諸經要集 8.116

8.116

又譬喻經云。昔有母子三人。常作三事。一作大船置於河中以渡百姓。二於都市造立好井以供萬民。三於四門各作圊廁給人便利。修是功德。命終之後皆生天上。受福自然。下生人中富貴長壽。所生之處不經三塗。設此微福。尚獲果報巍巍無量。何況有人廣修功德。造立塔寺。分檀布施。作諸福業。百千萬倍。復勝於此不可計量。故成實論。引經偈云。

The Zabiyu jing also states: "Formerly, there were three people, a mother and her sons, who constantly performed three deeds: first, making a large boat and placing it in a river to ferry the common people; second, constructing a good well in the marketplace to supply the myriad people; third, building latrines at each of the four gates to provide convenience for people. By cultivating these merits, after their lives ended they were all born in heaven to enjoy natural blessings; descending to be born among humans, they were wealthy, noble, and long-lived, and wherever they were born they never passed through the three miserable destinies. If offering such slight merit still brings a reward so magnificent and immeasurable, how much more so when someone extensively cultivates merit, constructs stūpas and monasteries, shares in giving dāna, and performs all kinds of meritorious deeds hundreds of thousands of times greater than this, beyond calculation! Therefore, the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra cites a scripture verse, saying: