249. Q. How many of the Buddha's disciples were specially renowned for their superior qualities?
A. There are eighty so distinguished. They are called the Asīti Mahā Sāvakas.
250. Q. What did the Buddha's wisdom embrace?
A. He knew the nature of the Knowable and the Unknowable, the Possible and the Impossible, the cause of Merit and Demerit; he could read the thoughts of all beings; he knew the laws of Nature, the illusions of the senses and the means to suppress desires; he could distinguish the birth and rebirth of individuals, and other things.
251. Q. What do we call the basic principle on which the whole of the Buddha's teaching is constructed?
A. It is called Paticca Samuppāda.[[14]]
252. Q. Is it easily grasped?
A. It is most difficult; in fact, the full meaning and extent of it is beyond the capacity of such as are not perfectly developed.
253. Q. What said the great commentator Buddha Ghosha about it?
A. That even he was as helpless in this vast ocean of thought as one who is drifting on the ocean of waters.