釋迦方志 2.99

2.99

周穆王即位三十二年。數見西方光氣。蘇由先說聖人處世。即與相國呂侯。乘驊騮八駿西行。求佛因以攘之。周穆王五十三年。壬申歲二月十五日。平旦暴風忽起。損舍折木地動天陰。西方白虹十二道。太史扈多曰。西方聖人滅矣。此即涅槃之相也。有說云。佛生周莊魯莊之世者。今取多文為錄。

In the thirty-second year of the reign of King Mu of the Zhou, he frequently saw radiance and vapor in the west. Su You had previously spoken of a sage dwelling in the world, so [the king], together with Minister Lü Hou, rode the eight steeds of Hualiu to travel west, seeking the Buddha in order to ward off calamities. In the fifty-third year of King Mu of the Zhou, the renshen year, on the fifteenth day of the second month, at dawn a violent wind suddenly arose, damaging houses and snapping trees; the earth shook and the sky darkened, with twelve bands of white rainbows in the west. The Grand Astrologer Hu Duo said: 'The western sage has passed away.' This was the sign of nirvāṇa. Some say the Buddha was born in the eras of King Zhuang of Zhou or Duke Zhuang of Lu; here we adopt the prevalent accounts for our record.