法苑珠林 40.46

40.46

During this tenth month, the Emperor repeatedly found śarīra under his teeth while eating; so did the Empress. Placing water in a silver plate, he floated one to show to the civil and military officials. In an instant, two grains were suddenly seen, clinging together in clockwise rotation. Two imperial consorts, as well as King Zhao of Jin and King Jian of Yuzhang, were bestowed inkstones and ordered by imperial decree to examine them carefully; each found one śarīra inside their inkstone. Before two decades of days had passed, a total of nineteen were obtained in the palace, most of which emitted bright light. From then on, clergy and laity from near and far brought forward all the śarīra they possessed to present them. The Emperor said: 'Why must these all be genuine relics?' The śramaṇas tested them together: sure enough, thirteen turned out to be jade grains. When genuine śarīra were struck with an iron hammer, they remained unharmed. At Xianyou Temple, south of Zhouzhi County, west of the city of Yong Prefecture, on the day the pagoda was erected, rain and snow fell from the sky, shrouding the mountain ridges thickly. When the śarīra were about to be lowered, the dark clouds suddenly dispersed, and the sunlight shone brilliantly. Once the clergy and laity had completely dispersed, the clouds gathered again as before.