法苑珠林 17.4

17.4

In the fourth year of the Daming era, Empress Dowager Lu Zhao of the Song commissioned an image of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra riding a white elephant in a jeweled carriage, installing it in the meditation hall of Zhongxing Temple. Consequently, she sponsored a scripture lecture at the temple. On the eighth day of the tenth month of that year, when the vegetarian feast was concluded and the assembly dissolved, two hundred monks had gathered. At that time, the temple buildings were newly constructed, and the emperor paid great attention to it, his imperial carriage visiting several times every ten days. The monastic assembly was disciplined and orderly, and the imperial guard was strict. On that day, the names of the monks were fixed for taking their seats. After a while, a monk was suddenly seated among the ranks, whose refined and outstanding appearance startled the entire hall. The patron of the feast exchanged more than a hundred words with him, when suddenly he was seen no more. The entire gathering looked on together and recognized him as a divine person.