In the early texts, Mahākāśyapa is depicted as the keeper of the Buddhist teaching during the First Council; in the story of him awaiting Maitreya Buddha this role is extended. In some early Chinese texts, Mahākāśyapa is seen stating to Ānanda that all devotees present at the "parinirvāṇa" of the Buddha Gautama will be reborn in Tusita heaven and meet Maitreya; in the story of the cave this association with Maitreya is further extended. Since the end of Mahākāśyapa's life after the First Council was not discussed in the early texts, it was easy for legends to be developed around his demise, or the postponement thereof.