འཕགས་པ་གནས་འཇག་པའ་མད་ཞས་བྱ་བ intro.2

intro.2

While residing in Nyagrodha Park in Kapilavastu, the Buddha meets an emaciated, long-haired brahmin named Vasiṣṭha. When the Buddha asks this brahmin why he looks so thin, unkempt, and haggard, Vasiṣṭha explains that it is because he is observing a month-long fast. The Buddha then asks him whether he maintains the so-called “eightfold observance of the noble ones,” prompting an exchange between the two about what this observance entails, and the extent of the merit gained by maintaining it. After outlining the observance, the Buddha declares to Vasiṣṭha that maintaining the eightfold observance, even just once, results in far more merit than making vast offerings. At the end of the sūtra, Vasiṣṭha takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, and he pledges to maintain the eightfold observance and practice generosity in tandem.