應。傳先亦頗聞觀世音及得山語遂專心屬念。晝夜三日至誠自歸。觀其鎖械如覺緩解有異於常。聊試推盪𤗯然離體。傳乃復至心日蒙哀。祐已令桎梏自解。而同伴尚多無心獨去。觀世音神力普濟當令俱免。言畢復牽挽餘人皆以次解落。若有割剔之者。遂開戶走出於警激之間。莫有覺者。便踰城徑去。時夜已向曉行四五里。天明不敢復進。共逃隱一榛中。須臾覺失囚。人馬駱驛四出尋捕。焚草踐林無不至遍。唯傳所隱一畝許地。終無至者。遂得免還鄉里。敬信異常成佳奉法。道山後過江。為謝居士敷具說其事（右十四驗出冥祥記）。

Dou Chuan of the Jin was a man of Henei. During the Yonghe era, Gao Chang, the inspector of Bingzhou, and Lü Hu, the inspector of Jizhou, each commanded their own troops and were at odds with each other. Chuan was employed by Chang as a palace warden. Hu dispatched cavalry on a raiding attack, and [Chuan] was taken captive by them. Together with six or seven companions he was bound in a single prison. The fetters and shackles were exceedingly secure, and a date was set when they were to be put to death. The śramaṇa Zhi Daoshan was in Hu's encampment at the time; having been acquainted with Chuan beforehand, upon hearing of his capture and plight he came out to the prison site to visit him. Talking together through the door, Chuan said to Shan: 'Today in this dire straits, my life is measured in drops of the water clock. By what means can you save me?' Shan said: 'If you can take refuge and pray with a utmost mind, there will surely be a sympathetic resonance.' Chuan had also previously heard a good deal about Avalokiteśvara, and upon receiving Shan's words, he dedicated his mind to concentrating his thoughts [on the Bodhisattva]. For three days and nights he took refuge of himself with utmost sincerity. Observing his fetters and shackles, they seemed to loosen and relax unlike usual. Trying playfully to push and shake them, they slipped right off his body! Chuan then again said with an utmost mind: 'Receiving compassionate protection, my fetters have already loosened of themselves. Yet my companions are still many, and I have no heart to leave alone. May the divine power of Avalokiteśvara universally deliver us and cause all to be spared together.' Having finished speaking, he pulled and tugged at the others, and all of them were loosed and fell away in turn, as if someone had cut them free. Thereupon they opened the door and walked out amid the watchmen and sentries, without anyone noticing. They then scaled the wall and made straight off. By then the night was approaching dawn, and having gone four or five li, as day broke they did not dare advance further, and fled together to hide in a thicket. Shortly after, the loss of the prisoners was discovered; men and horses issued forth in all directions in relays to hunt and capture them. Burning the grass and trampling the woods, there was nowhere they did not reach, except the single mu of land where Chuan was hidden, where no one ever came. They were thus able to escape and return to their home village. His reverence and faith were extraordinary, and he became a fine practitioner of the Dharma. Daoshan later crossed the Yangtze River and related this matter in full for the retired scholar Xie Fu. (The fourteen verifications above are taken from the Mingxiang ji.)