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while the Jaina view is that whatever was worth-knowing, Mahāvira knew in the first moments of his attainment of the kaivalya, On the attainment of the bodhi but before he started preaching, Buddha thought,
'To whom do I preach this religion? Who is capable to accept this religion at once'?
once, he remembered,
'Alar -kālāma is intelligent, brilliant and for ever with little dirt of mind. Why do I not make a beginning with him'? He will accept it immediately'.
Remaining in hiding, the gods reported,
'Bhante! Alar-kālām died a week ago'.
Just then, knowledge and vision came to the Buddha with which too he knew of it. He thought,
At
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'Alar-kālāma was highly receptive.
this religion, he would surely have accepted it'.
If he had heard of
Then he looked for the next suitable man, and his choice fell on Uddakrām-putra. Thought he,
'Uddakram-putra is intelligent, bright and for ever with little dirt of mind. Why don't I first preach to him? He will soon accept this religion.'
vision.
But again from hiding, the gods informed him,
'Bhante! He has died last night'.
The Buddha also learnt this by his own knowledge and
Starting his search again, the Buddha thought,
'The panca-varga monks were of great help to me. During my penances, they rendered me a lot of service. Why don't I first start with them?!
Thinking further ahead, he tried to locate them: