大宋僧史略 1.17

1.17

次上諸說帝代不同。一夏末。二商末。三周昭王時。四平王時。五桓王時。六莊王時。七貞定王時。皆據此方傳記所說。若案經律者。浴佛經云。一切佛皆四月八日生也。瑞應經亦云四月八日生。而薩婆多論中即云二月八日生。是則內教二說不同也。今謂佛若是夏時生。即今建巳四月八日也。若商時生。即今建辰月八日也。若周時生。即今建卯月八日也。又據南山宜律師問天人曰。此土傳佛生時。或云商代。或周昭王。魯莊公世。如何指的。答曰。皆有所以。弟子是夏桀時生。天具見佛之垂化。然佛有三身。法報二身非人天所見。唯化身佛普被三千故。有百億釋迦。隨機所感。前後不定。不足疑也。

As for the above various theories, the imperial reigns differ: first, the end of the Xia; second, the end of the Shang; third, the time of King Zhao of the Zhou; fourth, the time of King Ping; fifth, the time of King Huan; sixth, the time of King Zhuang; seventh, the time of King Zhending. All of these rely on accounts in the chronicles of this land. If one consults the sūtras and vinaya, the Yufo jing says that all Buddhas are born on the eighth day of the fourth month. The Ruiying jing also says he was born on the eighth day of the fourth month. However, the Sarvāstivāda-śāstra says he was born on the eighth day of the second month. Thus, within the inner teachings, two accounts differ. Now I say: if the Buddha was born in the Xia era, that is the eighth day of the fourth month with the dipper pointing to si; if born in the Shang era, that is the eighth day of the month with the dipper pointing to chen; if born in the Zhou era, that is the eighth day of the month with the dipper pointing to mao. Furthermore, according to Vinaya Master Xuan of Nanshan questioning a celestial being: 'Records in this land concerning the Buddha's birth say variously the Shang era, or the time of King Zhao of the Zhou, or the age of Duke Zhuang of Lu. How may it be precisely established?' The celestial being replied: 'All have their reasons. This disciple was born in the time of Jie of the Xia, and in heaven completely witnessed the Buddha's descending transformation. Yet the Buddha has three bodies; the Dharma and Reward Bodies cannot be seen by humans or devas. Only because the Transformation Body Buddha universally covers the three thousand worlds are there ten billion Śākyamunis. Responding to different capacities, their timings are not fixed; there is no cause for doubt.'