"No, sir!" was the reply. "He is the opposite of all this."23
And the Buddha went on: "But are the Brahmans free from these vices?"24
"No, sir!" said Vāsettha. 25
The Holy One said: "The Brahmans cling to the five things leading to worldliness and yield to the temptations of the senses;they are entangled in the five hindrances, lust, malice, sloth, pride, and doubt. How can they be united to that which is most unlike their nature? Therefore the threefold wisdom of the Brahmans is a waterless desert, a pathless jungle, and a hopeless desolation."26
When the Buddha had thus spoken, one of the Brahmans said: "We are told, . Gotama, that the Sakyamuni knows the path to a union with Brahmā."27
And the Blessed One said: "What do you think, O Brahmans, of a man born and brought up in Manasākata? Would he be in doubt about the most direct way from this spot to Manasākata?"28
"Certainly not, Gotama."29
"Thus," replied the Buddha, "the Tathāgata knows the straight path that leads to a union with Brahmā. He knows it as one who has entered the world of Brahmā and has been born in it. There can be no doubt in the Tathāgata."30
And the two young Brahmans said: "If thou knowest the way show it to us."31
And the Buddha said: 32 "The Tathāgata sees the universe face to face and understands its nature. He proclaims the truth both in its letter and in its spirit, and his doctrine is glorious in its origin, glorious in its progress, glorious in its consummation. The Tathāgata reveals the higher life in its purity and perfection. He can show you the way to that which is contrary to the five great hindrances.33
