經律異相 6.58

6.58

A dragon king requested that the Buddha reside permanently at his abode, saying, "If you do not stay, I will give rise to evil thoughts and have no means to attain the path." The Brahmā kings also earnestly exhorted and requested, "We pray that for the sake of all sentient beings, you do not stay here alone." The dragon offered a seven-jeweled palace to the Tathāgata. The Buddha said, "There is no need; simply give me the rākṣasa's stone cave." The Buddha drew in his supernatural powers, entered the stone chamber alone, spread his own seat-mat, and sat cross-legged. At that time, a rākṣasī and the dragon also built five stone chambers for the four great disciples and Ānanda. The Buddha accepted the invitations of the king of the city of Nagarahāra and various countries; everywhere the Buddha was seen, with lotus seats in empty space filled with transformation Buddhas. The dragon king was delighted and made a great vow: "May I in a future life become a Buddha like this!" The Buddha accepted the king's invitation for seven days, withdrew his supernatural powers, emerged from the stone cave, and traveled to various places with the monks, accompanied by the dragon. Later, when the Buddha was returning to his country, [the dragon] wept and shed tears like rain, saying, "I pray that you do not abandon me." The Bhagavat consoled him, saying, "I shall sit in your cave for one thousand five hundred years." Then the dragon kings joined their palms and requested the Buddha to enter the cave. Sitting in the cave, the Buddha displayed eighteen transformations and leaped into the stone as into a bright mirror. He remained within the stone, his shadow appearing on the outside: seen from afar, but invisible up close. Hundreds of thousands of devas made offerings to the Buddha's shadow, and the shadow also preached the Dharma. The stone cave was one zhang and eight feet high, twenty-four paces deep, and the color of the stone was pure and white (from the sixth fascicle of the Sūtra on the Samādhi of Contemplating the Buddha).