English
Standing to one side, that young man The young man said this to the Blessed One: “The brahmin Brahmāyu, good Gotama, inquires about the good Gotama’s freedom from illness, freedom from affliction, lightness of body, strength, and comfortable living. And he says this: ‘The brahmin Brahmāyu, good Gotama, is old, aged, advanced in years, has reached the end of his life’s journey, has attained old age, is one hundred and twenty years old by birth, is a master of the three Vedas, with their vocabularies and rituals, with their phonology and etymology, and as the fifth, their histories; he is skilled in grammar, a grammarian, and faultless in the Lokāyata (cosmology) and the marks of a great man. As far as, good sir, the brahmin householders who reside in Mithilā, Brahmāyu is declared to be their foremost brahmin — that is, in wealth; Brahmāyu is declared to be their foremost brahmin — that is, in mantras; Brahmāyu is declared to be their foremost brahmin — that is, in long life and fame. He wishes to see the good Gotama.’” “Now, young man, let the brahmin Brahmāyu come when he thinks it is time.” Then that young man approached the brahmin Brahmāyu; having approached, he said this to the brahmin Brahmāyu: “I have been given permission by the Venerable Ascetic Gotama. Now, Venerable Sir, come when you think it is time.” 391. Then the brahmin Brahmāyu approached the Blessed One. That assembly saw the brahmin Brahmāyu coming from afar. Having seen him, they made way, as is fitting for a well-known and famous person. Then the brahmin Brahmāyu said this to that assembly: “Enough, good sirs! You sit in your own seats. Here I will sit near the Ascetic Gotama.” Then the brahmin Brahmāyu approached the Blessed One; having approached, he exchanged greetings with the Blessed One. Having concluded the courteous and memorable talk, he sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, the brahmin Brahmāyu said to the Blessed One: He endowed his body with the thirty-two marks of a Great Man. Then the brahmin Brahmāyu saw in the Blessed One's body the thirty-two marks of a Great Man, for the most part, except for two. Concerning two marks of a Great Man, he doubted, he wavered, he was not convinced, he was not assured: the private parts being enclosed in a sheath, and the tongue being very long. Then the brahmin Brahmāyu addressed the Blessed One with verses: “The thirty-two marks of a Great Man that I have heard of, Two of these I do not see in your body, Gotama. “Is your private part, O best of men, enclosed in a sheath? Is your tongue not visible, like that of a woman? “Are you endowed with a very long tongue, so that we may know you? Extend that long tongue, remove our doubt, O lord. “For the welfare in this life, and for happiness in the next, Having been given the opportunity, we ask whatever we desire.” Then it occurred to the Blessed One: “This brahmin Brahmāyu sees in my body the thirty-two marks of a Great Man, for the most part, except for two. Concerning two marks of a Great Man, he doubts, he wavers, he is not convinced, he is not assured: the private parts being enclosed in a sheath, and the tongue being very long.” Then the Blessed One performed such a psychic feat that the brahmin Brahmāyu saw the Blessed One's private parts enclosed in a sheath. Then the Blessed One extended his tongue and touched and stroked both ear-holes; he touched and stroked both nostril-holes; he even covered his entire forehead with his tongue. Then the Blessed One addressed the brahmin Brahmāyu with verses: “The thirty-two marks of a Great Man that you have heard of, All of them are in my body, let there be no doubt for you, brahmin. “What was to be known has been known, what was to be developed has been developed; What was to be abandoned has been abandoned by me, therefore I am the Buddha, brahmin. “In this life for your welfare, and for happiness in the future. Opportunity has been granted, ask whatever you wish for.” Then it occurred to the brahmin Brahmāyu: “Opportunity has indeed been granted to me by the recluse Gotama. What should I ask the recluse Gotama – ‘about a matter pertaining to this life or one pertaining to the future’?” Then it occurred to the brahmin Brahmāyu: “I am skilled in matters pertaining to this life. Others also ask me about matters pertaining to this life. Why don’t I ask the recluse Gotama about a matter pertaining to the future?” Then the brahmin Brahmāyu addressed the Blessed One in verses: “How does one become a brahmin, how does one become a knower of the Vedas? How, sir, does one become threefold knowledge, what is one called a sotthiya? How, sir, does one become an Arahant, how does one become perfect? And how, sir, does one become a sage, what is one called a Buddha?” Then the Blessed One addressed the brahmin Brahmāyu in verses: “One who knows past lives, and sees heaven and hell; And has reached the destruction of birth, a sage perfected in direct knowledge. One who knows the mind to be purified, freed from all defilements; One who has abandoned birth and death, perfect in the holy life; One who has gone to the far shore of all phenomena, such a one is called a Buddha.” When this was said, the brahmin Brahmāyu rose from his seat, arranged his upper robe over one shoulder, prostrated his head at the Blessed One’s feet, kissed the Blessed One’s feet with his mouth, massaged them with his hands, and announced his name: “I am Brahmāyu, good Gotama, the brahmin; I am Brahmāyu, good Gotama, the brahmin.” Then that assembly was filled with wonder and amazement: “It is wonderful, sirs, it is amazing, sirs! That this brahmin Brahmāyu, known and famous, should show such extreme reverence!” Then the Blessed One said to the brahmin Brahmāyu: “Enough, brahmin, rise, sit down on your own seat, since their minds are pleased with me.” Then the brahmin Brahmāyu rose from his seat. 395. Then the Blessed One gave Brahmāyu the brahmin a progressive discourse, that is, a discourse on giving, a discourse on morality, a discourse on heaven; he explained the danger, the degradation, the defilement of sensual pleasures, and the benefit of renunciation. When the Blessed One knew that the brahmin Brahmāyu had a ready mind, a soft mind, a mind free from hindrances, an uplifted mind, a confident mind, then he expounded the teaching peculiar to the Buddhas—suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path. Just as a clean cloth, free from stains, would perfectly absorb dye, even so, in Brahmāyu the brahmin, right there on that seat, the stainless, blemishless Eye of Dhamma arose: “Whatever is of an origin nature, all that is of a cessation nature.” Then the brahmin Brahmāyu, having seen the Dhamma, attained the Dhamma, understood the Dhamma, penetrated the Dhamma, having crossed over doubt, having cast off perplexity, having gained confidence, being independent of others in the Teacher’s Dispensation, said to the Blessed One: “Excellent, Venerable Gotama! Excellent, Venerable Gotama! Just as, Venerable Gotama, one might set upright what was overturned, or reveal what was hidden, or point out the way to one who was lost, or hold up a lamp in the darkness so that those with eyes might see forms—even so has the Dhamma been made clear by Venerable Gotama in many ways. I go for refuge to Venerable Gotama, to the Dhamma, and to the Sangha of bhikkhus. May Venerable Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from this day forth as long as life lasts. And may Venerable Gotama consent to accept tomorrow’s meal from me, together with the Sangha of bhikkhus.” The Blessed One consented by silence. Then the brahmin Brahmāyu, understanding the Blessed One’s consent, rose from his seat, saluted the Blessed One, circumambulated him, and departed. Then the brahmin Brahmāyu, when that night had passed Then, having prepared excellent hard and soft food in his own dwelling, he had the time announced to the Blessed One: "It is time, good Gotama, the meal is ready." Then the Blessed One, having dressed in the morning and taken his bowl and robe, approached the dwelling of the brahmin Brahmāyu; having approached, he sat down on the prepared seat together with the community of bhikkhus. Then the brahmin Brahmāyu for seven days personally satisfied and served the community of bhikkhus headed by the Buddha with excellent hard and soft food. Then the Blessed One, after those seven days, set out on a wandering tour in the country. Then the brahmin Brahmāyu passed away not long after the Blessed One had departed. Then many bhikkhus approached the Blessed One; having approached, and paid homage to the Blessed One, they sat down to one side. Seated to one side, those bhikkhus said this to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, the brahmin Brahmāyu has passed away. What is his destination? What is his future state?" "Wise, bhikkhus, was the brahmin Brahmāyu. He practiced in accordance with the Dhamma, and he did not trouble me concerning the Dhamma. The brahmin Brahmāyu, bhikkhus, with the destruction of the five lower fetters, is an apparitional being, one who attains final Nibbāna there, never to return from that world." This is what the Blessed One said. Delighted, those bhikkhus rejoiced in the Blessed One's words. The Discourse on Brahmāyu is finished, the first. 2. The Discourse on Sela 396. Thus have I heard: On one occasion the Blessed One, while wandering in the Anguttarāpas with a large community of bhikkhus, with twelve hundred and fifty bhikkhus, arrived at Āpaṇa, a market town of the Anguttarāpas. Now Keṇiya the ascetic heard: "Indeed, good sirs, the recluse Gotama, a son of the Sakyans, gone forth from the Sakyan clan, while wandering in the Anguttarāpas with a large community of bhikkhus, with twelve hundred and fifty bhikkhus, has arrived at Āpaṇa. That Blessed One... Concerning that Gotama, Such a good report has arisen – 'Indeed, that Blessed One is Arahant, Perfectly Enlightened,