The Lord Buddha addressed Subhuti, saying: “Can the Lord Buddha be perceived by means of his thirty-two bodily distinctions?”[1] Subhuti replied, saying: “Even so,[2] the Lord Buddha can be perceived by means of his thirty-two bodily distinctions.”
The Lord Buddha, continuing, said unto Subhuti: “If by means of his thirty-two bodily distinctions it were possible to perceive the Lord Buddha, then the Lord Buddha would merely resemble one of the great wheel-turning kings.”[3]
Subhuti thereupon addressed the Lord Buddha, saying: “Honoured of the Worlds! According as I am able to interpret the Lord Buddha’s instruction, it is improbable that the Lord Buddha may be perceived by means of his thirty-two bodily distinctions.”
Thereafter, the “Honoured of the Worlds” delivered this sublime Gatha:
“I am not to be perceived by means of any visible form,
Nor sought after by means of any audible sound;
Whosoever walks in the way of iniquity,
Cannot perceive the blessedness of the Lord Buddha.”[4]
[1] “This probably refers to the auspicious signs discovered in Sakyamuni at his birth, which left it open whether he would become a king or a Buddha.”—The Vagrakkhedika. Max Müller.
[2] Subhuti failed to apprehend the idea as expressed by the Lord Buddha, and inadvertently replied, saying: “Even so, Even so.”—Chinese Annotation.