"Welcome! great
master, welcome! Rightly have you distinguished law from law, and well
obtained the highest wisdom; now before this great assembly, pray you!
exhibit your excellent endowments; as any rich and wealthy noble opens
for view his costly treasures, causing the poor and sorrow-laden
multitude to increase their forgetfulness awhile; and honor well your
lord's instruction." Forthwith in presence of the assembly, gathering up
his body and entering Samadhi, calmly he ascended into space, and there
displayed himself, walking, standing, sitting, sleeping, emitting fiery
vapor from his body, on his right and left side water and fire, not
burning and not moistening him. Then clouds and rain proceeded from him,
thunder with lightning shook the heaven and earth; thus he drew the
world to look in adoration, with eyes undazzled as they gazed; with
different mouths, but all in language one, they magnified and praised
this wondrous spectacle, then afterwards drawn by spiritual force, they
came and worshipped at the master's feet, exclaiming:--"Buddha is our
great teacher! we are the honored one's disciples." Thus having
magnified his work and finished all he purposed doing, drawing the world
as universal witness, the assembly was convinced that he, the
world-honored, was truly the "Omniscient!" Buddha, perceiving that the
whole assembly was ready as a vessel to receive the law, spoke thus to
Bimbisara Raga: "Listen now and understand: The mind, the thoughts, and
all the senses are subject to the law of life and death. This fault of
birth and death, once understood, then there is clear and plain
perception. Obtaining this clear perception, then there is born
knowledge of self; knowing oneself and with this knowledge laws of birth
and death, then there is no grasping and no sense-perception. Knowing
oneself, and understanding how the senses act, then there is no room for
'I' (soul) or ground for framing it; then all the accumulated mass of
sorrow, sorrows born from life and death, being recognized as attributes
of body, and as this body is not 'I,' nor offers ground for 'I,' then
comes the great superlative, the source of peace unending. This thought
of 'self' gives rise to all these sorrows, binding as with cords the
world, but having found there is no 'I' that can be bound, then all
these bonds are severed. There are no bonds indeed--they disappear--and
seeing this there is deliverance. The world holds to this thought of
'I