ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 10.24

10.24

“Lord, tell us why Venerable Brāhmaṇa Mahā­kapina, Venerable Maudgalyāyana, and Venerable Śāriputra established five hundred monks in arhatship, in the resultant state of non-return, and in the resultant state of stream entry.”

“Not only now, monks” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, Venerable Brāhmaṇa Mahā­kapina, Venerable Maudgalyāyana, and Venerable Śāriputra, respectively, established their five hundred monks in the four meditative states and five superknowledges, in the formless realm, and in the form realm. Listen well!

“Monks, in times gone by, on a certain mountain there lived two sages, each with five hundred devotees. One sage lived on one side of the mountain with his five hundred devotees, and the other lived on the other side of the mountain with his five hundred devotees. One day, one of the sages passed away. After the young brahmins made offerings to his relics, they went to see the other sage, and the other sage brought them into his retinue. Then the thought occurred to the sage, ‘After I pass away, there will be no one to look after these young men. I must see to their needs while I’m still alive.’

“Now, this sage had three outstanding students, so he entrusted five hundred young brahmins to one of them and entrusted two hundred and fifty to each of the other two. Then he told them, ‘Both while I am living and after my death, you must teach these disciples and see to it that they also ponder the instructions.’ One of the three established his five hundred young brahmins in the four meditative states and five superknowledges, one established his two hundred and fifty in the formless realm,