法苑珠林 4.40

4.40

Commentary: According to the inner scriptures (Buddhist texts), these various stars and mansions are all the palace residences of the devas; within them devas abide, manifested by the radiant power of merit induced as circumstantial retribution (ādhipatiphala). If one relies on secular writings, they say they are stones. Thus during the Song dynasty a star fell, and the fallen star was like a stone. Or some say it was not a star, but a stone falling from the Heavenly River; hence secular books say that the Heavenly River is connected to the Earthly River, and therefore stones occasionally fall from within the river. As the Shumi xiangtu shanjing (Scripture of the Illustrated Mountains of Sumeru) says, in the void there is a river called Yamarā, flowing in empty space, which long contains large stones and small pebbles, and when these leak down at times, people cling to them as stars. This is not an authentic scripture; it is a false narrative created and circulated by worldly people, not spoken by the Buddha.