Sutra on Making Buddha Images
"... People who make Buddha images, will possess bright eyes and
elegant looks in their after lives; their physical bodies, arms and
feet are well-proportioned. Even if they are born as gods, with
radiant eyes and countenance, their immaculateness outshines other
gods of any realms. Indeed such a fortune is attained by those who
make Buddha images.
Any places in which people who make Buddha images are born will be
void of any evilness. Their physiques are flawless. When they pass
away, they will be born in the gods realm of the seventh Brahma
heaven. Their appearance is exceptionally graceful that all gods
will honor them. Indeed such a fortune is attained by those who
make Buddha images.
People who make Buddha images will be born to dignified families
that excel any other families existent on earth; never will they be
born to underprivileged families. Indeed such a fortune is attained
by those who make Buddha images.
People who make Buddha images in their after lives will be golden
color in their physiques and be peerlessly refined.
People who make Buddha images will be born in their after lives to
affluent families, with wealth, money, and precious jewels in
abundance beyond measure. They will also be cherished by their
parents, siblings, and other relatives. Indeed such a fortune is
attained by those who make Buddha images.
When people who make Buddha images are born in JambudvipaAccording to Buddhist cosmology, Jambudvipa is the southern continent (which is the world we are staying now) of the four continents that surround Mount Meru (Mani Kabum, 2007)., they
will be born either in the royal families or benevolent families.
Indeed such a fortune is attained by those who make Buddha
images.
People who make Buddha images will be born in their subsequent
lives as the most noted and the most revered emperors among other
monarchs. They are also worshipped as the patrons of all the other
emperors. Indeed such a fortune is attained by those who make
Buddha images.
People who make Buddha images will be born in their after lives as
Dharma-turning kings who are able to ascend and travel across gods
realms and return at will. There is nothing beyond their
capabilities. Indeed such a fortune is attained by those who make
Buddha images.
People who make Buddha images will be born in their after lives in
the seventh Brahmin gods realm with a lifespan of one kalpa. Their
wisdom is infinite and after they pass away, they won't be born in
any lower realms. While alive, they constantly watch their deeds,
think of Buddhas in pursuit of the Enlightenment. Indeed such a
fortune is attained by those who make Buddha images.
People who make Buddha images will in their after lives repeatedly
venerate Buddhas and revere the Holy Scriptures. They continually
make offerings to Buddha's relics by presenting assorted silk
cloths, exquisite incenses, splendid flowers, oil-lit lights, and
other precious jewels as well as other rarest treasures of the
world. After innumerable kalpas, they will attain Nirvana. Those
people who aspire to dedicate precious properties to Buddhas are
not ordinary beings but were true Buddhist practitioners in
previous lives. Indeed such a fortune is attained by those who make
Buddha images.
The virtues gained in the after lives by people who make Buddha
images are immeasurable. There is not enough time to delineate its
magnitude. If the total volume of all rivers and oceans of the four great continentsOne world is composed of one Mount Meru, one sun, one moon, four great continents and the various seas and oceans that surround them. One-thousand such worlds form a small thousand-world system. One thousand small thousand-world systems form a medium thousand-world system. One thousand medium thousand-world systems form a great thousand-world system. This set of worlds is usually referred as THREE-THOUSAND GREAT-THOUSAND-WORLD SYSTEMS. The four great continents are ruled by four direction kings who live halfway up Mount Meru (Mani Kabum, 2007).
is gauged, the virtues of making Buddha images
outweigh the volume tenfold. Wherever these people are born, in
their after lives they will always be respected and protected by
others.
As if during a rainstorm, the people who make Buddha images have
reliable lodgings that they need not fear anything. These people
never ever fall into the lower realms—be it hell, animals or
hungry ghosts realms—after their ensuing deaths. If there are
people who hold both of their palms together devotedly in front of
Buddha images and take refuge in Buddha stupas or Buddhas' relics,
after their time is done, for one hundred kalpas, they will neither
enter the lower realms of hells, animals, nor hungry ghosts, but
instead will be born in the heavenly realms of the gods. Once their
life spans are used up, they will descend to this world as the
children of prosperous families. Their possessions of precious
jewels and treasures are incalculable. Eventually they are bound to
attain the Buddhahood (Nirvana).
... Virtuous people who make Buddha images are bound to receive
such blessings according to the non-hyperbolic explanation I have
just rendered you ..."