Scene 2
(The five ascetics are meditating. Enter the Buddha.)BUDDHA: Now I have come to Benares, a sacred place. (He sees the five ascetics.) Ahhh! Here are the five ascetics who came to me and left me.
FIRST ASCETIC: Look, here is Siddhartha again.
SECOND ASCETIC: But this time he cannot fool us.
THIRD ASCETIC: Certainly not. He cannot fool us any more.
FOURTH ASCETIC: But look at him. He looks different.
FIFTH ASCETIC: I see something in him, something strange.
FIRST ASCETIC: Well, I seem to see some Light in him.
THIRD ASCETIC: His whole face is glowing.
FOURTH ASCETIC: His face? His entire body is glowing!
FIFTH ASCETIC: He is illumined, totally illumined!
(The Buddha approaches them. One by one they touch the Buddha’s feet. The Buddha, with his compassionate smile, blesses them.)
SECOND ASCETIC: Siddhartha, you are no more Siddhartha.
THIRD ASCETIC: You are the Enlightened One.
FIRST ASCETIC: O Buddha, we are bathing in the sea of your Light.
FOURTH ASCETIC: O Buddha, we are your first disciples.
ALL TOGETHER: With us the journey of your manifestation begins. With us the manifestation of your mission begins.
(The Buddha gives them a smile of compassion, joy and pride.)
BUDDHA: You have my Compassion. You have my Light. You have my Bliss, my children, my sweet children.
