[609] Then it occurred to the brahmin Sela: "The ascetic Gotama is endowed with the thirty-two marks of a great man (mahāpurisalakkhaṇa) — complete, not incomplete. Yet I do not know of him whether he is a Buddha or not. But I have heard this said by brahmins who were aged and elderly, teachers of teachers: 'Those who are Arahants (arahanto), Fully Awakened Ones (sammāsambuddhā), reveal themselves when their own praise is being spoken.' Suppose I were to extol the ascetic Gotama to his face with fitting verses." Then the brahmin Sela extolled the Blessed One to his face with fitting verses:
"Perfect in body, resplendent,
well-born, lovely to behold,
golden-hued are you, O Blessed One,
your teeth gleaming white, and full of energy (vīriya).
For whatever characteristics there are
of a man nobly born,
all of them are on your body —
the marks of a great man.
Clear-eyed, fair of countenance,
stately, upright, majestic,
in the midst of the Saṅgha of ascetics
you shine like the sun.
A bhikkhu lovely to look upon,
with skin like burnished gold —
what have you to do with the ascetic's state,
being of such supreme appearance?
You are worthy to be a king,
a wheel-turning monarch (cakkavatti), lord of charioteers,
victorious in the four quarters,
sovereign of the Jambu Grove.
Let khattiyas and wealthy kings
be followers in your train;
O Gotama, rule as king above kings,
as lord of humankind!"
"I am a king, Sela," [said the Blessed One,]
"the unsurpassed king of the Dhamma;
by the Dhamma I set the wheel rolling —
the wheel that cannot be rolled back."
"You claim to be a Fully Awakened One," [said the brahmin Sela,]
"the unsurpassed king of the Dhamma;
'By the Dhamma I set the wheel rolling' —
so you declare, Gotama.
Who then is the general of the honorable one,
the disciple who follows in the Teacher's own way?
Who keeps rolling after you
this wheel of the Dhamma (dhammacakka) you have set in motion?"
"The wheel set rolling by me, Sela," [said the Blessed One,]
"the unsurpassed wheel of the Dhamma,
Sāriputta keeps rolling on —
born after the Tathāgata (anujāta).
What should be directly known has been directly known,
what should be developed has been developed,
what should be abandoned I have abandoned:
therefore, brahmin, I am a Buddha.
Dispel your doubt in me;
resolve your mind, brahmin!
Rarely gained is the sight
of Fully Awakened Ones, again and again.
They whose appearance in the world
is indeed but rarely met with, again and again —
such a one am I, brahmin: a Fully Awakened One,
the surgeon (sallakatta) unsurpassed,
become the Holy One (brahmabhūta), beyond compare,
the crusher of Māra's army;
having brought all foes under my sway,
I rejoice, with no fear from any quarter."
"Heed this, sirs,
even as the One with Vision speaks:
the surgeon, the great hero,
roars like a lion in the forest.
Who, having seen him — become the Holy One,
beyond compare, crusher of Māra's army —
would not be filled with confidence,
even one of dark birth (kaṇhābhijātika)?
Let him who wishes follow me;
let him who does not wish remain.
Here shall I go forth
in the presence of him of excellent wisdom."
"If the teaching (sāsana) of the Fully Awakened One
thus pleases the honorable one,
we too shall go forth
in the presence of him of excellent wisdom."
"These three hundred brahmins,
with joined palms upraised, implore:
'We shall live the holy life (brahmacariya),
O Blessed One, in your presence.'"
"Well proclaimed is the holy life, Sela," [said the Blessed One,]
"visible here and now, not delayed,
wherein the going forth is not in vain
for one who trains with diligence."
And the brahmin Sela together with his following obtained the going forth (pabbajjā) in the presence of the Blessed One; he obtained the higher ordination (upasampadā).
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.