Bodhisattva Samantabhadra
(from the Avatamsaka Sutra)
Virtuous son, of all forms of offerings, the offering of Dharma is supreme. This means, for instance, the offering of Dharma practice, the offering of benefitting sentient beings, the offering of accepting (or taking care of) sentient beings, the offering of bearing the sufferings of sentient beings on their behalf, the offering of assiduously training in virtues, the offering of not departing from a Bodhisattva's activities, the offering of not losing (the motivation of) Bodhichitta.
Virtuous son, the previous offering (of material substances) is of infinite merits, yet it does not equal even one fraction of the merit gained from a single thought of offering Dharma. The merit of the former cannot equal even one hundredth or one thousandth of the merit of the latter. Moreover, the former cannot equal one fraction of a hundred-thousand koṭi-nayuta of the latter, nor can it compare by the minutest possible part in terms of time, calculation, number, analogy or fraction.
Why is this so? It is because all Tathāgatas revere the Dharma, and it is by practicing in accordance to Dharma teachings that Buddhas arise. If all Bodhisattvas offer Dharma, they accomplish making offerings to Tathāgatas. Cultivating in this way is the true offering.
