Now at that time Pokkharasāti had a student named Ambaṭṭha. He was one who recited and remembered the hymns, and had mastered in the three Vedas, together with their vocabularies, ritual, phonology and etymology, and the testament as fifth. He knew philology and grammar, and was well versed in cosmology and the marks of a great man. He had been authorized as a master in his own teacher’s scriptural heritage of the three Vedas with the words: “What I know, you know. And what you know, I know.”

Then Pokkharasāti addressed Ambaṭṭha, “Dear Ambaṭṭha, the ascetic Gotama—a Sakyan, gone forth from a Sakyan family—has arrived at Icchānaṅgala and is staying in a forest nearby. … It’s good to see such perfected ones. Please, dear Ambaṭṭha, go to the ascetic Gotama and find out whether or not he lives up to his reputation. Through you I shall learn about Master Gotama.”

“But sir, how shall I find out whether or not the ascetic Gotama lives up to his reputation?”

“Dear Ambaṭṭha, the thirty-two marks of a great man have been handed down in our hymns. A great man who possesses these has only two possible destinies, no other. If he stays at home he becomes a king, a wheel-turning monarch, a just and principled king. His dominion extends to all four sides, he achieves stability in the country, and he possesses the seven treasures. He has the following seven treasures: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the jewel, the woman, the treasurer, and the counselor as the seventh treasure. He has over a thousand sons who are valiant and heroic, crushing the armies of his enemies. After conquering this land girt by sea, he reigns by principle, without rod or sword. But if he goes forth from the lay life to homelessness, he becomes a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha, who draws back the veil from the world. But, dear Ambaṭṭha, I am the one who gives the hymns, and you are the one who receives them.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Ambaṭṭha. He got up from his seat, bowed, and respectfully circled Pokkharasāti, keeping him to his right. He mounted a mare-drawn chariot and, together with several students, set out for the forest near Icchānaṅgala. He went by carriage as far as the terrain allowed, then descended and entered the monastery on foot.

At that time several mendicants were walking meditation in the open air. Then the student Ambaṭṭha went up to those mendicants and said, “Gentlemen, where is Master Gotama at present? For we have come here to see him.”

Then those mendicants thought, “This Ambaṭṭha is from a well-known family, and he is the pupil of the well-known brahmin Pokkharasāti. The Buddha won’t mind having a discussion together with such gentlemen.”

They said to Ambaṭṭha, “Ambaṭṭha, that’s his dwelling, with the door closed. Approach it quietly, without hurrying; go onto the porch, clear your throat, and knock with the latch. The Buddha will open the door.”

So he approached the Buddha’s dwelling and knocked, and the Buddha opened the door. Ambaṭṭha and the other students entered the dwelling. The other students exchanged greetings with the Buddha, and when the greetings and polite conversation were over, sat down to one side. But while the Buddha was sitting, Ambaṭṭha spoke some polite words or other while walking around or standing.

So the Buddha said to him, “Ambaṭṭha, is this how you hold a discussion with elderly and senior brahmins, the teachers of teachers: walking around or standing while I’m sitting, speaking some polite words or other?”