法苑珠林 37.27

37.27

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."