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IV, 1, 18.
SÂRIPUTTA.
153
But if Sâriputta, o king, did not consent to it, how was it that Nandaka was so swallowed up?'
By the power of his evil deeds.' "Then if so, great king, an act done to him who consents not is still of power and bears fruit. And if this is so of an evil deed, how much more of a good one? Therefore is it, o king, that acts done to the Tathagata, notwithstanding his having passed away and not accepting them, are nevertheless of value and bear fruit.'
18. Now how many, O king, are those men who, in this life, have been swallowed up by the earth ? Have you heard anything on that point ?'
Yes, Sir, I have heard how many there are.' Then tell me.' * Kiñka the Brahmin woman, and Suppabuddha the Sâkyan, and Devadatta the Elder, and Nandaka the ogre, and Nanda the Brahman—these are the five people who were swallowed up by the earth.'
And whom, O king, had they wronged ?'
The Blessed One and his disciples.' • Then did the Blessed One or his disciples consent to their being so swallowed up?'
Certainly not, Sir.' • Therefore is it, О king, that an act done to the Tathagata, notwithstanding his having passed away and not consenting thereto, is nevertheless of value and bears fruit.'
Well has this deep question been explained by you, venerable Nâgasena, and made clear. You have made the secret thing [102] plain, you have loosed the knot, you have made in the jungle an open space, the adversaries are overthrown, the wrong opinion has been proved false, the sectaries have been covered
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