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IV. In Rājagaha - 171<br />
kaṁsi tvaṁ āvuso uddissa pabbajito,<br />
on account of whom, friend, did you go forth,<br />
ko vā te Satthā, kassa vā tvaṁ Dhammaṁ rocesī?” ti<br />
who is your teacher, what Dhamma do you prefer?”<br />
“Atthāvuso Mahāsamaṇo Sakyaputto Sakyakulā pabbajito,<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re is, friend, a <strong>Great</strong> Ascetic, a Sakyan Son, who has gone forth from the Sakya<br />
family,<br />
tāhaṁ Bhagavantaṁ uddissa pabbajito,<br />
on account of that Gracious One I went forth,<br />
so ca me Bhagavā Satthā, tassa cāhaṁ Bhagavato Dhammaṁ rocemī.” ti<br />
that Gracious One is my Teacher, that Gracious One’s Dhamma I prefer.”<br />
“Kiṁvādī panāyasmato Satthā kim-akkhāyī?” ti<br />
“But what is the doctrine of the venerable’s Teacher, what does he say?”<br />
“Ahaṁ kho āvuso navo acirapabbajito,<br />
“I am new, friend, one not long gone forth,<br />
adhunāgato imaṁ Dhammavinayaṁ,<br />
recently come to this Dhamma and Discipline, 210<br />
na tāhaṁ sakkomi vitthārena Dhammaṁ desetuṁ,<br />
I am not able to teach the Dhamma at length,<br />
api ca te saṅkhittena atthaṁ vakkhāmī.” ti<br />
but I can explain the meaning to you in brief.”<br />
Atha kho Sāriputto paribbājako āyasmantaṁ Assajiṁ etad-avoca: “Hotu āvuso,<br />
<strong>The</strong>n the wanderer Sāriputta said this to the venerable Assaji: “Friend,<br />
Appaṁ vā bahuṁ vā bhāsassu atthaṁ yeva me brūhi,<br />
Speak little or much, but tell the meaning to me,<br />
Attheneva me attho, kiṁ kāhasi byañjanaṁ bahun?”-ti<br />
<strong>The</strong> meaning is useful to me, what to do with many words?” 211<br />
210 This Assaji is always identified as one of the group-of-five disciples, who listened to the<br />
Discourse that Set the Dhamma Wheel Rolling and became a Worthy One while listening to<br />
the Discourse on the Characteristic of Non-Self --- he was one of the five most senior<br />
disciples in the Saṅgha. It is hard to reconcile these facts with his self-characterisation here.<br />
Also there is no mention of Assaji accompanying the Buddha to Rājagaha. Assaji must have<br />
been a common name at the time, and I think it likely we are dealing with a different Assaji<br />
here to the one whom we met in Isipatana.<br />
211 Byañjana literally means syllable in this context.