佛祖歷代通載 7.113

7.113

佛既謝往香木焚屍。靈骨分碎大小如粒。擊之不壞。焚之不焦。而有光明神驗。謂之舍利。弟子收奉。竭香花致敬募建宮宇。謂之為塔。猶宗廟也。故時稱為塔廟者是矣。於後百年有王阿育者。以神力分佛舍利。役諸鬼神造八萬四千塔。布於世界。皆同日而就。今洛陽彭城姑臧臨淄。皆有育王寺。蓋承其遺迹焉。而影迹爪齒留於天竺。中途往來者咸言見之。

After the Buddha passed away, his body was cremated with fragrant wood. His sacred relics shattered into pieces, large and small like grains; striking them would not destroy them, and burning them would not scorch them. Moreover, they manifested radiance and divine efficacy, and were called śarīra. His disciples collected and revered them, offered incense and flowers to show utmost respect, and raised funds to build palace-like halls [over them], which were called stūpas, similar to ancestral shrines. Thus, they were at that time called "stūpa-temples."
One hundred years later, there was a king named Aśoka, who with supernatural power divided the Buddha's relics and employed various ghosts and spirits to build eighty-four thousand stūpas distributed throughout the world, all completed on the same day. Today in Luoyang, Pengcheng, Guzang, and Linzi, there are Aśoka Monasteries, which are based on his remaining traces. Meanwhile, his shadow, footprints, nails, and teeth remain in Tianzhu, and those who travel back and forth on the road all claim to have seen them.