Assaji was on alms round in Rajagaha, when Sariputta in his search for enlightenment, spotted him. Being impressed by Assaji's demeanour, Sariputta followed him until he had finished his alms round. After Assaji sat down, Sariputta asked him about his teacher and the teaching he followed. Initially, Assaji was reluctant to preach, explaining that he was inexperienced, but relented at the urging of Sariputta. Assaji spoke a short verse:
"Of all those things that from a cause arise,
Tathagata the cause thereof has told;
And how they cease to be, that too he tells,
This is the teaching of the Great Recluse."
"Ye dhamma hetuppabhava tesam hetum tathagato aha, tesañca yo nirodho evamvadi mahasamano 'ti."
This gatha was later to become one of the best-known and most widely-disseminated stanzas of Buddhism, standing for all time as a reminder of Sariputta's first contact with the Dhamma and also as a worthy memorial to Assaji, his great arahant teacher. Spoken at a time when the principle of causality was not accorded the prominence it enjoys today in philosophical thought, its impact on the minds of the early Buddhists must have been revolutionary.
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http://chanh-y.blogspot.de/2011/01/assaji-va-bai-ke_4748.html
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