ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 28.3

28.3

“Lord, tell us why, due to his arrogance and pride about his learning, the head sage did not achieve anything, and then by reflecting on all he had learned, pondering it, and thinking it through, he cast away all afflictive emotions and manifested arhatship.”

“Not only now,” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, he reflected, pondered, and thought until he generated the four meditative states and five superknowledges. Listen well!

“Monks, in times gone by, a certain brahmin named Foremost Kāśyapa was living in the wilderness. One day, in search of roots and fruit, he went out onto the mountainside, where he saw twelve thousand sages. Elated at the sight of them, he thought, ‘While I have been leading the life of a householder, they have gone forth from household life, and consequently will be liberated from saṃsāra. I too shall go forth in their very presence!’ With this thought he left everything behind to go forth in the sages’ presence, and after joining them he gained perfect comprehension of all fields of knowledge.

“One day the chief sage died, and the twelve thousand young brahmins began to grieve, wailing in misery and lamenting the sage’s death. Foremost Kāśyapa said to them, ‘Young brahmins, do not mourn so. Do not suffer so. Do not lament. I shall provide for all your needs.’ He called together all twelve thousand young brahmins, and, after giving them instructions to ponder, they too generated the four meditative states and the five superknowledges.

“Some time later, Foremost Kāśyapa