ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 27.14

27.14

he resolved to go forth.

The Blessed One had achieved unexcelled wisdom and began to act for the benefit of those to be tamed. In time he came to Rājagṛha, and the Blessed One’s fame spread far and wide. The Blessed One let fall a rain of nectar to satisfy living beings.

When young Kāśyapa heard that the ascetic Gautama was staying in Rājagṛha and had let fall a rain of nectar to satisfy living beings, he immediately told his parents, “Mother, Father, I am going to practice the holy life in the presence of the ascetic Gautama,” and departed. He went to Rājagṛha as he had said, and there saw the naked ascetic Nirgrantha Jñātiputra.

He thought, “There he is—the ascetic Gautama!” and went forth in his presence. After he went forth and studied their system of telling signs, Nirgrantha Jñātiputra became the foremost of his teachers. From that point on he was no longer known as Kāśyapa, and he took the name Nirgrantha Kinsman of the Kāśyapas.

One day he saw the indications that he was near the end of his life, and he thought, “In seven days I shall be no more.” A deity who delighted in the doctrine of the Blessed One told him, “Don’t despair, Nirgrantha Kinsman of the Kāśyapas. The Blessed One teaches the path of definite escape from death. And he’s staying right here in Rājagṛha. Offer him your respect and service. If you do, things will go well for you.”

Nirgrantha Kinsman of the Kāśyapas left Rājagṛha as soon as he heard this and set out for Bamboo Grove. On the way he thought, “Monks are modest and shy. Since I am a naked ascetic, I would not dare go and meet them in person,