Buddha: His Life, his Doctrine, his Order c8.171

c8.171

In this overture to the history of Buddha's labours we miss one element: a typical adumbration of the most prominent task of his life, the preaching of the doctrine of deliverance, and of the coming out of persons from among all classes to follow him in mendicant attire. Those two merchants take refuge in Buddha and the Doctrine, and nevertheless the Doctrine has not yet been preached to them. The narrative which now follows has to do with the motive, in which all this seeming inconsistency finds its explanation. It is one thing to have realized for one's self the truth of deliverance, and another to proclaim it to the world. Buddha has accomplished the first: the resolution to do the second is not yet firmly fixed within him: apprehensions and doubt remain to be overcome before he adopts this resolve.*