法苑珠林 37.5

37.5

With reverence, I reflect: When the Tathāgata manifested in response to the world, his wondrous form shone throughout the three-thousandfold world; when the Perfectly Awakened One concealed his light, his bodily relics were transmitted through eighty thousand [stūpas]. Thus, the stūpa leaped up at Vulture Peak, and his shadow remained in the stone cave; there were figures carved from sandalwood or painted on fine cloth, forms cast in gold or engraved in jade, relics of his whole body or broken body, and the marvels of congregating stūpas and scattered stūpas. Shining light into heavy darkness, the blessings aid all sentient beings, causing his illustrious renown to spread far and wide and leading heterodox followers to form faith. Originating in the beginnings under King Aśoka, it has been transmitted down to the dawn of the Great Tang. Throughout successive dynasties, sacred manifestations have flourished in countless ways. Therefore, the sutra says: 'The saddharma endures; the saddharma disappears.' The intent lies precisely in this.