History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c10.s1.15

c10.s1.15

On his arrival he asked the Buddha to answer the question which had been troubling him: "The fruits of various worldly trades and professions are obvious, but it is possible to show any appreciable benefit to be derived from asceticism? (*sanditṭhikam sāmañña-phalam*)." He declared that he had previously put the same question to other ascetics and brāhmaṇas, but had so far received no satisfactory answer. At the Buddha's request he repeated the replies given to his inquiry by the six heretics. None of them had tried to give a logical answer to the King's question, but each had prevaricated, repeating what seems to be the set formula of the school which he had founded. After hearing Ajātasattu's account of his interviews with the six heretics the Buddha preached a sermon on the advantages of the homeless life, and the King was duly consoled and impressed.