法苑珠林 40.77

40.77

Yang Xiong, Prince of Ande under the Sui, and the myriad officials, etc. Your subject Xiong and the others state: Your subjects have heard that the Great Awakened One is completely perfect, with principle illuminating both emptiness and existence; the Utmost Sage is empty and congealed, with meaning transcending arising and ceasing. Thus, even though his physical form is divided like gathered mustard seeds, it is still stored in golden urns; though his substance is dispersed like blown dust, jeweled shrines are nonetheless erected for it. Since the time when Śakra requested his ashes, and since King Aśoka constructed the pagodas, there has never been one who distributed the śarīra to inherit and glorify this supreme undertaking. We prostrate and consider that the Emperor has accumulated causes over vast kalpas, having long realized bodhi in the past. Descending his traces as a sovereign of men, he protects and upholds the world. In the past, the decline of the Way met its cycle: the shrines of benevolence were abandoned and ruined, the light of the lamp of compassion was extinguished, and the ocean of wisdom ceased to flow. Now that the imperial destiny has arisen, the drum of the Dharma has newly resounded. Everything within the bounds of the realm has become a pure land, and all living creatures are covered by Brahma clouds. Last summer in the sixth month, an imperial edict was issued inviting śramaṇas to reverently convey the śarīra to thirty prefectures, so that on the fifteenth day of the tenth month they would simultaneously construct pagodas. Now at the place where the pagoda was planned and established at Qiyan Temple in Pu Prefecture, the sounds of bells and drums were heard upon this mountain. While the śarīra was inside the lecture hall, that night a great radiance shone forth above the stupa in front; it reached into the interior of the hall, flowing and illuminating the entire room. When they were about to place the śarīra into the bronze casket, there was also a light resembling an incense burner that mounted into the sky; upon reaching the precious flask of the stupa, purple flames again arose, either scattering or gathering, all forming lotus flowers. There was also a radiant light above the stupa shaped like a Buddha image, complete with lotus pedestal, which remained for a long time before gradually fading away. There was also a radiant light encircling the stupa's precious flask. The monks and others of Renshou Temple within the city of Pu Prefecture gazed from afar at the mountain peak appearing like towering pavilions; the mountain peaks, ravines, and valleys were distinctly visible, and it illuminated the southeastern quarter of the prefectural city for a long time without fading. As for Qiyan Temple, it was constructed by Taizu, Emperor Wuyuan. Furthermore, at the site where the pagoda was erected in Hua Prefecture, at that time the heavy clouds, fog, and snowfall suddenly cleared up; right above the pagoda appeared a five-colored wheel of signs, and after the śarīra was interred, clouds and fog arose once again. The Emperor and the Empress also obtained śarīra, which radiated brilliance and dispersed shimmering colors, now appearing, now submerging. Were it not for utmost virtue and consummate sincerity matching the Way of the spiritual sages, how could such divine power and marvelous marks bring about such extraordinary wonders? Your subjects have met with a prosperous era; having witnessed an age of great peace and been born to encounter these wholesome karmic deeds, we are just now escaping the realm of worldly defilements. Unable to contain our leaping joy, we respectfully present this memorial to offer our congratulations and bring this to your attention.