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without intimacy, this indeed is the vision of a sage.' But that which, O great king, was spoken by the Blessed One: 'One should build pleasant monasteries, and dwell there with many learned ones,' that was spoken by the Blessed One, seeing two benefits. Which two? The giving of monasteries is praised by all Buddhas, approved, extolled, commended. Having given that gift of monasteries, they will be freed from birth, old age, and death. This is the first advantage in giving monasteries. And furthermore, when monasteries exist, nuns will be well-known, their sight will be easy for those who wish to see them. Without a home, they would be difficult to see. This is the second advantage in giving monasteries. Seeing these two benefits, the Blessed One spoke: 'One should build pleasant monasteries, and dwell there with many learned ones.' But in those homes, a son of the Buddha should not form attachment. "Well said, Venerable Nāgasena, I accept it thus." The first question on intimacy. 2. The question on restraint of the belly. 2. "Venerable Nāgasena, this too was spoken by the Blessed One – 'One should not be negligent in rising, one should be restrained in the belly.'" And again, the Blessed One said: 'Indeed, Udāyi, sometimes I eat even a full bowl with this bowl, and sometimes I eat more.' If, Venerable Nāgasena, the Blessed One said: 'One should not be negligent in rising, one should be restrained in the belly,' then that saying: 'Indeed, Udāyi, sometimes I eat even a full bowl with this bowl, and sometimes I eat more,' is false. If the Tathāgata said: 'Indeed, Udāyi, sometimes I eat even a full bowl with this bowl, and sometimes I eat more,' then In that case, 'One should not be negligent when standing up, one should be restrained in the belly' that saying too is false. This too is a two-horned problem that has come to you. It should be resolved by you. "This too was spoken, O great king, by the Blessed One: 'One should not be negligent when standing up, one should be restrained in the belly.' And it was also said: 'Indeed, Udāyi, sometimes with this bowl I eat to satisfaction, and sometimes I eat more.' That, O great king, which was spoken by the Blessed One: 'One should not be negligent when standing up, one should be restrained in the belly,' that is a statement of reality, a complete statement, an exhaustive statement, a direct statement, a true statement, an actual statement, an accurate statement, an unperverted statement, a sage's statement, a recluse's statement, a Blessed One's statement, an Arahant's statement, a Paccekabuddha's statement, a Conqueror's statement, an Omniscient One's statement, the statement of the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Awakened One. "Unrestrained in the belly, O great king, one even kills living beings, one even takes what is not given, one even goes to another's wife, one even speaks falsely, one even drinks intoxicants, one even deprives one's mother of life, one even deprives one's father of life, one even deprives an Arahant of life, one even breaks up the Sangha, one even causes the Tathāgata's blood to flow with a malicious mind. Did not, O great king, Devadatta, unrestrained in the belly, having broken up the Sangha, accumulate karma for an eon? Seeing such and many other kinds of reasons, O great king, the Blessed One said: 'One should not be negligent when standing up, one should be restrained in the belly.' "Restrained in the belly, O great king, one comprehends the four noble truths, one realizes the four fruits of recluseship, one attains mastery in the four analytical knowledges, the eight attainments, and the six supernormal powers, and one fulfills the entire ascetic practice. Did not, O great king, Sukapotaka, being restrained in the belly, having shaken the Tāvatiṃsa heaven, bring Sakka, king of the devas, to his service? Seeing such and many other kinds of reasons, O great king, the Blessed One said: 'One should not be negligent when standing up... he should not be negligent, he should be restrained in his belly. “But, great king, what the Blessed One said: ‘Indeed, Udāyi, sometimes I eat a full bowl with this very bowl, and sometimes I eat more,’ that was said by the Tathāgata, who has completed his task, finished his work, attained his goal, lived the holy life to its end, is unobstructed, omniscient, and self-existent, referring to himself. “Just as, great king, for one who has vomited, purged, been given an enema, or is sick, suitable treatment is desired, even so, great king, for one who is defiled and has not seen the truth, restraint in the belly is to be practiced. Just as, great king, a jewel, radiant, of noble birth, of pure origin, does not need polishing, rubbing, or cleansing, even so, great king, for the Tathāgata, who has reached the perfection in the Buddha-sphere, there is no obstruction in his actions and deeds.” “Excellent, Venerable Nāgasena, I accept it thus.” The second question on restraint in the belly. 3. The Question on the Buddha’s Freedom from Illness 3. “Venerable Nāgasena, it was also said by the Blessed One: ‘Monks, I am a brahmin, a beggar, always with purified hands, bearing the final body, the unsurpassed physician, the surgeon.’ And again it was said by the Blessed One: ‘Monks, among my bhikkhu disciples who are free from illness, Bakula is foremost.’ And in the body of the Blessed One, illness is seen to have arisen many times. If, Venerable Nāgasena, the Tathāgata is unsurpassed, then the statement ‘foremost… Bakula’ is false. If the Elder Bakula is foremost among those free from illness, then the statement ‘I am… a surgeon’ is also false. This two-horned question has come to you; it must be resolved by you.” “It was said, great king, by the Blessed One: ‘I am… a surgeon,’ and it was said: ‘foremost… Bakula,’ and that was said with reference to the existence in himself of external traditions, attainments, and recitations. There are, O great king, disciples of the Blessed One who are standing-and-walking practitioners; they spend the day and night standing and walking. But the Blessed One, O great king, spends the day and night standing, walking, sitting, and lying down. Those monks, O great king, who are standing-and-walking practitioners, they are superior in that respect. There are, O great king, disciples of the Blessed One who are one-seated practitioners; they do not eat a second meal even for the sake of life. But the Blessed One, O great king, eats a second and even a third meal. Those monks, O great king, who are one-seated practitioners, they are superior in that respect. There are, O great king, many kinds of reasons, spoken with reference to those various individuals. But the Blessed One, O great king, is unsurpassed in virtue, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge-and-vision of liberation, with the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, the eighteen unique Buddha-qualities, and the six extraordinary knowledges, and it is with reference to the entire sphere of a Buddha that it was said: ‘I am… (etc.)… a surgeon.’ Here, O great king, among humans, one is of noble birth, one is wealthy, one is learned, one is skilled in a craft, one is brave, one is discerning; the king, surpassing all of these, is indeed their supreme one. Even so, O great king, the Blessed One is the foremost, the eldest, the best of all beings. As for the Venerable Bākula being free from illness, that was due to his aspiration. For he, O great king, when the Blessed One Anomadassī suffered from stomach wind, and when the Blessed One Vipassī and sixty-eight hundred thousand monks suffered from a grass-flower disease, being a recluse himself, removed that ailment with various medicines, and attained freedom from illness. And it was said: ‘Among those… (etc.)… Bākula is the foremost.’ Whether illness arises in the Blessed One, O great king, or does not arise, whether he undertakes an ascetic practice or does not undertake it, there is no being equal to the Blessed One. This too, O great king, was spoken by the Blessed One, the God of gods, in the excellent section of the Saṃyutta Nikāya: ‘As far as, monks, Indeed, beings, whether footless or two-footed or four-footed or many-footed, whether with form or formless, whether percipient or non-percipient, or neither percipient nor non-percipient— the Tathāgata is declared as the foremost among them, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One. ‘Good, venerable Nāgasena, I accept this thus.’ The third question on the Buddha's freedom from affliction. 4. The question of the arising of the path 4. ‘‘Venerable Nāgasena, this was spoken by the Blessed One: ‘Monks, the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One, is the producer of the unarisen path.’ And again it was said: ‘Monks, I saw an ancient path, an ancient road, followed by the former Perfectly Self-Enlightened Ones.’ If, venerable Nāgasena, the Tathāgata is the producer of the unarisen path, then that statement, ‘Monks, I saw an ancient path, an ancient road, followed by the former Perfectly Self-Enlightened Ones,’ is false. If it was said by the Tathāgata, ‘Monks, I saw an ancient path, an ancient road, followed by the former Perfectly Self-Enlightened Ones,’ then that statement, ‘Monks, the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One, is the producer of the unarisen path,’ is also false. This two-horned dilemma has come to you, it must be resolved by you.’’ ‘‘This was spoken, O great king, by the Blessed One: ‘Monks, the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One, is the producer of the unarisen path.’ And it was said: ‘Monks, I saw an ancient path, an ancient road, followed by the former Perfectly Self-Enlightened Ones.’ Both of these are indeed statements of truth. With the disappearance of the former Tathāgatas, O great king, and in the absence of a teacher, the path disappeared. That path, fallen into ruin, overgrown,