諸經要集 19.82

19.82

若以房舍臥具湯藥。園林池井。牛羊象馬種種資生。布施於他。施已命終。是人福德隨所施物。住用久近福德常生。是福追人如影隨形。或有說言。終已便失是義不然。何以故。物壞不用。二時中失。非命盡失。

"If one gives to others dwellings, bedding, medicines, parks, groves, ponds, wells, cattle, sheep, elephants, horses, and various necessities of life, and having given them, passes away: this person's merit will continuously arise for as long as the donated items remain in use. This merit follows the person like a shadow follows a form. Some say that once one dies it is lost, but this principle is not so. Why is that? It is lost during two occasions: when the object is destroyed, and when it is no longer used; it is not lost through the ending of life."