[390] 6.
"Perfect in body, resplendent,
well-born, lovely to behold;
golden-hued are you, Blessed One,
gleaming white your teeth; you are full of energy.
For the distinguishing marks
that belong to a man of high birth —
the marks of a Great Man (mahāpurisalakkhaṇa) —
are all found upon your body.
Clear-eyed, fair of face,
tall, upright, and majestic,
in the midst of the Saṅgha of ascetics
you shine like the sun.
A bhikkhu lovely to behold,
with skin like burnished gold —
what have you to do with the ascetic's (samaṇa) state,
you of such supreme beauty?
You are worthy to be a king,
a wheel-turning monarch (cakkavatti), lord of charioteers,
victorious over the four quarters,
sovereign of Jambusaṇḍa.
Khattiya nobles and lesser kings
will be your vassal followers;
as king above kings, lord of men,
exercise your rule, O Gotama!"
"I am a king, Sela," (said the Blessed One,)
"the King of the Dhamma, unsurpassed;
by the Dhamma I set the wheel rolling —
the wheel that cannot be rolled back."
"You claim to be a Fully Enlightened One," (thus spoke Sela the brahmin,)
"the King of the Dhamma, unsurpassed;
'By the Dhamma I set the wheel rolling' —
so you say, Gotama.
Who then, sir, is your general,
the disciple who follows in the Teacher's course?
Who keeps this wheel of Dhamma rolling
that you have set in motion?"
"The wheel set rolling by me, Sela," (said the Blessed One,)
"the unsurpassed wheel of Dhamma —
Sāriputta keeps it rolling,
he who takes after the Tathāgata.
What should be directly known has been directly known;
what should be developed has been developed;
what should be abandoned has been abandoned by me:
therefore, brahmin, I am a Buddha.
Dispel your doubt about me;
resolve your mind, brahmin!
Hard to obtain, time and again,
is the sight of Fully Enlightened Ones.
Of those whose appearance in the world
is rare and seldom found —
I am such a one, brahmin: a Buddha,
the unsurpassed surgeon (sallakatta).
Become Brahmā (brahmabhūta), beyond compare,
the crusher of Māra's army,
having mastered all my foes,
I rejoice, fearing nothing from any quarter."
"Attend to this, good sirs,
to what the One with Vision (cakkhumā) says:
the surgeon, the great hero,
roars like a lion in the forest.
Who, on seeing him — become Brahmā, beyond compare,
the crusher of Māra's army —
would not be moved to confidence,
even one of dark birth (kaṇhābhijātika)?
Let him who wishes follow me;
let him who does not wish depart.
Right here I shall go forth
in the presence of him of excellent wisdom."
"If the teaching of the Fully Self-Enlightened One
is pleasing to you, good sir,
we too shall go forth
in the presence of him of excellent wisdom."
"These three hundred brahmins
beg with joined palms raised:
'We would live the holy life (brahmacariya),
Blessed One, in your presence.'"
"Well proclaimed is the holy life, Sela," (said the Blessed One,)
"to be seen for oneself, not delayed,
wherein the going forth (pabbajjā) is not barren
for one who trains with heedfulness."
"Since we came to that refuge,
One with Vision, this is the eighth day¹;
in seven nights, Blessed One,
we have been tamed in your teaching.
¹ [Variant note in source: M (Burmese edition) reads "aṭṭhame."]
You are the Buddha, you are the Teacher,
you are the sage (muni) who vanquished Māra;
having cut off the latent tendencies (anusaya),
you have crossed over, and you bring this generation across.
The acquisitions (upadhi) have been wholly transcended by you;
the taints (āsava) have been shattered by you;
like a lion free of clinging,
you have abandoned fear and dread.
These three hundred bhikkhus
stand with joined palms raised:
stretch forth your feet, O Hero —
let the nāgas pay homage to the Teacher."
Sela the Elder.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.