[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [經律異相](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121) › 36.34 # 經律異相 36.34 經律異相 36.34 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [36.34](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.36.34) 有一長者欲起塔寺。材木悉辦。唯少一石。無著柱下。有一長者。雖不奉佛猶知有福。便以家中一擣衣石施之。便得成寺。其施石人命終。即生第二天上七寶宮殿。玉女侍衛衣食自然。如是久後其國磨滅。無人修治寺都壞盡。唯有一石沒在地中。人民耕地石妨其犁。舉意欲掘。石主天人入心忪動。以天眼觀見人掘石。心中自念。我因此石福來生天。今人取去福將無盡乎。便下化作凡人住掘石人前。問曰。君欲取此石去耶。其人答曰。吾欲耕地值石妨犁故欲去耳。天人問曰。設耕此地種得數十斛耳。天曰。卿勿取此石。吾以五百兩金與卿。其人問曰。君得無是神乎。答曰。吾是天人也。即復天身語其人曰。吾本是此土人耳。前身以此石與道人立寺。我因此福得生天上封受自然。向者天宮振動怪其所以。觀見君是故來耳。此石是吾福之根本也。卿勿取之。其人聞之曰。本所不知。此是神明塔寺。天人福田不敢犯也天還天上其人思惟。此天但施此石得福如此。吾當更立塔寺。便即興功修塔如故（出福報經又出十卷譬喻經第一卷）。 > There was an elder who wished to erect a stūpa and monastery. The timber was all prepared, but they lacked only one stone to place beneath the pillar. There was another elder who, though not revering the Buddha, nevertheless knew there was merit; he thus gave a fulling stone from his house in charity, and so the monastery could be completed. When this donor of the stone died, he was immediately born in the second heaven, in a palace of the seven treasures, attended by jade maidens, with food and clothing coming naturally. After a long time, that country was worn away and ruined; with no one to repair it, the monastery was completely destroyed, and only that single stone was submerged in the earth. The people plowed the field, and the stone obstructed their plow. They had the intention to dig it up. The god who was the master of the stone felt his heart agitated; with the divine eye he saw that someone was digging up the stone. He thought to himself, 'Because of this stone, I gained merit and was born in heaven. If someone now takes it away, will my merit not be exhausted?' He then descended, transformed into an ordinary person, and stood before the person digging up the stone. He asked, "Sir, do you wish to take this stone away?" That person replied, "I wish to plow the land, and encountering this stone which obstructs the plow, I only wish to remove it." The god asked, "Suppose you plow this land, you will harvest only several tens of hu \[of grain\]." The god said, "Do not take this stone; I will give you five hundred liang of gold." The person asked, "Sir, could you be a spirit?" He answered, "I am a heavenly being." He then resumed his heavenly body and said to the person, "I was originally a person of this land. In a previous life, I gave this stone to religious persons to erect a monastery. Because of this merit, I was born in heaven and received natural sustenance. Just now, my heavenly palace trembled, and wondering at the cause, I looked and saw you; that is why I came. This stone is the root of my merit; you must not take it." When the person heard this, he said, "I originally did not know that this was a stūpa and monastery of spirits and gods, a field of merit for heavenly beings; I dare not violate it." The god returned to heaven. That person thought, 'This god merely gave this stone and attained merit such as this; I should rebuild the stūpa and monastery.' He immediately undertook the labor and restored the stūpa as before. (Extracted from the Sūtra of Karmic Retribution, and also from the first fascicle of the Ten-Fascicle Sūtra of Avadānas) > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 36.33](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.36.33) - [Next: 36.35](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.36.35) - [Up: 36](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.36) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121~en-mt.36.34) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.36.34](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2121.36.34) · Pramāṇa