法苑珠林 14.18

14.18

When Emperor Wu of the Chen died, his elder brother's son, Chen Qian, ascended the throne. When he was about to prepare the funeral and build the hearse, the state had just recently been established, and there was no leisure to undertake the project from scratch. Formerly, Emperor Wu of the Liang had erected the Chongyun Hall, wherein the scriptures and images were adorned with rare jewels outshining all other states. Although the mandate had passed to the Chen, the hall and its images remained. Chen Qian wished to take the pearl pendants from the Buddha canopy of the Chongyun Hall to ornament the burial. When the manpower was gathered and approached from all four directions simultaneously, they saw only clouds and vapors gathering and swirling about the Buddha hall, while the other directions were clear and overcast-free. The populace found it strange and raced to watch. In an instant, a heavy rain poured down, and thunder and lightning shook the area. Smoke spread from the owl-tail roof ornaments, and fire arrayed in the clouds, spreading blazing flames that surged high and low. Suddenly, the reflection of the Chongyun Hall appeared: the two images stood majestically, and the divine kings of the four classes along with the jeweled thrones ascended at once, accompanied by smoke and fire, and suddenly flew far away. The spectators from throughout the state all turned to faith. After the rain cleared, when they inspected the former site, only the plinths remained. Over a month later, someone came from the eastern islands saying that on that very day he had seen the image of the hall flying across the sea through the void. Nowadays, those who look out over the sea still catch sight of it at times. Furthermore, the pagoda of the Yongning Temple in Luoyang of the Wei dynasty, which was a thousand feet above the ground, was struck by lightning from heaven. Its image was similar, and someone on the Eastern Sea has occasionally seen traces of it.