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Be content with the life of a recluse?

You are fit to be a king, a lord of charioteers,

A monarch who makes the wheel turn,

A victor in all the four quarters

And lord of the Jambu-tree Grove.868 [109]

With warriors and great princes

All devoted to your service,

O Gotama, you should reign

As ruler of men, king above all kings.”

17. Buddha

“I am already a king, O Sela,”

the Blessed One replied.

“I am supreme king of the Dhamma;

By means of the Dhamma I turn the wheel,

The wheel that none can stop.”

18. Sela

“You claim full enlightenment,” the brahmin Sela said,

“You tell me, O Gotama,

‘I am supreme king of the Dhamma;

By means of the Dhamma I turn the wheel.’

Who is your general, that disciple

Who follows in the Master’s own way?

Who is it who helps you to turn

The Wheel of Dhamma set in motion by you?”

19. Buddha

“The wheel set in motion by me,”

the Blessed One replied,

“That same supreme Wheel of Dhamma,

Sāriputta the Tathāgata’s son

Helps me in turning this wheel.

What must be known is directly known,

What must be developed has been developed,

What must be abandoned has been abandoned,

Therefore, brahmin, I am a Buddha.

So put away all your doubts about me

And let resolution take their place,

For it is always hard to gain

Sight of the Enlightened Ones. [110]

I am the one whose presence in the world

Is very rarely come upon,

I am the Fully Enlightened One,

I, O brahmin, am the supreme physician.

I am the holy one, without an equal,

Who has crushed all Māra’s teeming hordes;

Having defeated all my enemies,

I rejoice free from fear.”

20. Sela

“O sirs, hear this, hear what he says,

The man of vision, the physician,

The mighty hero who roars

Like a lion in the forest.

Who, even though of outcast birth,

Would not believe him when he saw

That he is the holy one, without an equal,

Who has crushed all Māra’s teeming hordes?

Now let him follow me who wants

And who wants not, let him depart.

For I will go forth under him,

This man of lofty wisdom.”

21. Pupils

“If, O sir, you now approve

This teaching of the Enlightened One,

We too will go forth under him,

This man of lofty wisdom.”

22. Sela

“There are three hundred brahmins here

Who with uplifted hands implore:

‘O may we live the holy life

Under you, O Blessed One.’”

23. Buddha

“The holy life is well proclaimed,

O Sela,” said the Blessed One,

“To be seen here and not delayed;

One who trains with diligence

Will find a fruitful going forth.”

24. Then the brahmin Sela and his assembly received the going forth under the Blessed One, and they received the full admission.

25. Then, when the night had ended, the matted-hair ascetic Keṇiya had good food of various kinds prepared in his own hermitage [111] and had the time announced to the Blessed One: “It is time, Master Gotama, the meal is ready.” Then, it being morning, the Blessed One dressed, and taking his bowl and outer robe, he went with the Sangha of bhikkhus to the hermitage of the matted-hair ascetic Keṇiya and sat down on the seat made ready. Then, with his own hands, the matted-hair ascetic Keṇiya served and satisfied the Sangha of bhikkhus headed by the Buddha with various kinds of good food. When the Blessed One had eaten and had put his bowl aside, the matted-hair ascetic Keṇiya took a low seat and sat down on one side. Thereupon the Blessed One gave him his blessing with these stanzas:

26. “Burnt offerings are the glory of fires,

Sāvitrī the glory of Vedic hymns,

Glory of human beings, a king,

Glory of flowing rivers, the sea;

The moon is the glory of the stars,

The sun is the glory of all that shine;

Merit is the glory of all who aspire;

The Sangha, glory of those who give.”

When the Blessed One had given his blessing with these stanzas, he rose from his seat and departed.

27. Then, not long after their full admission, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute, the venerable Sela and his assembly, [112] by realising