“Sir, last night I rose at the crack of dawn and recited the verses of ‘The Way to the Far Shore’, and then I fell silent. Then the great king Vessavaṇa, knowing I had finished, applauded me, ‘Good, sister! Good, sister!’

I asked: ‘But who might you be, dearest?’

‘Sister, I am your brother Vessavaṇa, the great king.’

‘Good, dearest! Then may my recital of the teaching be my offering to you as my guest.’

‘Good, sister! And let this also be your offering to me as your guest. Tomorrow, the mendicant Saṅgha headed by Sāriputta and Moggallāna will arrive at Veḷukaṇṭa before breakfast. When you’ve served the Saṅgha, please dedicate the religious donation to me. Then that will also be your offering to me as your guest.’

And so, sir, may the merit and the flourishing of merit of this gift be for the happiness of the great king Vessavaṇa.”

“It’s incredible, Nanda’s Mother, it’s amazing that you converse face to face with a mighty and illustrious godling like the great king Vessavaṇa.”

“Sir, this is not my only incredible and amazing quality; there is another. I had an only son named Nanda who I loved dearly. The rulers forcibly abducted him on some pretext and had him executed. But I can’t recall getting upset when my boy was under arrest or being arrested, imprisoned or being put in prison, killed or being killed.”

“It’s incredible, Nanda’s Mother, it’s amazing that you purify even the arising of a thought.”