法苑珠林 37.27

37.27

如小未曾有經云。佛告阿難。若有一人盡四天下滿中草木。皆悉為人。得四道果及辟支佛。盡壽四事供養所須具足。至滅度後一一起塔。香華幢旛寶蓋供養。復造帝釋大莊嚴殿。用八萬四千寶柱。八萬四千寶窓。八萬四千天井寶窓。八萬四千樓櫓舘閣。四出圍繞眾寶校飾。若有善男子善女人。作如上百千億大莊嚴殿。用施四方僧。其福雖多。然不如有人於佛般涅槃後。以如芥子舍利起塔大如菴摩勒果。其剎如針。上施槃蓋。如酸棗葉。若佛形像如[麩-夫+廣]麥大。勝前功德滿足百倍不及一。千倍萬倍百千萬倍所不能及不可稱量。阿難。當知如來。無量功德。戒分定分智慧分解脫分解脫知見分無量功德。有大神通變化及六波羅蜜。如是等無量功德。又無上依經云。阿難向佛合掌而作是言。我於今日入王舍城乞食。見一大重閣莊嚴新成內外宛密。若有清信人布施四方僧并具四事。若如來滅後取佛舍利如芥子大。安立塔中。起塔如阿摩羅子大。戴剎如針大。露槃如棗葉大。造佛如麥子大。此二功德何者為勝。佛告阿難。如滿四天下四果聖人及辟支佛。如甘蔗林竹荻麻田等。若有一人盡壽供養四事具足。及入涅槃後悉起大塔。供養然燈燒香衣服幢幡等。阿難。於意云何。是人功德多不。阿難言。甚多。世尊。阿難且致。又如帝釋天宮住處。有大飛閣名常勝殿。種種寶莊各八萬四千。若有清信男子女人。造作如是常勝寶殿。百千拘胝施與四方眾僧。若復有人如來般涅槃後。取舍利如芥子大。造塔如阿摩羅子大。戴剎如針大。露槃如棗葉大。造佛形像如麥子大。此功德勝前所說百分不及一。千萬億分乃至阿僧祇數分所不及一。何以故。如來無量功德故。縱碎娑婆世界末為微塵。以此次第悉是四沙門果及辟支佛。若有清信男女盡形供養。及以滅後起塔供養。亦不如取舍利如芥子大。乃至造像如麥子大。此功德前所說百分千萬億分不及一分。乃至算數譬喻所不能及。如是阿難。一切如來昔在因地。知眾生界自性清淨。客塵煩惱之所污濁。然不入眾生清淨界中。能為一切眾生說深妙法。除煩惱障。不應生下劣心。以大量故。於諸眾生尊重心。起大師敬。起般若。起闍那。起大悲。依此五法。菩薩得入阿鞞跋致位（此云不退）依如實知證大方便得阿耨菩提。

As the Minor Adbhutadharma-sūtra states: The Buddha told Ānanda: "If there were a person who transformed all the grasses and trees filling the four continents into human beings who all attained the four fruits of the path and the status of pratyekabuddha, and for the duration of their lives provided them completely with the four requisites of offerings, and after their passing away erected a stupa for each one of them, offering incense, flowers, banners, and precious canopies; and furthermore built a great adorned palace like that of Śakra, using eighty-four thousand precious pillars, eighty-four thousand precious windows, eighty-four thousand skylight precious windows, eighty-four thousand watchtowers, halls, and pavilions, surrounded on all four sides and adorned with manifold jewels; if there were a good man or good woman who built hundreds of thousands of koṭis of such great adorned palaces to bestow upon the Saṃgha of the four directions, though their merit would be great, it would not equal that of a person who, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, erects a stupa as large as an āmalaka fruit for a relic the size of a mustard seed, with a mast like a needle, dew-basins on top like sour-jujube leaves, or makes a Buddha image the size of a barley grain. [The latter] surpasses the previous merit by a full hundredfold, so that [the former] does not equal even one part in a hundred, a thousandfold, ten thousandfold, or hundred thousandfold—it is unequalled and immeasurable. Ānanda, you should know that the Tathāgata possesses immeasurable merit: the aggregate of morality, the aggregate of concentration, the aggregate of wisdom, the aggregate of liberation, and the aggregate of the knowledge and vision of liberation have immeasurable merit; he has great spiritual penetrations and transformations, as well as the six pāramitās—immeasurable merits such as these." Furthermore, the Anuttarāśraya-sūtra states: Ānanda joined his palms toward the Buddha and said, "Today, when I entered the city of Rājagṛha to beg for food, I saw a large multi-storied pavilion, newly completed, adorned and secluded inside and out. If a faithful person were to donate it to the Saṃgha of the four directions along with all four requisites; or if, after the Tathāgata's passing, someone takes a Buddha relic the size of a mustard seed, enshrines it within a stupa, erecting a stupa the size of an āmalaka fruit, crowning it with a mast the size of a needle and dew-basins the size of jujube leaves, and making a Buddha image the size of a barley grain—between these two merits, which is superior?" The Buddha told Ānanda, "If holy ones of the four fruitions and pratyekabuddhas filled the four continents like forests of sugarcane, bamboo, reeds, or fields of hemp, and if a person throughout their life made offerings providing them fully with the four requisites, and after they entered nirvāṇa erected great stupas for all of them, making offerings of lit lamps, burning incense, robes, and banners—Ānanda, what do you think? Would that person's merit be great?" Ānanda said, "Extremely great, World-Honoured One." [The Buddha said,] "Set that aside, Ānanda. Again, in the dwelling place of the heavenly palace of Śakra, there is a great flying pavilion named the Palace of Constant Victory, adorned with various jewels, each kind numbering eighty-four thousand. If a faithful man or woman were to construct hundreds of thousands of koṭis of such precious Constant Victory palaces and bestow them upon the Saṃgha of the four directions; and if someone else, after the Tathāgata's parinirvāṇa, takes a relic the size of a mustard seed, builds a stupa the size of an āmalaka fruit, crowns it with a mast the size of a needle and dew-basins the size of jujube leaves, and makes an image of the Buddha the size of a barley grain—this merit surpasses the aforementioned merit by more than a hundredfold, so that [the former] does not equal one part in a hundred, nor one part in a thousand, ten thousand, koṭis, or asaṃkhyeyas. Why? Because of the Tathāgata's immeasurable merit. Even if the Sahā world were crushed to fine dust, and according to this number all were to become ascetics of the four fruits and pratyekabuddhas, and if a faithful man or woman made offerings to them for the rest of their lives and erected stupas to make offerings to them after their passing, this too would not equal taking a relic the size of a mustard seed and making an image the size of a barley grain. The merit of the former does not equal one part in a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, or a koṭi of the latter, and is beyond all reckoning and metaphor. Thus, Ānanda, when all Tathāgatas were formerly on the causal ground, they knew that the realm of sentient beings is pure in its self-nature, yet defiled by adventitious afflictions. However, [the defilements] do not enter into the pure realm of sentient beings. [The Tathāgatas] are able to speak the profound and subtle Dharma for all sentient beings to eliminate the obstacle of afflictions. One should not give rise to a base and inferior mind. Because of vast capacity, one gives rise to a mind of respect toward all sentient beings, gives rise to veneration for the Great Master, gives rise to prajñā, gives rise to jñāna, and gives rise to mahākaruṇā. Relying on these five dharmas, a bodhisattva is able to enter the stage of non-retrogression (avaivartika; translated here as 'not falling back') and, relying on knowing reality as it is, realize great expedient means and attain anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi."