[311] Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī, in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park. Then the Blessed One, having taken up a little soil on the tip of his fingernail, addressed the bhikkhus: "What do you think, bhikkhus — which is the greater: this little soil that I have taken up on the tip of my fingernail, or this great earth?"
"Venerable sir, the great earth is indeed the greater. The little soil taken up by the Blessed One on the tip of his fingernail is trifling; it does not amount to a hundredth part, nor to a thousandth part, nor to a hundred-thousandth part — compared with the great earth — this little soil taken up by the Blessed One on the tip of his fingernail."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.