A Residence Among the Chinese; Inland, on the Coast, and at Sea. Being a Narrative of Scenes and Adventures During a Third Visit to China, from 1853

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 36 BUDDHIST TRADITIONS. Chap. II. Ningpo, commonly called Yuh-wong. About the time of the Three Kingdoms (a.d. 230) a priest named Hwuy came to Nanking, where he built a shed. The people thought him a strange being, and brought him to Sun-keuen, the ruler of the country, who asked him for the proofs of his religion. Hwuy replied that Buddha left a number of relics, over which Ayuka had built 84,000 pagodas. Sun-keuen thought it was all nonsense, and told him that if he could find a relic he might build a pagoda over it. Hwuy then filled a bottle with water, and offered up incense before it for twenty-one days; at the expiration of that period he heard a sound proceeding from the bottle resembling that of a bell. Hwuy then went to look at it, and perceived that the relic was formed. The next day he presented it to Sun-keuen; the whole of the courtiers examined it, and saw the bottle illuminated with all sorts of brilliant colours. Keuen took the bottle, and poured out its contents into a dish; when the relic came in contact with the dish it broke the vessel to pieces. Keuen was astonished and said, ' That is very curious.' Hwuy then addressed him, saying, ' This relic is not only capable of emitting light, but no fire will burn, nor diamond-headed hammer bruise it.' He then placed the relic on an anvil, and caused a strong man to strike it with all his might, when the hammer and anvil were both broken, and the relic remained uninjured. Keuen then assented to the construction of the pagoda. The Chinese say Chap. II. A PICNIC. 37 that they can sometimes discern the relic illumined with brilliant colours, and as big as a cart-wheel, while the unbelievers can see nothing at all. Such are the Chinese traditions concerning these so-called precious relics of Buddha, which one...