Buddha before Buddhism
It can be the first of Buddhas sutras that was written down. And if it was it may be the one that we most can trust on. It's a dialog, as the ones Plato wrote. So he may not have had many listeners. And it's very radical. The main theme is to cool down every desire. Even the one to hold on to a view. So it's a bit paradoxical... The sage or wise man, Buddha says, should live in solitude but follow the middle way, so no asceticism. He should not eat so much and not sleep too much and of course no sex. (this must be before nuns where permitted) So he has passed the river to the other shore. And his reputation will be good (seems to be important for Guatama) He will be very peaceful, for him there will be no better or worse ethics and so on as he has passed dualistic thinking. Therefore the half smile. Let's ponder over what that will mean in our days. What could we gain if more of us behaved in that way? Nowadays it a lot hate on the internet