The Unsurpassed Boy

"Oh, good man! A person may very well come near to the Buddha and his disciples. But there is still a great distance. All the Licchavis said: 'We know that we're lazy. Why? If we were not lazy, the Tathagata, the King of Dharma, would have to appear among us’.

Then, among the congregated, there was the son of a Brahmin called Unsurpassed, who said to all the Licchavis: ‘Well said, well said! It's all as you say. King Bimbisara once won a great victory. The Tathagata World Honored One appeared in his land. This is like the case of a great lake in which the wonderful lotus grows. Although born in the sludge, the sludge cannot defile them. Oh you Licchavis! It's the same with the Buddha. Although born in that land, he is not hindered by what obtains in the secular world. With the Buddha World Honored One, there is no appearing and disappearing (or birth and extinction). For the good of all beings, he appears in the world, and is not molested by what obtains in the world. You have lost your way, have got lost in the five desires, have befriended them, but you do not know how to befriend the Tathagata and come to where he stays. Therefore, we say lazy. When the Buddha appeared in Magadha, there was no indolence to talk about. Why not? The Tathagata World Honored One is like the sun and moon. He does not appear in the world just for one or two people'."

Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 37, on Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 5.

the unsurpassed boy.mp3