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THE SAME TITLE GIVEN TO DIFFERENT WORKS. 367
The first offering was made for the support of the body of Tathagata still suffering from human wants: this last offering is made to Tathagata possessing an eternal, sorrowless, and unchangeable (vagra) body, the body of the law; everlasting, boundless. In these and other) respects, then, it seems to me the two offerings differ in character and in merit.” Tathagata answered: “Illustrious youth ! for ages innumerable (countless asankhyeyas of kalpas) Tathagata has possessed no such body as that you named, as suffering from human wants or necessities- nor is there such an afterbody as that you describe as eternal, illimitable, indestructible. To those who as yet have no knowledge of the nature of Buddha, to these the body of Tathagata seems capable of suffering, liable to want (but to others it is not so). At the time when Bodhisattva received the offering of food and drink at the hands of the shepherd girls, he entered into the Samadhi known as vagra, and beheld the nature of Buddha, and so obtained the highest and most complete enlightenment (and thus was supposed to have eaten the food); so now as he receives your offering he enters the same condition; in this (and other respects the offerings differ not in character. But principally for this reason, that as he then began to declare his law and preach it for the good of men, but did not completely exhaust the twelve portions of it, so now, having received your offering, he will preach the law in its entire form (i.e. including the Vaipulya, or last section) for the good of the assembly. But still, as in the former case, he ate not, so neither does he now eat."
'At this time the congregation having heard that the world-honoured would preach the law in its fulness after receiving the offering of Kunda, rejoiced with exceeding joy, and opened their mouths with one accord in these words of praise : “Well done! well done ! exceedingly fortunate Kunda! Thy name is now established in meaning), well art thou called Kunda, for thou hast established a most excellent method of deliverance, and, therefore, thou art well named. Now shall your name be much honoured among men. Well done, Kundal it is indeed seldom that a Buddha appears in the world, and to be born when he is
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| SR No. | 007676 |
| Book Title | Text of Confucianism Part 02 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | James Legge |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1882 |
| Total Pages | 2405 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 43 MB |