"Good, my son," enjoined the Blessed One. "Be sober and abandon wrong practices which serve only to stultify the mind."35
Said the disciple: "Forbear with me, O Blessed One, for I have faith without understanding and I am seeking the truth. O Blessed One, O Tathāgata, my Lord and Master, teach me the Iddlipāda."36
The Blessed One said: "There are four means by which Iddhi is acquired; (1) Prevent bad qualities from arising. (2) Put away bad qualities which have arisen. (3) Produce goodness that does not yet exist. (4) Increase goodness which already exists.—Search with sincerity, and persevere in the search. In the end thou wilt find the truth."37
LXI.
THE TEACHER UNKNOWN.
And the Blessed One said to Ānanda:1
"There are various kinds of assemblies, O Ānandaj assemblies of nobles, of Brahmans, of householders, of bhikkhus, and of other beings. When I used to enter an. assembly, I always became, before I seated myself, in color like unto the color of my audience, and in voice like unto their voice. I spoke to them in their language and then with religious discourse, I instructed, quickened, and gladdened them.2
"My doctrine is like the ocean, having the same eight wonderful qualities.3
"Both the ocean and my doctrine become gradually deeper. Both preserve their identity under all changes. Both cast out dead bodies upon the dry land. As the great rivers, when falling into the main, lose their names and are thenceforth reckoned as the great ocean, so all the castes, having
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