Stele of the Jeweled Stupa of the Qianfu Monastery of Xijing

This stele, known as the Stele of the Jeweled Stupa, recounts the story of Chan Master Chu Jin楚金 (698–759) from Longxing龍興 Temple in the Western Capital (present-day Xi'an) during the Tang dynasty. One night, while reciting the Lotus Sutra’s “The Emergence of the Jeweled Stupa” chapter, he experienced a vision of the Jeweled Stupa and vowed to build one in devotion.
Construction of the stupa began at Qianfu千福 Temple in Chang’an in 742. Legend has it that Tang Emperor Xuanzong玄宗 (r. 712–756) dreamt of the stupa and sent eunuchs with funds and a plaque. During construction, Master Chu Jin and 49 fellow practitioners performed the “Lotus Samadhi” repentance ritual biannually, which later became a regular ceremony by imperial decree. On the stupa’s completion, Master Chu Jin was ordered to copy the Lotus Sutra 1,000 times, with 36 copies written in gold ink to be enshrined in the stupa, and another 1,000 copies to be distributed to the public.