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2. Buddhassaanuttarabhāvapañha

Question on the Unsurpassed Nature of the Buddha

Rājā āha—
The king asked:

“bhante nāgasena, buddho anuttaro”ti?
“Venerable Nāgasena, is the Buddha unsurpassed?”

“Āma, mahārāja, bhagavā anuttaro”ti.
“Yes, your majesty, the Blessed One is unsurpassed.”

“Kathaṁ, bhante nāgasena, adiṭṭhapubbaṁ jānāsi ‘buddho anuttaro’”ti?
“How, venerable Nāgasena, do you know the Buddha is unsurpassed if you haven’t seen him before?”

“Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, mahārāja, yehi adiṭṭhapubbo mahāsamuddo, jāneyyuṁ te, mahārāja, mahanto kho mahāsamuddo gambhīro appameyyo duppariyogāho, yatthimā pañca mahānadiyo satataṁ samitaṁ appenti, seyyathidaṁ—
“What do you think, your majesty, would those who have not seen the great ocean before know that this great ocean is huge, deep, immeasurable, and unfathomable, such that as these five great rivers that flow into it constantly and continually, that is

gaṅgā yamunā aciravatī sarabhū mahī, neva tassa ūnattaṁ vā pūrattaṁ vā paññāyatī”ti?
the Gaṅgā, the Yamunā, the Aciravatī, the Sarabhū, and the Mahī, neither the depletion nor filling up of it is discerned?”

“Āma, bhante, jāneyyun”ti.
“Yes, venerable sir, they would know.”

“Evameva kho, mahārāja, sāvake mahante parinibbute passitvā jānāmi ‘bhagavā anuttaro’”ti.
“In the same way, your majesty, when I think of the great disciples who have attained final Nibbāna, I know the Blessed One is unsurpassed.”

“Kallosi, bhante nāgasenā”ti.
“You are clever, venerable Nāgasena.”

Buddhassa anuttarabhāvapañho dutiyo.
Question on the Unsurpassed Nature of the Buddha second