法苑珠林 31.68

31.68

晉南京寺記云。波提寺在魅陵縣新林青陵。昔晉咸安二年簡文皇帝起造。本名新林寺。時歷陽郡烏江寺尼道容。苦行通靈預知禍福。世傳為聖[(序-予+林)/女]。咸安初有烏巢殿屋。帝使常筮人占之。曰西南有女人師。當能銷伏此怪。即遣使至烏江迎聖[(序-予+林)/女]。問此吉凶。[(序-予+林)/女]曰。修德可以禳災。齋戒亦能轉障。帝乃律齋七日。禮懺精勤。法席未終忽有群烏運巢而去。一時淨盡。帝深加敬信。因為聖[(序-予+林)/女]起此寺焉。

The Records of the Temples of Nanjing of the Jin Dynasty states: Boti Temple is in Xinlin Qingling, Meiling County. Long ago, in the second year of the Xian'an reign of the Jin (372 CE), Emperor Jianwen founded it; its original name was Xinlin Temple. At that time, in Wujiang Temple of Liyang Commandery, there was a nun named Daorong whose ascetic practices penetrated the spiritual realm, so that she could foreknow fortune and misfortune; the world handed down stories of her as the 'Holy Nun'. In the beginning of the Xian'an era, crows nested in the palace hall. The Emperor had the regular diviners divine it. They said, 'In the southwest there is a female master who ought to be able to dispel and subdue this anomaly.' He immediately dispatched an envoy to Wujiang to welcome the Holy Nun and asked her about its auspiciousness or misfortune. The nun said, 'Cultivating virtue can avert calamities; maintaining fasting and precepts can also turn aside obstacles.' The Emperor then observed the precepts and fasted for seven days, diligently paying homage and making confession. Before the Dharma assembly had ended, a flock of crows suddenly carried off the nest and departed, completely clearing it all at once. The Emperor became all the more deeply reverent and trusting, and thus founded this temple for the Holy Nun.