法苑珠林 14.8

14.8

Prince Kang of Linchuan, who was the Song dynasty General of the Palace Guard, built a three-bay hall inside the city of Jingzhou to make offerings to scriptures and statues. On the walls of the hall, images of bodhisattvas were extensively painted. When King Wen of Hengyang succeeded him in the garrison post, he decommissioned it to serve as his sleeping quarters and plastered over it entirely with mud. Whenever the mud dried, it fell away in flakes, leaving the painted forms fresh and clean. When they plastered it again, it was still the same. The prince did not believe or revere [the Dharma] and also thought it merely an accident. He then had it plastered thickly, but the painted images showed through clearly and could be discerned distinctly. The prince again ordered the old walls destroyed and completely rebuilt. Soon afterward, he fell ill; whenever he closed his eyes, he saw those statues vividly filling his sight. Thereupon he abandoned it and did not dwell there, and extensively engaged in vegetarian retreats and lectures.