ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 26.13

26.13

Mahā­maudgalyāyana, knowing their disillusionment, conferred on them instructions to be pondered, and they cast away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, and manifested arhatship. As arhats, free from the attachments of the three realms, their minds regarded gold no differently than filth, and the palms of their hands as like space itself. They became cool like wet sandalwood. Their insight crushed ignorance like an eggshell. They achieved the insights, superknowledges, and discriminations. They had no regard for worldly profit, passion, or acclaim. They became objects of offering, veneration, and respectful address by Indra, Upendra, and the other gods.

After achieving arhatship, using emanations, they traveled from one place to another, picking up flowers and fruits that were out of season to make offerings to the saṅgha. Their fellow practitioners of the holy life thought, “These two are very powerful.” Seeing them, they developed weariness for saṃsāra and thought, “If they can achieve such great virtues as these at seven years of age, why have we not achieved the same, when the color of our hair has already gone from black to grey to white?” In weariness for saṃsāra they cast away all afflictive emotions and manifested arhatship.

“Lord,” the monks asked the Blessed Buddha, “what actions did these two novices take that ripened into their going forth at just seven years of age, casting away all afflictive emotions, and manifesting arhatship?”

“It came about by the power of their prayers.”

“Lord, where did they make these prayers?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One recounted, “in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty thousand years, and the totally and completely awakened buddha endowed with insight and