2.
The Discourse on the Borderland
1132.
Then the Blessed One, having placed a small amount of soil on his fingernail, addressed the monks -
"What do you think, monks, which is more -
this small amount of soil placed by me on my fingernail, or this great earth?"
"This indeed, venerable sir, is more, that is to say -
the great earth;
the small amount of soil placed by the Blessed One on his fingernail is insignificant.
It does not amount to a reckoning, it does not bear comparison, it does not amount to a fraction - the small amount of soil placed by the Blessed One on his fingernail compared with the great earth."
"So too, monks, few are those beings who are reborn in the middle countries; but there are indeed more beings who are reborn in the border districts among barbarians who do not understand, etc. The second.