(6) Then he said: * Verily, Gautama, that is among divine boons. Mention [one] of human boons/

(6) He said: * You should know me, my dear, as such, that whatsoever I myself know, I have told all to you. But, come! Let us go there and take up studentship.' e Go yourself, Sir.' So Gautama went forth to where [the place] of Pravahana Jaibali was. He brought him a seat, and had water brought; so he made him a respectful welcome. Then he said to him: £A boon we offer to the honorable Gautama! '

(6) Then he said: ' It is well known that I have a full share of gold, of cows and horses, of female slaves, of rugs, of apparel. l6l M Be not ungenerous toward me, Sir, In regard to that which is the abundant, the infinite, the unlimited/ 'Then, verily, 0 Gautama, you should seek in the usual manner.' 6 1 come to you, Sir, as a pupil! ' — with [this] word, verily, indeed, men aforetime came as pupils. — So with the acknow- ledgment of coming as a pupil he remained.

(6) 'Well then, O Gautama, I shall tell thee this mystery, the old Brahman, and what happens to the Self, after reaching death.'

(4) As it approached the hour for the morning meal, Lord Buddha, Honoured of the Worlds, attired himself in a mendicant’s robe, and bearing an alms-bowl in his hands, walked towards the great city of Shravasti, which he entered to beg for food. Within the city he proceeded from door to door, and received such donations as the good people severally bestowed. Concluding this religious exercise, the Lord Buddha returned to the grove of Jeta, and partook of the frugal meal received as alms. Thereafter he divested himself of his mendicant’s robe, laid aside the venerated alms-bowl, bathed his sacred feet, and accepted the honoured seat reserved for him by his disciples.

(19) As all kings in this world. With mercy He used His ‘ten powers’ to make this change. The witnesses praise the Buddha. I bow to the most Honoured One in the three realms. The whole assembly (now) take refuge in the King of The Law. Those gazing at Him are filled with joy, each seeing the Bhagavat before him; ‘tis one of His eighteen characteristics.

(6) Then he addressed him with an invitation to remain. Not respecting the invitation to remain, the boy ran off. He went to his father. He said to him: 'Verily, aforetime you have spoken of me, Sir, as having been instructed! J 'Five questions a fellow of the princely class (rajanya- bandhu} has asked me. Not a single one of them do I know.' 'What are they?'

(10) Nakiketas said: 'O Death, as the first of the three boons I choose that Gautama, my father, be pacified, kind, and free from anger towards me; and that he may know me and greet me, when I shall have been dismissed by thee.'

(7) After they had sat down the Buddha asked SariputANSWER: “Have you seen what the great Bodhisattvas have done with their transcendental powers?”>
Sariputra replied that he had.

(4) Thereafter, the “Honoured of the Worlds” delivered this sublime Gatha:

A king purchased two slaves, one extremely handsome, and the other very ugly. He sent the first away to the bath, and in his absence questioned the other. He told him that the first slave had given a very bad account of him, saying that he was a thief and a bad character, and asked if it was true. The second slave replied that the first was everything that was good, his inward qualities corresponding to the beauty of his outward appearance, and that whatever he had told the king was worthy of credit. The king replied that beauty was only an accident, and that, according to the tradition, accidents "endure only two moments;" that at death the animal soul is destroyed, that the text, "Whoso shall present himself with beauty shall receive tenfold reward," I does not refer to outward accidents, but to the "substance," the eternal soul. The slave in reply urged that the accidents of good works and thoughts will in some way bear fruit in the next world, pointing out that thought is always the precursor of the completed work, as the plan of the architect precedes the building, and the gardener's design the perfect fruit resulting from his labors. He added that the world is only the realized thought of "Universal Reason" The king then sent away the slave with whom he had held this discourse, and summoned the other, and told him that his fellow slave had given a bad account of him, and asked what he had to say. He replied that his fellow slave was a liar and a rascal, and the king then dismissed him, observing that, in accordance with the tradition, "Every man is hidden under his own tongue," his tongue had betrayed his inner vileness. "The safety of a man lies in holding his tongue."

(6) Then he said: ' The boon acceptable to me is this: — Pray tell me the word which you spoke in the presence of the young man.'

(6) The Lord Buddha enquired of Subhuti, saying: “What think you? Concerning the sands of the Ganges, did the Lord Buddha declare that these were grains of sand?” Subhuti assenting, said: “Honoured of the Worlds! the Lord Buddha declared that these were grains of sand.”

(21) The Buddha then said to SariputANSWER: “Have you seen the world of Profound Joy and its Immutable Tathagata?”

Sariputra replied: “Yes, World Honoured One, I have. May all living beings win a pure land similar to that of the Immutable Buddha and achieve supramundane powers like those of Vimalakirti!

(55) At that time, the Buddha pressed the toes of His (right ) foot on the ground and the world was suddenly adorned with hundreds and thousands of rare and precious gems of the great chiliocosm, like the precious Majestic Buddha’s pure land adorned with countless precious merits, which the assembly praised as never seen before; in addition each person present found himself seated on a precious lotus throne.

(10) The Lord said: Once more, Ο mighty Arjuna, listen to My supreme word, which I, from a desire for your welfare, will impart to you, to your great delight.

(3) The Lord Buddha enquired of Subhuti, saying: “What think you? Does the Lord Buddha possess the eye of wisdom?” Subhuti assented, saying: “Honoured of the Worlds! the Lord Buddha truly possesses the eye of wisdom.”

(24) 'If you can think of any boon equal to that, choose wealth, and long life. Be (king), Nakiketas, on the wide earth. I make thee the enjoyer of all desires.'

(5) Vimalakirti then asked Manjusri:

“The Virtuous One has traveled in countless thousands and tens of thousands of lakhs of worlds; which one is the Buddha land where the highest merits make the lion throne (of its Buddha)?”

Manjusri replied:

“Venerable Upasaka, in the east there is a Buddha land which is separated from here by a distance represented by worlds as countless as the sand grains in thirty-six Ganges rivers; it is called Merudhvaja whose Buddha is called Merukalpa who is still there. His body is 84,000 yojana tall and his lion throne, also as high, is of prominent majesty.”

(6) Then Breath was about to go off. As a large fine horse of the Indus-land might pull up the pegs of his foot- tethers together, thus indeed did it pull up those vital breaths together. They said: ' Sir, go not off! Verily, we shall not be able to live without you! ' ' If such I am, make me an offering/ < So be it.'