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and thinking, "I will go forth today!" he returned and informed the king, "I will go forth, sire." The king, though he pleaded in many ways, was unable to dissuade him, so he had the path to Asokārāma decorated, had the prince dressed in festive attire, surrounded him with an adorned army, and led him to the monastery. Hearing, "The crown prince, it is said, will go forth," many monks prepared their bowls and robes. The prince went to the main hall and went forth in the presence of the Elder Mahādhammarakkhita himself, along with a hundred thousand men. As for those who went forth after the prince, their number is immeasurable. The prince went forth in the fourth year of the king's consecration. Now, there was another nephew of the king, the husband of Saṅghamittā, a prince named Aggibrahmā. Saṅghamittā bore only one son by him. He too, hearing, "The crown prince has gone forth," approached the king and pleaded, "I too, sire, will go forth." And being permitted by the king, "Go forth, my son," he went forth that very day. Thus, he went forth, a khattiya of great splendor... by him; The king's younger brother, should be known as Thera Tissa. Seeing that minister acting in such a wrong way, he thought: "The king would not send to kill the theras; surely this is this minister's own misconception." So he went and sat down on a seat near him. The minister recognized the thera, and being unable to strike him, he went and reported to the king: "Deva, I have cut off the heads of so many bhikkhus who did not wish to observe Uposatha; now it is the turn of the venerable Thera Tissa, what should I do?" As soon as the king heard this, he exclaimed: "Hey! Did I send you to kill bhikkhus?" Immediately, a fever arose in his body. He went to the monastery and asked the bhikkhus: "Bhantes, this minister did this without my command, whose evil deed is this?" Some theras said: "He did it by your word, so the evil is yours." Some said: "The evil is for both of you." Some said: "Maharaja, did you have the thought, 'Let him go and kill bhikkhus'?" "No, Bhantes, I sent them with a wholesome intention: 'Let the united Sangha observe Uposatha.'" "If you had a wholesome intention, there is no evil for you; the evil is for the minister alone." The king, in doubt, asked: "Bhantes, is there any bhikkhu who can resolve this doubt of mine and uphold the Dispensation?" "Yes, Maharaja, there is a thera named Moggaliputtatissa; he can resolve this doubt of yours and uphold the Dispensation." That very day, the king sent four Dhamma-preachers, each accompanied by a thousand bhikkhus, and four ministers, each accompanied by a thousand men, saying: "Bring the thera." They went and said: "The king summons you." The thera did not come. A second time, the king sent eight Dhamma-preachers and eight ministers, each accompanied by a thousand men, sent – “‘Venerable sir, the king summons you!’ – saying this, seize him and bring him.” They said exactly that. A second time the elder did not come. The king asked the elders – “Venerable sirs, I sent twice; why does the elder not come?” “Because it was said ‘the king summons,’ great king, he does not come. But if it were said thus: ‘Venerable sir, the Dispensation is declining; be a helper for the upholding of our Dispensation,’” then he would come. Then the king, saying thus, sent sixteen Dhamma-preachers and sixteen ministers, each with a retinue of a thousand. He also asked the monks – “Is the elder old, venerable sirs, or young?” “He is old, great king.” “Will he ride in a palanquin or a litter, venerable sirs?” “He will not ride, great king.” “Where, venerable sirs, does the elder reside?” “Above the Ganges, great king.” The king said – “Then, my men, tie together a raft of boats, seat the elder there, arrange a guard on both banks, and bring the elder.” The monks and ministers went to the elder and conveyed the king’s message. The elder, hearing it, thought, “That for which I renounced the world, to uphold the Dispensation from its very root, that time has now arrived for me,” and taking his leather mat, he arose. Then, in the night, the king had a dream that “the elder would arrive in Pāṭaliputta tomorrow.” Such was the dream: “A pure white elephant came, touched the king from head to foot, and took his right hand.” The next day the king asked the dream-interpreters – “I saw such a dream; what will happen to me?” One of them said, “Great king, a monk-elephant will take your right hand.” Then the king, immediately hearing “the elder has arrived,” went to the bank of the Ganges, descended into the river, and wading out, reached the elder in knee-deep water, and gave his hand to the elder as he descended from the boat. The elder, the king, and He took him by the right hand. Seeing that, the sword-bearers drew swords from their sheaths, saying, "We will cut off the Elder's head!" Why? Because this was a custom, they say, in royal families: "Whoever takes the king by the hand, his head must be cut off with a sword." The king, seeing only the shadow, said, "Even before, because of my offenses against monks, I found no satisfaction. Do not offend the Elder!" But why did the Elder take the king by the hand? Because the king had summoned him to ask a question, he took him, thinking, "This is my disciple." The king led the Elder to his own park, surrounded him three times outside, stationed guards, and then himself washed the Elder's feet, anointed them with oil, sat down near the Elder, and to test him, "Is the Elder capable of cutting off my doubts, settling arising disputes, and upholding the Dispensation?" he said, "Venerable sir, I wish to see a miracle." "Which miracle do you wish to see, great king?" "An earthquake, venerable sir." "Do you wish to see a tremor of the whole earth, great king, or a tremor of a part of the earth?" "Which is more difficult here, venerable sir?" "What do you think, great king, is it more difficult to make all the water in a bowl tremble, or half of it?" "Half of it, venerable sir." "Even so, great king, a tremor of a part of the earth is more difficult." "Then, venerable sir, I will see a tremor of a part of the earth." "Then, great king, let a chariot stand a league all around to the east, with one wheel crossing the boundary; to the south, let a horse stand with two feet crossing the boundary; to the west, let a man stand with one foot crossing the boundary; to the north, let a water pot stand with half its part crossing the boundary." The king had it done so. The Elder entered the fourth jhāna, which is the basis for supernormal powers. Then, having risen, he resolved: “May the king see!” and made the earth a yojana in extent quake. In the eastern direction, the foot of the man standing within the boundary of the chariot moved, the other did not move. Thus, in the southern and western directions, the feet of the horsemen standing within their boundaries moved, and half of their bodies. In the northern direction, even of the water pot, the water that was within its boundary, the upper half, moved, the rest remained still. The king, seeing that miracle, concluded: “Now the Elder is able to uphold the Dispensation,” and asked about his own remorse: “Venerable Sir, I sent an official, saying, ‘Go to the monastery, settle the dispute, and have the Uposatha performed.’ He went to the monastery and deprived so many monks of their lives. Whose is this evil deed?” “But, great king, did you have the thought, ‘May he go to the monastery and kill the monks’?” “No, Venerable Sir.” “If, great king, you did not have such a thought, there is no evil for you.” Then the Elder instructed the king on this matter with this Sutta: “Intention, monks, I declare to be kamma. Having intended, one performs kamma by body, speech, or mind.” To elaborate on that same point, he brought up the Tittira Jātaka: “In the past, great king, the partridge of Dīpaka asked the ascetic: ‘Our kinsman is seated, many people come; Kamma affects by contact, my mind is doubtful about that.’ The ascetic said: ‘But do you have the thought, “May these birds, having come by my sound and the sight of my form, be caught or killed”?’ ‘No, Venerable Sir,’ said the partridge. Then the ascetic instructed him: ‘If you have no such thought, there is no evil; for evil affects one who intends, not one who does not intend. ‘Kamma does not affect by contact, if the mind is not corrupted; For one who is without trouble, who is good, evil does not cling.’ Thus, the Elder, having instructed the king, right there in the royal park He, staying for seven days, made the king learn the doctrines. The king, on the seventh day, having assembled the community of monks in the Asoka Park, having had a curtain wall erected, seated within the curtain wall, having gathered the monks holding the same views into groups, having called each group of monks, asked: "What does the Perfectly Enlightened One teach?" Then the eternalists said: "He is an eternalist." Some partial eternalists... ...the finite-infinite theorists... ...the eel-wrigglers... ...the fortuitous originists... ...the conscious-theorists... ...the unconscious-theorists... ...the neither-conscious-nor-unconscious-theorists... ...the annihilationists... ...the present-nibbāna-theorists said: "He is a present-nibbāna-theorist." The king, having already learned the doctrines, knowing: "These are not monks, these are followers of other sects," gave them white clothes and expelled them. All of them were sixty thousand. Then, having called other monks, he asked: "What does the Perfectly Enlightened One teach, sirs?" "He is an analyst, great king." When this was said, the king asked the Elder: "Is the Perfectly Enlightened One an analyst, venerable sir?" "Yes, great king." Then the king, saying: "Now, venerable sir, the Dispensation is pure; let the community of monks perform the Uposatha," having provided protection, entered the city. The united Sangha