On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c17.s3.71

v2.c17.s3.71

The story of Mahā Kāśyapa and the coffined Buddha condensed in this passage agrees, as to the chief circumstances, with the other accounts of the incident. When Yuan-chuang writes of the "gold coffin descending" he means from the air into which it had soared, and not from "la litière" as Julien writes. At the time of Buddha's death Kāśyapa was at Pāvā according to some authorities,¹ but according to others he was on the Gṛdhrakūṭa mountain near Rājagaha or at the Dakṣiṇagiri (?).² A supernatural light and earthquake disturbed his meditation, and by his divine sight he saw his master attain parinirvāṇa at the Twin Trees, and immediately set out with his disciples for that place. In some versions of the story Kāśyapa does not ask Ānanda's permission to have the coffin opened, the Buddha spontaneously showing his feet to him as a mark of favour. The reason why Kāśyapa wanted to see the body was that he could not tell where was head and where were feet, and he wished to prostrate himself at his dead Master's feet. Then the stains on the Buddha's feet are in some treatises ascribed to the gushing tears of a poor old woman, a lay member of the church, One of the reproaches afterwards brought against Ananda was that he had through negligence thus allowed the dead Buddha’s feet to be stained by tears.