經律異相 6.50

6.50

佛昇忉利天。優填王不勝戀慕。鑄金為像。聞佛當下以象載之仰候世尊猶如生佛。乃遙見佛足步虛空蹈雙蓮華放大光明。佛語像言。汝於來世大作佛事。我滅度後我諸弟子付囑於汝。若有眾生造立形像種種供養。是人來世必得念佛清淨三昧。佛告阿難。持我語遍告弟子。我滅度後造佛形像。相好具足。亦作無量化佛。及畫佛跡以微妙。彩及頗梨珠安白毫處。令人見之心生歡喜。能滅百億那由他恒河沙劫生死之罪（出觀佛三昧經第六卷）。

When the Buddha ascended to the Trāyastriṃśa heaven, King Udayana, unable to bear his longing and yearning, cast an image in gold. Hearing that the Buddha was about to descend, he carried it on an elephant and looked up waiting for the Bhagavat, just as if he were the living Buddha. From afar, he saw the Buddha walking in empty space, treading on a pair of lotus flowers and emitting great light. The Buddha said to the image: 'In future ages, you shall perform great Buddha-deeds. After my extinction, my disciples are entrusted to you. If there are sentient beings who make images and present various offerings, these people in future ages will surely attain the pure samādhi of mindfulness of the Buddha.' The Buddha told Ānanda: 'Take my words and tell all the disciples: After my extinction, make images of the Buddha, complete with the major and minor marks; also make immeasurable transformed Buddhas, and paint the Buddha's footprints with exquisite pigments, and place a crystal gem in the position of the white curl between the eyebrows. Causing those who see it to produce joy in their minds will extinguish the transgressions of birth and death for hundreds of billions of nayutas of Ganges sands of kalpas.' (From the sixth fascicle of the Sūtra on the Samādhi of Contemplating the Buddha)