釋迦方志 2.99

2.99

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.