法苑珠林 16.74

16.74

Shi Shanzhou of Jingying Temple in the Western Capital under the Tang dynasty was lay-surnamed Huai, a native of Yingzhou. He was quick-witted and facile in understanding, and extremely skilled in sharp debate. Mindful of clever discourse, his fine reputation was widely known. In the final years of the Renshou era, he received an imperial order to erect a pagoda and escort a śarīra to Hualin Temple on Niutou Mountain in Zizhou. As the ceremonial carriage was about to arrive, it attracted eight pigs that suddenly dashed beneath the carriage and followed along as far as the official lodge; when driven away, they ran off but returned as before. Approaching the commandery seat, four black bees of great and impressive size circled the carriage several times and then flew away. Once he reached the provincial lodge, at night a great light shone, piercing through the roof like a flaring flame; it was extinguished only after the duration of a meal. Furthermore, when they dug the pagoda foundation more than a fathom deep, precisely at the place of the casket they found an ancient earthenware jar without a lid containing water that was clear, limpid, and fragrant; it was then used to place inside the casket. From the second level at the southwest corner of the temple's nine-story stupa, a light shone upward illuminating the dew-plate wheels; shaped like five-stone earthenware vats, it was yellow and red like fire, and only after a long time did it fade away. In addition, the Maitreya Buddha inside the hall also emitted a purple light from between his eyebrows, and two bodhisattvas likewise radiated red light, brightly illuminating the entire monastery. This was witnessed by the multitude on seven occasions, excluding only those who had not come. In the eighth month of the third year of the Wude era, he passed away in his temple at the age of seventy-one. (These two miracles are taken from the Tang Biographies of Eminent Monks.)