Sitting under the jambu-tree there appeared to the Gotama a lofty figure, majestic, calm and dignified.
"Whence comest thou, and who art thou?" asked the prince.
And the vision said: "I am a samana (an ascetic). I seek the path of peace. All things pass to decay. Only the truth abideth forever. Everything changes; there is no permanency; only the words of the Buddhas never perish."
Gotama asked: "Can peace be found? I have seen the emptiness of pleasure, the poison of lust. The world oppresses me; life seems unbearable."
The samana replied: "Where heat is, there can also be cold; where pain is, there can also be pleasure; from evil, good may come. All things are correlative. Where there is suffering, there can likewise be happiness, if thou but seek it. As a man who has fallen into filth should seek the clear waters covered with the lotus, even so seek thou for the everlasting waters of Nirvana to cleanse thy soul."
The prince, hearing these words, was filled with joy.
"Thou bringest good tidings," he said, "for now I know that my purpose will be accomplished. Now is the hour come to sever all ties that restrain me, that I may seek the light; now is the time to seek the path of deliverance."
At these words the samana rejoiced, and spoke:
"Go, Siddhattha Gotama, and accomplish thy purpose. For thou art the Buddha, a light to
