The next morning Uruvelā Kassapa went to the Buddha and said, “It’s time, Great Ascetic, the meal is ready.” “You just go ahead, Kassapa, I’ll come.” After dismissing him, he took a fruit from a mango tree not far from the rose-apple tree … he took a fruit from an emblic myrobalan tree not far from the mango tree … he took a fruit from a chebulic myrobalan tree not far from the emblic myrobalan tree … he went to Tāvatiṁsa heaven, took a flower from an orchid tree, and then arrived first in the fire hut where he sat down. When Uruvelā Kassapa saw the Buddha sitting there, he said to him, “Which path did you take? I left first, but you’re already here.”

The Buddha told him what he had done, and added, “This orchid tree flower is colorful and fragrant. You can have it, if you wish.” “There’s no need. You deserve it and you should have it.” Uruvelā Kassapa thought, “The Great Ascetic is powerful and mighty, in that he dismissed me, then went to Tāvatiṁsa heaven, took an orchid tree flower, and still arrived first in the fire hut. But he’s not a perfected one like me.”

Soon afterwards those dreadlocked ascetics wanted to tend the sacred fire, but were unable to split the logs. They thought, “This must be because of the supernormal powers of the Great Ascetic.” The Buddha said to Uruvelā Kassapa, “May the logs be split, Kassapa.” “Yes, may they,” he replied. And five hundred logs were split all at once. Uruvelā Kassapa thought, “The Great Ascetic is powerful and mighty, in that he can split logs just like that. But he’s not a perfected one like me.”