ABSTRACT
Causation does not even come in as accessory mandate, let alone co-mandate. In it Siddhattha Gotama is the Man of the Way. A curious instance of the unfit is the Sutta imputing to Sariputta, and then by way of endorsement, to Gotama, the idea that effect is caused by "touch", or contact. The Sutta does not give the whole causal catena, in which contact is but one link. Great is the loss that in the Sutta the narrative gives only Udayin's interruption, and changed subject. The Sutta is none the less an interesting instance of the application of the causal proposition, not only as a statement of what happens, but—and is its significance—of what a man may make to happen. Anyone falling into the sea will rise again, but the swimmer and diver, ware of this absolutely reliable fact, will use it to enjoy himself, to save life, to recover property.
