經律異相 6.8

6.8

Ānanda asked the Buddha: "What past cause was created for your śarīra to be divided and 84,000 precious stūpas erected?" The Buddha said: "In the past, there was a king named Arindama who ruled over the 84,000 kingdoms of Jambudvīpa. At that time, there was a Buddha named Puṣya in the world. The king, along with his ministers and people, made offerings to the Buddha and the bhikṣu saṃgha. Then the king thought: 'The small border states are remote and isolated; people of their sort have no means to cultivate merit.' He immediately summoned painters to paint images of the Buddha, distributing them to distant lands so that all could make offerings. At that time, the painters observed the Buddha's marks and characteristics, but as soon as they captured one feature, they forgot the others and could not succeed. Then King Arindama mixed the various colors and painted the image with his own hands to serve as a model. The painters studied and copied it, painting 84,000 images, which were distributed among the 84,000 minor states. The minor kings were all able to make offerings. King Arindama was I myself in a past life. By virtue of this merit, my body possesses the thirty-two marks, and after my parinirvāṇa, I also obtain these 84,000 stūpas." (Drawn from the fourth fascicle of the *Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish*.)