“Maudgalyāyana, when I, the Thus-Gone One, was training in the practices of a bodhisattva, I always maintained utter mindfulness. For a long time I dwelled by means of the faculty of mindfulness without speaking. Long ago in the limitless cycle of existence, Maudgalyāyana, in the distant past there appeared in the world a thus-gone named Fear-Proclaiming Master; he was learned and venerable, a well-gone one, a knower of the world, a steersman who guided beings, unexcelled, a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, a blessed one. The thus-gone Fear-Proclaiming Master had as his principal attendant a monk named Pleasant. For six hundred million years he attended to the thus-gone Fear-Proclaiming Master and pleased him, never displeasing him. He memorized his teachings and never pursued his own interests. In that eon, in that buddha realm alone there were twelve thousand buddhas, and the monk Pleasant was the principal attendant to all of them. At some point later there was a thus-gone one named Achiever of the Strength of Power; the monk Pleasant was his principal attendant as well. By these roots of virtue he was reborn in the divine and human states.

“Maudgalyāyana, in case you may think that at that time the monk Pleasant was anyone else, do not think so. In those days the monk Pleasant was me. Due to those roots of virtue I achieved knowledge of the past, and also led many beings to take up knowledge of mindfulness. Moreover, I happily rejoiced in others’ roots of virtue, and the roots of virtue from doing so led me to achieve knowledge of the origin as related to knowledge of the past. I dedicated those roots of virtue and that knowledge by the very same knowledge, and due to the roots of virtue from having done so, actualized knowledge of cessation as related to knowledge of the past. Whatever methods I applied in practice, I inspired multitudes of beings toward knowledge of them. Due to the roots of virtue from having done so, I gained knowledge of the path leading to cessation as related to knowledge of the past.”