Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists

"There"Myths of the Hindus *Buddhistsevening, like a beautiful lady, came to worship him Meru;danced for joy the seven mountain ;ranges bowed beforehim ;and the beings of every world assembled to receivethe nectar of the good doctrine. They stood in circles,ever more and more crowded by fresh arrivals, tillat lastthey were so close that a hundred thousand devas occupieda space no more than the point of a needle ;all the heavensof the devas and brahmas were emptied. The sound waslike that of a storm, but when the lords of the variousheavens blew their conchs there was utter silence. ThenBuddha opened his mouth.are two things,"he said, that must be avoidedby one who becomes a hermit, viz. wrong desires andmortification of the body."This was the subject-matterof the first discourse, and it seemed to each hearer that itwas spoken in his own tongue, and every kind of animalheard him with the same impression.Myriads of devasentered the first and the second and third and fourth paths.The Preaching of BuddhaFrom that time onward Buddha turned the Wheel of theLaw that is to say, he preached the Good Doctrine to allwho heard him. He converted the worshippers of fire bymany miracles ; Bhimasaha, king of Rajagriha, became hisdisciple.Buddha also visited his native city.This wasthe manner of the visit.King Suddhodhana, hearing ofthe Buddhaship of his son, sent an embassy of noblemenasking him to visit Kapilavastu but all the nobles, hearing;the Buddha s doctrine, became disciples and remainedwith him. The same thing happened with many others.At last the king sent a most trusted messenger, the nobleKaluda, who had been Buddha s playfellow from infancy.He also became a disciple, but when the spring season274