Chapter 26

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The Lord Buddha addressed Subhuti, saying: “Can the Lord Buddha be perceived by means of his thirty-two bodily distinctions?”[1] Subhuti replied, saying: “Even so,[2] the Lord Buddha can be perceived by means of his thirty-two bodily distinctions.”

The Lord Buddha, continuing, said unto Subhuti: “If by means of his thirty-two bodily distinctions it were possible to perceive the Lord Buddha, then the Lord Buddha would merely resemble one of the great wheel-turning kings.”[3]

Subhuti thereupon addressed the Lord Buddha, saying: “Honoured of the Worlds! According as I am able to interpret the Lord Buddha’s instruction, it is improbable that the Lord Buddha may be perceived by means of his thirty-two bodily distinctions.”

Thereafter, the “Honoured of the Worlds” delivered this sublime Gatha:

“I am not to be perceived by means of any visible form, Nor sought after by means of any audible sound; Whosoever walks in the way of iniquity, Cannot perceive the blessedness of the Lord Buddha.”[4]

[1] “This probably refers to the auspicious signs discovered in Sakyamuni at his birth, which left it open whether he would become a king or a Buddha.”—_The Vagrakkhedika_. Max Müller.

[2] Subhuti failed to apprehend the idea as expressed by the Lord Buddha, and inadvertently replied, saying: “Even so, Even so.”—_Chinese Annotation_.

[3] “The portends troubled, till his dream readers Augured a prince of earthly dominance, A Chakravartin, such as rise to rule Once in a thousand years.”—_The Light of Asia_. Sir Edwin Arnold.

“A king who rules the world, and causes the wheel of doctrine everywhere to revolve. The great Asoka (King of Central India, who reigned near Patna, about 150–200 years after the demise of Buddha) was a ‘wheel king.’ The word is Chakravarti in Sanscrit, from Chakra ‘wheel,’ the symbol of activity, whether of Buddha in preaching, or of kings like Asoka in ruling.”—_Chinese Buddhism_. Edkins.

“Those of the Bikkhus who carry in their hearts the words of excellent knowledge that is immeasurable, who are free from bonds, whose fame and power and glory no man can weigh, who (in imitation of their master) keep the royal chariot wheel of the kingdom of righteousness rolling on, who have reached perfection in knowledge.”—_Questions of King Milinda_. T. W. Rhys Davids.

[4] The following Gatha, translated by Max Müller, and concluding the twenty-sixth section of _The Vagrakkhedika_, is not incorporated in the Chinese text.

“A Buddha is to be seen (known) from the Law; For the Lords (Buddha) have the Law-Body; And the nature of the Law cannot be understood, Nor can it be made to be understood.”

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