The Lord Buddha addressed Subhuti, saying: “What think you? When the Lord Buddha, in a previous life, was a disciple of Dipankara Buddha, was there communicated to him any prescribed Law, or system of doctrine, whereby he eventually became a Buddha?” Subhuti replied, saying: “No! Honoured of the Worlds! When the Lord Buddha was a disciple of Dipankara Buddha, neither prescribed Law nor system of doctrine was communicated to him, whereby he eventually became a Buddha.”

The Lord Buddha addressed Subhuti, saying: “What think you? may an enlightened disciple thus ponder within himself, ‘I shall create numerous Buddhist Kingdoms’?” Subhuti replied, saying: “No! Honoured of the Worlds! And why? Because, kingdoms thus created would not in reality be Buddhist kingdoms, therefore ‘the creation of numerous Buddhist kingdoms’ is merely a figure of speech.”

The Lord Buddha, continuing, addressed Subhuti, saying: “Enlightened disciples ought therefore to engender within themselves a pure and holy mind; they ought not to depend on the phenomena of form, sound, odour, taste, touch, or Law; they ought to sedulously cultivate a mind independent of every material aid.”

The Lord Buddha addressed Subhuti, saying: “Supposing a man with a body as pretentious as Sumeru, prince among mountains, would you esteem such a body as being great?” Subhuti replied, saying: “Exceedingly great, Honoured of the Worlds! And why? Because, the Lord Buddha referred not to a physical body, but to mental and spiritual concepts of bodies, in which sense a body may be regarded as really Great.”