法苑珠林 40.5

40.5

Now, the holy virtue [of the Buddha] is vastly distant, towering above humans and devas. Its principle is more subtle than the Six Classics, and its spirit surpasses the hundred philosophical schools; it transcends the remaining traces of all conditioned realms and surpasses the supreme vestiges of worthies and good men. Once his teaching affinity was completed, he conformed to worldly ways and concealed his light; therefore, the eight branches of the twin [śāla] trees corresponded to the meaning they symbolized, and the eightfold division of the relics likewise answered to the karmic affinities of beings. Entering the adamantine samādhi (vajrasamādhi), he predetermined the fragmentation of his entire body, intending that blessings should cover humans and devas and merit should flow across oceans and continents. As for relics such as teeth, hair, and nails; the cranial dome and eyeballs; the robes, bowl, water flask, and staff; the places where he sat and the prints of his feet—encompassing past and present, the holy transformations are inexhaustible. Auspicious responses arrive repeatedly, and miraculous radiance shines forth time and again. Seen by both worthies and fools alike, how could it elicit doubt or confusion? Furthermore, consider the Three Sovereigns, the Five Emperors, the Xia, the Shang, King Wen, King Wu, Kong Qiu (Confucius), Zhuangzi, and Laozi: revered and respected as worthies and sages by all, every one of them had their bones buried in the five springs and their dust left in the nine territories. Their fame and brilliance fell into silence; who can know their traces? Rarely are they known to generate blessings, so how could they evoke future retributions? How could they compare to the Great Sage Śākyamuni, whose form and shadow bestow lingering fragrance? The way of sympathetic response is inexhaustible, and the custom of reverent admiration extends ever farther. He continues the traces of transformation across the great chiliocosm and salvages those sunken in darkness throughout worlds numerous as sand grains, causing the path of opening and revealing to differ according to the meaning, while the principle of converging into emptiness equals the one ultimate reality.