Buddha: His Life, his Doctrine, his Order c8.169

c8.169

Here follows the first meeting with men who honour him as Buddha. Two merchants come passing that way on a journey: a deity, who had been in earthly life related to the merchants, announces to them the nearness of Buddha, and prompts them to feed Buddha. The deities, who rule over the four quarters of the earth, present to him a bowl—for the perfect Buddhas accept no food except in a bowl—and he partakes of what the merchants give him, the first nourishment which he takes after long fasting.