disciples were silent. What he said then was touching: 'If it is
through respect for the Teacher that you do not ask anything, let
even one of you inform his friend' (i.e., let one tell his friend so
that the latter may ask the question on the other's behalf).
1
N o t only the freedom of thought, but also the tolerance allowed
by the Buddha is astonishing to the student of the history of
religions. Once in Nalanda a prominent and wealthy householder
named Upali, a well-known lay disciple of Nigantha Nataputta
(Jaina Mahavira), was expressly sent by Mahavira himself to meet
the Buddha and defeat him in argument on certain points in the
theory of Karma, because the Buddha's views on the subject were
different from those of Mahavira.
2
Quite contrary to expectations,
Upali, at the end of the discussion, was convinced that the views
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