法苑珠林 12.72

12.72

Furthermore, the Buddha told Maudgalyāyana: "You shall go to the summit of Mount Sumeru and strike the bell to assemble all my original emanations from the ten directions, the Buddhas, as well as the śrāvakas and bodhisattvas of the trichiliocosm." The Buddha emitted bright light, the great earth shook, and all the Buddhas gathered like clouds. The World-Honoured One arose from his seat, and together with his emanation Buddhas, joined his palms and bowed to the viewing gate of the stūpa. The viewing gate opened of itself. Inside that golden stūpa were eighty thousand multi-storied pavilions of true pearls and silver containing the Buddha's sūtras and the great Vinaya piṭaka. Atop all the terraces and pavilions were great maṇi jewels serving as lamp lights. There were six bhikṣus who had entered the cessation concentration. Inside the silver pavilions were many lion seats of seven-jeweled lotus flowers, numbering eight million. Each lotus seat had images of Buddhas and śrāvakas, as well as the protective divine guardians of the eight classes. There were another fifty bhikṣus who had entered the cessation concentration. The Buddha told Samantabhadra: "Take my golden conch to where the bhikṣus are, blow my world-arising melody, and inform them of my parinirvāṇa." Samantabhadra blew it as instructed; thereupon, these bhikṣus arose from the cessation concentration and asked Samantabhadra, saying, "What Buddha has now appeared?" He answered, "Śākyamuni Buddha is now about to enter parinirvāṇa." Those bhikṣus then came with Samantabhadra to the Buddha's presence, paid homage, inquired after his welfare, and stepped back to stand to one side. The six bhikṣus inside the stūpa first addressed the Buddha, saying, "When Krakucchanda Buddha entered parinirvāṇa, he ordered us to dwell in this stūpa and wait until Śākyamuni and up to Rucika. That Buddha instructed us, saying: 'When a subsequent Buddha arises in the world and enters parinirvāṇa, when the Tripiṭaka is compiled, you should open my pavilion and take a copy of my sūtras and Vinaya. In this trichiliocosm of ten billion lands, there are sixty-four scripts; take one copy of each and deliver them to that Buddha, so that after his parinirvāṇa, when the compilation of the Tripiṭaka is completed, they shall transcribe and adorn them based on my scripture copies. Furthermore, according to the different customs of each country, whatever allows the transmission of writing may all be used, with the sole exception that leather, bone, and clay writings must not be used for transcription. Other than these, tree leaves, paper, silk, gold, gems, stone, iron, and the like may all be used.' That Buddha ordered us to enter samādhi and guard the scriptures and images, so that they may be handed over after the World-Honoured One's parinirvāṇa, when Kāśyapa completes the compilation, to be circulated among all countries."