ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 22.6

22.6

He went to see the sage, bowed down at his feet, and said, ‘The six neighboring kings are not friendly with one another, and from time to time a great many people are killed. It would be right of you to restore relations between them.’ The sage assented to King Brahmadatta by his silence. Understanding that by his silence the sage had given his assent, King Brahmadatta bowed down at his feet and departed.

“One day the six kings arrayed all four divisions of their armies and advanced on Vārāṇasī. With the four divisions of their armies all arrayed, they completely surrounded the city in siege, whereupon Brahmadatta, king of Kāśi, sent word to the sage. As soon as he heard, the sage traveled through the sky from his dwelling to the very place where the six kings were encamped.

“Upon seeing the sage, all six kṣatriya kings were immediately overcome with joy toward him. In their joy they went to see the sage, and upon their arrival they bowed down at his feet and sat before him to listen to the Dharma. After he taught them the Dharma, the sage got them all to form a truce. After having made a truce, they resolved to go forth in the presence of the sage. Each informed the other of his intention¹⁵⁴ and traveled back to his own land. After each had abdicated in favor of his son, given gifts, and made merit, they all went forth in the presence of that sage. Having gone forth, they generated the four meditative states and five superknowledges.

“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was that sage then, and lived the life of a bodhisattva. The six kings who disagreed with each other then are none other than the six brothers who could not come to an agreement now.