法苑珠林 37.10

37.10

又育王傳云。王得信心問道人曰。我從來殺害不必以理。今修何善得免斯殃。答曰。唯有起塔供養眾僧。救諸囚徒賑濟貧乏（故譬喻經云。王宮內常以四事供養二萬沙門。盡心備禮。不可具述）。王曰。何處可起塔。道人即以神力左手揜日光。作八萬四千道。散照閻浮提。所照之處皆可起塔。今諸塔處是也。時王欲建舍利塔將四部兵眾至王舍城。取阿闍世王佛塔中舍利。還復修治此塔與先無異。如是更取七佛塔中舍利。至眾摩村中。時諸龍王將王入龍宮中。王從龍索舍利供養。龍即分與之。時王作八萬四千金銀瑠璃頗梨篋盛佛舍利。又作八萬四千寶瓶以盛此篋。又作無量百千幢幡繖蓋。使諸鬼神各持舍利供養之具。勅諸鬼神言。於閻浮提至於海際。城邑聚落滿一億家者。為世尊立塔。時有國名德叉尸羅。有三十六億家。彼國人語鬼神言。可三十六篋舍利與我等起立佛塔。王作方便國中人少者令分與彼。令滿家數而立為塔。時巴連弗邑有上座。名曰耶舍。王詣彼所白上座曰。我欲一日之中立八萬四千佛塔遍此閻浮提。意願如是。時彼上座白言。善哉大王。剋後十五日日正食時。令此閻浮提一時起諸佛塔。如是依數。乃至一日之中立八萬四千塔。世間人民興慶無量。共號曰阿育王塔。

Furthermore, the Yuwang zhuan states: The king gained faith and asked a man of the Way, 'In the past, my slaughtering was not necessarily guided by principle. What good should I now cultivate to escape these calamities?' He replied, 'There is only erecting stūpas to make offerings to the Saṃgha, rescuing prisoners, and providing relief to the poor and destitute.' (Hence the Avadāna-sūtra says: 'Within the royal palace, four requisites were constantly provided as offerings to twenty thousand śramaṇas, with utmost dedication and complete etiquette, beyond description.') The king asked, 'Where can stūpas be erected?' The man of the Way then used his spiritual powers to cover the light of the sun with his left hand, producing eighty-four thousand rays that shone scatteringly across Jambudvīpa. Wherever they shone, stūpas could be erected; these are the sites of the present-day stūpas. At that time, wishing to construct relic stūpas, the king led the fourfold army to Rājagṛha and retrieved the relics from the Buddha stūpa of King Ajātaśatru. He then repaired and restored this stūpa so that it was no different from before. In this manner, he retrieved relics from the stūpas of seven other Buddhas, arriving at the village of Rāmagrāma. At that time, the nāga kings led the king into the nāga palace. The king requested relics from the nāgas to make offerings, and the nāgas divided and gave them to him. At that time, the king made eighty-four thousand caskets of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and crystal to hold the Buddha's relics. He also made eighty-four thousand precious urns to contain these caskets, and countless hundreds of thousands of banners, pennants, and parasols. He commanded various spirits and gods, each holding the relics and implements of offering, ordering them: 'Throughout Jambudvīpa up to the edge of the sea, wherever a city or village has a full kotī of households, erect a stūpa for the World-Honoured One.' At that time, there was a kingdom called Takṣaśilā with thirty-six kotīs of households. The people of that country said to the spirits, 'Thirty-six caskets of relics should be given to us to erect Buddha stūpas.' The king devised an expedient: in countries with fewer people, they were made to share with them so that the requisite count of households was met to erect a stūpa. At that time, in Pāṭaliputra, there was an elder named Yaśa. The king went to his place and said to the elder, 'I wish to erect eighty-four thousand Buddha stūpas throughout this Jambudvīpa in a single day. This is my desire.' At that time, the elder said to him, 'Excellent, Great King! Precisely fifteen days from now, at the exact time of the midday meal, let the Buddha stūpas be raised simultaneously throughout this Jambudvīpa.' Following this schedule, eighty-four thousand stūpas were erected within a single day. The worldly people rejoiced immeasurably, collectively naming them the King Aśoka Stūpas.