法苑珠林 14.22

14.22

During the Kaihuang era of the Sui, the Buddha hall of the Xinghuang Temple in Jiangzhou was consumed by fire. Directly in the center stood a sixteen-foot gilt-bronze great image along with two bodhisattvas, both sixteen feet tall. The model had been crafted by Dai Yong, and it stood directly beneath the main ridgepole. At that time, the blaze was raging fiercely; the multitude held their hands together and lamented that the great image would melt away. Suddenly, it arose and moved one pace to the south, whereupon the ridgepole and beams collapsed downward, and the image was preserved intact. On all four sides, the brick, wood, and charcoal were five or six feet away from the image's body. Although scorched by fire, its golden color did not change. Beneath the pedestal was an inscription. The multitude was amazed, and cries of admiration filled the streets. It has now been moved to the Baima Temple, where birds do not tread upon it. In the second year of the Yonghui era of the Tang, thieves who coveted the bronze of the image sawed through the window lattice to pull it out, but their wrists became caught; they tried to pull free but could not escape. When morning came, a monk questioned them, and the thieves said: “There was a man dressed in white inside the hall who seized our hands, and we could not break free.”