法苑珠林 51.68

51.68

魏滎陽釋超達。未詳氏族。元魏中行業僧也。多知解善呪術。帝禁圖讖尤急。所在搜訪。有人誣達。乃收付滎陽獄。時魏博陵公檢勘窮劾。達以實告。公遂大怒。以車輪繫頸嚴防衛之。自知無活專念觀音。至夜四更忽不見輪。唯見守者皆大昏睡。因走出外將欲遠避。以繫獄囚久。脚遂𮜭急不能遠行。至曉虜騎四出追之。達急伏臥草中。兵騎蹋草悉皆靡遍。對逼不見仰看虜面。悉以皮障目。達一心服死唯專誠稱念。夜中虜去尋即得脫。又有僧明道人。為北臺石窟寺主。魏氏之王天下。每疑沙門為賊。官收數百僧。並五繫縛之。僧明為魁首以繩急繫。從頭至足。剋明斬決。僧明大悑。一心念觀世音。至於半夜覺繩小寬。私心欣幸精誠彌切。及曉索繩都斷。既因得脫。逃逸奔山。明旦獄監來覓不見唯有斷繩在地。知為神力所加。非關人事。即以奏聞。帝信道人不反遂總釋放。

Shi Chaoda of Xingyang in the Wei: His lineage is not known. He was a monk of active practice during the Yuan-Wei dynasty. He possessed much knowledge and understanding and was skilled in incantations. The emperor was especially strict in banning apocryphal texts and prophecies, conducting searches everywhere. Someone falsely accused Chaoda, and he was arrested and consigned to the Xingyang prison. At that time, the Duke of Boling of the Wei investigated and thoroughly interrogated him; Chaoda answered truthfully. The Duke became furious, bound a cart wheel to his neck, and guarded him strictly. Knowing he would not survive, he single-mindedly concentrated on Avalokiteśvara. At the fourth watch of the night, the wheel suddenly vanished, and he saw only that the guards were all in a deep slumber. He therefore ran outside intending to escape far away. But having been bound in prison for a long time, his legs were cramped and stiff, and he could not walk far. At dawn, northern cavalry rode out in all directions in pursuit. Chaoda hurriedly lay prone in the grass. The soldiers and cavalry trampled the grass flat everywhere. Although right beside him, they did not see him; looking up at the northern soldiers' faces, they all had their eyes shielded by leather. Chaoda single-mindedly resigned himself to death and only called on [Avalokiteśvara's] name with devoted sincerity. In the middle of the night the northern soldiers left, and he immediately managed to escape. Furthermore, there was the cleric Sengming, who was the abbot of the Beitai Shiku Temple. When the Wei clan ruled the world, they often suspected śramaṇas of being rebels. The authorities arrested several hundred monks and bound them with fivefold bonds. Sengming, regarded as the leader, was bound tightly with ropes from head to foot, and a time was set at dawn for his execution. Sengming was terrified and single-mindedly contemplated Avalokiteśvara. At midnight, he felt the ropes loosen slightly; secretly rejoicing, his dedication became even more earnest. When dawn came, the ropes had all broken. Having thus escaped, he fled into the mountains. The next morning, the prison warden came looking for him and did not find him, seeing only the severed ropes on the ground. Knowing this was due to spiritual power and not human action, he reported it to the throne. The emperor believed that the cleric had not rebelled and released all of them.