“Purana Kassapa, O sire Gotama, claims to be omniscient and all-seeing; he claims to have perfect knowledge and vision saying : ‘While walking, standing, sleeping and lying awake, knowledge and vision is ever-present to me.’ And he has declared: ‘I abide knowing and seeing an infinite world with an infinite knowledge.‘ But Gotama, this Nigantha Nathaputta too, claims to be omniscient and all-seeing; he too claims to have perfect knowledge and vision saying: ‘While walking, standing, sleeping and lying awake, knowledge and vision is ever present to me.’ And he has declared: ‘I abide knowing and seeing a finite world with a finite knowledge.‘ Out of these two professors of knowledge, sire Gotama, who contradict each other, which one has spoken the truth and which one the falsehood ?”—
The Buddha, however, refuses to act as arbiter in this conflict of viewpoints. Instead, he says: “Enough O Brahmins, let that be.1 Let be your question: Out of these two professors. of knowledge who contradict each other, which one has spoken the truth and which one the falsehood?” Brahmins, I will preach to you the Dhamma. Listen attentively ……. ” And he did preach it, pointing out, in the course of it, that in the terminology of the noble ones, ‘the world’ is defined as the five strands of sense-pleasures and that the ‘end of the world’ is Arahantship itself.
One might wonder why the Buddha set aside such a clear-cut question. For one thing, ‘the world’, according to the Buddha, had to be redefined, so as to bring out its phenomenal nature. But there is probably another reason. Both worthies involved in this contest for supremacy claimed omniscience, but whereas the former saw ‘an infinite world with a infinite knowledge’ the latter saw ‘a finite world with a finite knowledge’.1 Now, the former could, within the bounds of logic, point out a flaw in the latter’s position: “You are seeing a finite world because your knowledge is limited……read more.. (page no 21-22 – Magic of the Mind – Bhikkhu K. Ñāṇananda
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