The Related Suttas Collection 56.62

7. Abbreviated Texts on Raw Grain

In the Borderlands

Then the Buddha, picking up a little bit of dirt under his fingernail, addressed the bhikkhus: “What do you think, bhikkhus? Which is more: the little bit of dirt under my fingernail, or this great earth?”

“Sir, the great earth is certainly more. The little bit of dirt under your fingernail is tiny. Compared to the great earth, it doesn’t count, there’s no comparison, it’s not worth a fraction.”

“In the same way, the sentient beings reborn in central countries are few, while those reborn in the borderlands, among strange barbarian tribes, are many. …”