法苑珠林 14.40

14.40

In the first year of Longshuo of the Tang, an imperial edict was issued ordering the monk Huize of Huichang Temple to go to Mount Wutai to repair the temples and stūpas. This mountain belongs to Wutai County in Daizhou and possesses five terraces. The central terrace is the highest; gazing as far as the eye can see for a thousand li, the mountains and rivers appear as if in one's palm. Above it are several thousand stone stūpas, piled up with bricks and stones; these were all erected by Emperor Xiaowen, Gaozu of the Northern Wei. On the stones north of the terrace, footprints of people, horses, and dogs are pressed as fresh as new. On the summit is a large pool named Taihua Spring, and there are smaller springs successively linked to one another. Flanking the springs are two stūpas, inside of which are images of Mañjuśrī. Tradition says that Mañjuśrī went to Mount Qingliang with five hundred immortals to preach the Dharma; therefore the Avataṃsaka Sūtra also says that Mañjuśrī preaches the Dharma on Mount Qingliang. For this reason, this mountain is extremely cold and produces no other trees, having only pine groves towering over the mountain valleys. The south is called Qingliang Peak, and below the mountain is Qingliang Prefecture; its ancient and modern surviving foundations can still be seen and have not vanished. Descending some thirty li to the southeast of the terrace, there is the ancient Great Fu Lingjiu Temple. Currently it has east and west bodhimaṇḍas where Buddhist rituals are fully provided. The elders traditionally say it was built by Emperor Ming of the Han. To its south is a flower garden of about two qing; strange flowers bloom among them, dazzling the eyes. Trees encircle it on four sides. Inquiring of the elders, none knows their origin. From the beginning of spring until late autumn, the flowers bloom in succession. From antiquity, monastics and laypeople have cherished the rarity of these flowers; in the human realm there are none who could dig up their roots and transplant them outside, for all fail to grow. Even if transplanted just outside the surrounding trees, they still cannot grow; they must remain within the enclosure, left to blossom on their own. This is truly what was evoked by Mañjuśrī, a sign manifested by the Great Sage: it is indeed the abode of divine immortals, so how could it have been planted by ordinary men? If anyone enters this mountain with sincerity of purpose, they often see saṃghārāmas where holy monks dwell: some flying through the air, some climbing along ravines, some living on perilous heights, some in secluded crags. Whether monastic or lay, they look no different from ordinary, foolish folk; but when sought out afterward, their whereabouts cannot be known. Temples and holy monks appear and disappear without constancy; unless one is a sage, it cannot be fathomed.