一切經音義 51.6

51.6

Holding the hare (懷兔; in that country of India, the moon is called 'hare', hence the metaphor. The Hare King Sūtra says: "The hare in the moon was the Buddha in the past as the Hare King; in order to make offerings to an ascetic, he cast his body into the fire to give his meat to that ascetic. Śakra, lord of the gods, gathered his bones and placed them in the moon palace to keep them cool and pure, and also so that sentient beings on earth may constantly see it and give rise to a mind of compassion").