大宋僧史略 1.18

1.18

Nowadays in the Eastern Capital, the bathing of the Buddha takes place on the eighth day of the twelfth month, claiming it to be the Buddha's birthday. According to the Zhihuan tujing, in the monastery there is a crystal lion about the size of a fist whose mouth emits wondrous sounds; bodhisattvas who hear it all transcend stages. Every year, when it comes to the eighth day of the twelfth month, men and women in the city of Śrāvastī vie to hold fragrant flowers and come to listen to the sound of the Dharma. Examining that text, it does not say it is the Buddha's birthday; I suspect that in India the eighth day of the twelfth month was merely a festival. Or I suspect they followed the Sarvāstivāda-śāstra's eighth day of the second month, since the twelfth month was the second month under the Zhou calendar. Because east and west are far apart, many discrepancies arise.