法苑珠林 36.65

36.65

In the Southern Mountains of Weinan County, Yongzhou, under the Tang, there is the cliff of Daobao Valley (Overturned Leopard Valley). There is a hanging rock whose markings resemble an overturned leopard, hence the name. The valley has a rock resembling the face of a Buddha, so it is also called Likeness Valley. An old tradition relates: Formerly, an Indian monk came and said, 'I hear that in this valley there is Image-Face Mountain with the shrines of the seven Buddhas. Long ago, the seven Buddhas once came to this valley to preach the Dharma. In the ravine are campaka flowers, which were constantly offered.' Recently, during the Yonghui years, the śramaṇa Zhiji of Longchi Temple in the Southern Mountains heard of this and went to search for it. Arriving in the valley, he smelled incense, not knowing where it came from. He was deeply astonished that the fragrant aroma arose from the sand within the ravine. He immediately dug into the sand to look, and found something shaped like cogongrass root, wrapped with sand and earth, yet extremely fragrant. Bringing it to the water, he shook and washed it, and the entire ravine became fragrant. When he brought it back to the Buddha hall of Longchi Temple, the whole hall was filled with an intensely fine fragrance. Laypeople at the foot of the mountain occasionally see this mountain either like a Buddhist stūpa or entirely like the face of a Buddha rising into the sky; thus the name of Image Head is not an empty designation. Nearby, it is very close to Jiamei Valley, which was where Wang Jia lived during the Yao Qin. (The two proofs above are from the Tang Biographies of Eminent Monks.)