法苑珠林 9.32

9.32

瑞應經云。太子四月八日夜明星出時生。又佛行讚云。於三月八日菩薩從右脇生。過去現在因果經云。二月八日夫人往毘藍尼園。見無憂華。舉右手摘。從右脇出。今謂世代既遙譯人前後。直就經文難可論辯。考求外典。如似可見。春秋云。魯莊公七年即莊王十一年。四月辛亥。恒星不現。星殞如雨。檢內外以四月為正也。

The Ruiying jing states: the crown prince was born on the eighth day of the fourth month at night, when the morning star appeared. Furthermore, the Fo xing zan states: on the eighth day of the third month, the bodhisattva was born from the right flank. The Guoqu xianzai yinguo jing states: on the eighth day of the second month, the queen went to the Lumbinī grove; seeing the aśoka blossom, she raised her right hand to pluck it, and [the bodhisattva] emerged from her right flank. We now consider that because the generations are distant and the translators were earlier and later, it is difficult to determine this based on the scriptural texts alone. When seeking confirmation in external classical texts, it seems discernable. The Chunqiu states: in the seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu, which was the eleventh year of King Zhuang [of Zhou], in the fourth month on the day xinhai, the fixed stars did not appear, and stars fell like rain. Examining both internal and external [records], the fourth month is taken to be the correct one.