高僧傳 6.9

6.9

Yuan heard that in Tianzhu there was a Buddha shadow, which was the shadow left behind when the Buddha previously converted a poisonous dragon, located in the ancient ṛṣi stone cave south of the city of Nagarahāra in the Yuezhi country of Northern Tianzhu, a route of fifteen thousand eight hundred and fifty li west across the flowing sands; he was constantly filled with joyous longing and wished to behold it. It happened that a foreign master from the Western Regions described its light and appearance; Yuan then backed against the mountain and faced the stream to construct a grotto shrine, skillfully directing artists to paint it in light pigments, its colors appearing like gathered space, looking from afar like mist and smoke, its brilliant marks blazing, as if hidden yet revealed. Yuan then composed an inscription, saying: