Milindapanha — Questions of King Milinda
c. 150 BCE – 200 CE · Post-Alexandrian Buddhism (c. 100 BCE – 200 CE) · North-west India (Punjab / Gandhara region)
Reverence be to the Blessed One, the
Arahat, the SammA-sambuddha.
Book I — The Secular Narrative
i. King Milinda, at S&gala the famous town of yore,
To Nagasena, the world famous sage, repaired.
(So the deep Ganges to the deeper ocean flows.)
To him, the eloquent, the bearer of the torch
Of Truth, dispeller of the darkness of men’s minds,
Subtle and knotty questions did he put, many,
Turning on many points. Then were solutions
given
Profound in meaning, gaining access to the heart,
Sweet to the ear, and passing wonderful and
strange.
For NAgasena’s talk plunged to the hidden
depths
Of Vinaya and of Abhidhamma (Law and
Thought)
1 Bahira-katha, literally ‘outside talk;’ so called in contradis¬
tinction to the religious character of the subjects treated of in the
remaining books.
[ 35 ]
B
1,2.
Unravelling all the meshes of the Suttas’ net,
Glittering the while with metaphors and reason¬
ing high.
Come then! Apply your minds, and let your
hearts rejoice,
And hearken to these subtle questionings, all
grounds
Of doubt well fitted to resolve.
2 . Thus hath it been handed down by tradition—
There is in the country of the Yonakas 1 a great
centre of trade 2 , a city that is called Sagala, situate
in a delightful country well watered and hilly,
abounding in parks and gardens and groves and
lakes and tanks, a paradise of rivers and mountains
and woods. Wise architects have laid it out 3 , and
its people know of no oppression, since all their
enemies and adversaries have been put down.
Brave is its defence, with many and various strong
towers and ramparts, with superb gates and en¬
trance archways; and with the royal citadel in its
midst, white walled and deeply moated. Well laid
out are its streets, squares, cross roads, and market
places 4 . Well displayed are the innumerable sorts
of costly merchandise [2] with which its shops are
filled. It is richly adorned with hundreds of alms-
1 That is Ionians, the Pali word for Baktrian Greeks.
2 Nana-pu/a-bhedanaw, literally ‘the distributing place of
parcels of merchandise of many kinds.’ Trenckner renders it
‘surrounded with a number of dependent towns,’ but surely
entrepot is the idea suggested.
3 Sutavanta-nimmitam; which Trenckner renders ‘ pious are
its people.’ But I prefer the Sinhalese interpretation.
* This list recurs at pp. 34, 330 of the text. See below, p. 53.
THE CITY OF SAGALA.
o
1.3-
halls of various kinds ; and splendid with hundreds
of thousands of magnificent mansions, which rise
aloft like the mountain peaks of the Himalayas.
Its streets are filled with elephants, horses, car¬
riages, and foot-passengers, frequented by groups of
handsome men and beautiful women, and crowded
by men of all sorts and conditions, Brahmans,
nobles, artificers, and servants. They resound with
cries of welcome to the teachers of every creed, and
the city is the resort of the leading men of each of
the differing sects. Shops are there for the sale of
Benares muslin, of KoAimbara stuffs 1 , and of other
cloths of various kinds; and sweet odours are ex¬
haled from the bazaars, where all sorts of flowers
and perfumes are tastefully set out. Jewels are
there in plenty, such as men’s hearts desire, and
guilds of traders in all sorts of finery display their
goods in the bazaars that face all quarters of the
sky. So full is the city of money, and of gold and
silver ware, of copper and stone ware, that it is a
very mine of dazzling treasures. And there is laid
up there much store of property and corn and things
of value in warehouses—foods and drinks of every
sort, syrups and sweetmeats of every kind. In
wealth it rivals Uttara-kuru, and in glory it is as
A/akamandi, the city of the gods 2 .
3. Having said thus much we must now relate the
previous birth history of these two persons (Milinda
1 It is worth noting, as there is a doubt about the spelling, that
Hina/i-kumbure reads Ko/umbara, not Kodumbara.
2 Here follow in Hina/i-kumbure’s version two pages of intro¬
ductory matter, explaining how he came to undertake his transla¬
tion.
B 2
1,4-
and Nagasena) and the various sorts of puzzles 1 .
This we shall do under six heads:—
1. Their previous history (Pubba-yoga).
2. The Milinda problems.
3. Questions as to distinguishing characteristics.
4. Puzzles arising out of contradictory statements.
5. Puzzles arising out of ambiguity.
6. Discussions turning on metaphor.
And of these the Milinda problems are in two
divisions—questions as to distinctive characteristics,
and questions aiming at the dispelling of doubt;
and the puzzles arising out of contradictory state¬
ments are in two divisions—the long chapter, and
the problems in the life of the recluse.
THEIR PREVIOUS HISTORY (PUBBA-YOGA).
4. By Pubba-yoga is meant their past Karma (their
doings in this or previous lives). Long ago, they
say, when Kassapa the Buddha was promulgating
the faith, there dwelt in one community near the
Ganges a great company of members of the Order.
There the brethren, true to established rules and
duties, rose early in the morning, and taking the
long-handled brooms, would sweep out the court¬
yard and collect the rubbish into a heap, meditating
the while on the virtues of the Buddha.
5. One day a brother told a novice to remove the
heap of dust. But he, as if he heard not, went
about his business ; and on being called a second
time, and a third, still went his way as if he had not
heard. Then the brother, angry with so intractable
a novice, dealt him a blow with the broom stick.
1 These six words are added from Hina/i-kumbur6.
1,8.
THEIR PREVIOUS BIRTH.
[ 3 ] This time, not daring to refuse, he set about the
task crying; and as he did so he muttered to him¬
self this first aspiration : ‘ May I, by reason of this
meritorious act of throwing out the rubbish, in each
successive condition in which I may be born up to
the time when I attain NirvAwa, be powerful and
glorious as the midday sun! ’
6. When he had finished his work he went to the
river side to bathe, and on beholding the mighty bil¬
lows of the Ganges seething and surging, he uttered
this second aspiration: ‘ May I, in each successive
condition in which I may be born till I attain Nir¬
vana, possess the power of saying the right thing,
and saying it instantly, under any circumstance
that may arise, carrying all before me like this
mighty surge! ’
7. Now that brother, after he had put the broom
away in the broom closet, had likewise wandered
down to the river side to bathe, and as he walked he
happened to overhear what the novice had said.
Then thinking: ‘ If this fellow, on the ground of
such an act of merit, which after all was instigated
by me, can harbour hopes like this, what may not I
attain to ? ’ he too made his wish, and it was thus :
‘ In each successive condition in which I may be born
till I attain Nirvana, may I too be ready in saying
the right thing at once, and more especially may I
have the power of unravelling and of solving each pro¬
blem and each puzzling question this young man may
put—carrying all before me like this mighty surge! ’
8. Then for the whole period between one
Buddha and the next these two people wandered
from existence to existence among gods and men.
And our Buddha saw them too, and just as he did
I, 9-
to the son of Moggali and to Tissa the Elder, so
to them also did he foretell their future fate, saying:
‘ Five hundred years after I have passed away will
these two reappear, and the subtle Law and Doc¬
trine taught by me will they two explain, unravelling
and disentangling its difficulties by questions put
and metaphors adduced.’
9. Of the two the novice became the king of the
city of Sigala in India, Milinda by name, learned,
eloquent, wise, and able; and a faithful observer,
and that at the right time, of all the various acts of
devotion and ceremony enjoined by his own sacred
hymns concerning things past, present, and to
come. Many were the arts and sciences he knew—
holy tradition and secular law ; the Sankhya, Yoga,
Nyhya, and Vabeshika systems of philosophy; arith¬
metic; music; medicine; the four Vedas, the Purh^as,
and the Itih&sas ; astronomy, magic, causation 1 , and
spells ; the art of war; poetry ; conveyancing 2 —
in a word, the whole nineteen 3 .
[ 4 ] As a disputant he was hard to equal, harder
1 Hetu, literally ‘cause.’ Trenckner has ‘logic(?);’ Iiina/i-
kumbure repeats the word.
2 Muddi, literally ‘seal-ring.’ The meaning of the term (which
recurs in similar lists at Digha I, 1, 25; I, 2, 14; and below,
p. 59 of the text) is quite clear, but the exact details of the ‘ art ’
are unknown. I follow Buddhaghosa’s comment on those passages.
Trenckner leaves the word untranslated, and Hina/i-kumbure says,
‘ jEngillen oel-wima,’ that is, ‘ adhering with the finger,’ which I do
not understand, unless it means the sealing of a document. At
IV, 3, 25, the context makes it probable that ‘law of property’
would be the best rendering.
3 The number of the Sippas (Arts and Sciences) is usually
given as eighteen. In the CrEitaka (p. 58, 1 . 29, Professor Faus-
boll’s edition) it is twelve.
MILINDA THE KING.
I, 10.
still to overcome ; the acknowledged superior of all
the founders of the various schools of thought. And
as in wisdom so in strength of body, swiftness, and
valour there was found none equal to Milinda in all
India. He was rich too, mighty in wealth and pros¬
perity, and the number of his armed hosts knew
no end.
io. Now one day Milinda the king proceeded
forth out of the city to pass in review the innu¬
merable host of his mighty army in its fourfold
array (of elephants, cavalry, bowmen, and soldiers
on foot). And when the numbering of the forces
was over, the king, who was fond of wordy disputa¬
tion, and eager for discussion with casuists, sophists 1 ,
and gentry of that sort, looked at the sun (to ascer¬
tain the time), and then said to his ministers: ‘The
day is yet young. What would be the use of
getting back to town so early ? Is there no learned
person, whether wandering teacher 2 or Brahman,
the head of some school or order, or the master of
some band of pupils (even though he profess faith
1 Lok&yatas and Vitaraalas. Other Pdli passages, where
they are mentioned, are ATullavagga V, 3, 2 ; Anguttara III, 58, 1;
Sumangala Vilasim, 96, 247; and below, § 22 (p. 17). See also
Weber, ‘Bhagavati,’II, 246; Muir, ‘Sanskrit Texts,’ III, 95;
Deussen, ‘Das Vedanta-System,’ 310.
2 Samasa. There is no expression in English corresponding
to this common word in Pali texts. It means any ‘ religious ’ (in
the technical meaning of that word) who is not a recluse according
to the orthodox Brahman rules. It includes therefore many who
were not Buddhists, and also even Brahmans if they had joined
the Buddhists or Gains, or any other of the non-conforming bodies.
The Samaras remained in one place during the rains, and for the
rest of the year wandered from place to place, promulgating their
particular views. They were not necessarily ascetics in any strict
use of that term; though they were usually celibates.
I. ii-
in the Arahat, the Supreme Buddha), who would be
able to talk with me, and resolve my doubts ?’
11. Thereupon the five hundred Yonakas said to
Milinda the king: ‘ There are the six Masters, O
king l—Parana Kassapa, Makkhali of the cowshed 1 ,
the Wxgantka of the Nata clan, Sangaya the son of
the Belaya woman, Agita of the garment of hair,
and Pakudha KaA&ayana. These are well known
as famous founders of schools, followed by bands of
disciples and hearers, and highly honoured by the
people. Go, great king! put to them your pro¬
blems, and have your doubts resolved 2 3 .’
12. So king Milinda, attended by the five hun¬
dred Yonakas, mounted the royal car with its
splendid equipage, and went out to the dwelling-
place of Parana Kassapa, exchanged with him the
compliments of friendly greeting, and took his seat
courteously apart. And thus sitting he said to
1 So called because he was said to have been born in a cowshed.
See the Sumangala, p. 143. All these six teachers were contem¬
poraries of the Buddha, and lived therefore about five hundred
years before Milinda.
3 All this is a mere echo of the opening paragraphs in the
Sama«?za-phala (D. 2), where A^atasattu is described as visiting
these six famous sophists. And the plagiarism is all the more
inartistic as the old names are retained, and no explanation is
given of their being born twice at an interval of five hundred
years. One may indeed ask what is a glaring anachronism to our
good Buddhist romancer compared with the advantage of intro¬
ducing the stock-names when he has to talk of heretics ? But the
whole book is so full of literary skill, that it is at least strange that
its author should have made this blunder; and there are other
reasons for thinking the whole episode an interpolation. (See
note on §§ 13, 15.) So that probably our § 15 came originally
immediately after § 10, and then (after the episode in §§ 15-36)
§37 takes up the narrative interrupted at the end of § 10.
THE HERETICS OF OLD.
I, 13-
him: c Who is it, venerable Kassapa, who rules the
world ? ’
‘ The Earth, great king, rules the world! ’
‘ But, venerable Kassapa, if it be the Earth that
rules the world, how comes it that some men go to
the Kviki hell \ thus getting outside the sphere of
the Earth ? ’ [ 5 ]
When he had thus spoken, neither could Pftra^a
Kassapa swallow the puzzle, nor could he bring it
up; crestfallen, driven to silence, and moody 1 2 , there
he sat.
13. Then Milinda the king said to Makkhali of
the cowshed 3 : ‘ Are there, venerable Gosala, good
and evil acts ? Is there such a thing as fruit,
ultimate result, of good and evil acts ? ’
‘ There are no such acts, O king; and no such
fruit, or ultimate result. Those who here in the
world are nobles, they, O king, when they go to the
1 AviH (probably ‘the Waveless’). The mention of this par¬
ticular hell as being outside the earth is noteworthy. One would
expect to find the Lokantarika hell so described. Spence Hardy
indeed goes so far as to say that the Avi/i’i is seven hundred miles
directly under the great Bo Tree at Budh Gtyd (Manual, p. 26),
which would be within the sphere of the earth. But there is
nothing in the Ptli texts yet published as to its position. See
Afullavagga VII, 4, 8; Anguttara III, 56; Gataka I, 71, 96;
Parana Gati Dlpana, 20. There is a list of the hells at Sutta Nipata
III, 10, but the Avi/b is not one of them. This blunder, improb¬
able in a writer so learned as our author elsewhere shows himself,
is another reason for thinking these sections to be an interpolation.
2 Pattakkhando pa^Myanto. See my note on Aullavagga
IV, 4, 7, and compare Anguttara III, 73, 4.
3 This, again, is most clumsy, as the rival teachers must have
dwelt far apart. And it will be seen that, notwithstanding the
parade of the six names at the beginning of this episode, the
remaining four are no further mentioned.
IO
T,
14 -
other world, will become nobles once more. And
those who are Brahmans, or of the middle class, or
workpeople, or outcasts here, will in the next world
become the same. What then is the use of good or
evil acts 1 ? ’
‘ If, venerable Gosala, it be as you say then, by
parity of reasoning, those who, here in this world,
have a hand cut off, must in the next world become
persons with a hand cut off, and in like manner
those who have had a foot cut off or an ear or
their nose! ’
And at this saying Makkhali was silenced.
14. Then thought Milinda the king within him¬
self 2 : ‘All India is an empty thing, it is verily like
chaff!- There is no one, either recluse or Brahman,
capable of discussing things with me, and dispelling
my doubts.’ And he said to his ministers : ‘ Beau¬
tiful is the night and pleasant! Who is the recluse
or Brahman we can visit to-night to question him,
who will be able to converse with us and dispel our
doubts 3 ? ’ And at that saying the counsellors re¬
mained silent, and stood there gazing upon the face
of the king.
15. Now at that time the city of Sigala had for
twelve years been devoid of learned men, whether
Brahmans, Samaras, or laymen. But wherever the
king heard that such persons dwelt, thither he would
1 This is quite in accord with the opinions attributed to Mak¬
khali Gosala in the S&mawza-phala (D. 2, 20), and in the Sumangala
Vilasini on it (see especially p. 166).
2 See below, p. 30.
3 This is an echo of the words in the corresponding passage of
the Sdmawla-phala Sutta (D. 2,1).
ASSAGUTTA.
I, 1 6 .
go and put his questions to them 1 . [6] But they all
alike, being unable to satisfy the king by their
solution of his problems, departed hither and
thither, or if they did not leave for some other
place, were at all events reduced to silence. And
the brethren of the Order went, for the most part, to
the Himalaya mountains.
16. Now at that time theje dwelt, in the moun¬
tain region of the Himalayas, on the Guarded
Slope, an innumerable company of Arahats (brethren
who, while yet alive, had attained Nirvana). And
the venerable Assagutta, by means of his divine
power of hearing, heard those words of king Mi-
linda. And he convened an assembly of the Order
on the summit of the Yugandhara mountain, and
asked the brethren : ‘ Is there any member of the
Order able to hold converse with Milinda the king,
and resolve his doubts ? ’
Then were they all silent. And a second and a
third time he put the same question to them, and
still none of all the number spake. Then he said
to the assembled Order: ‘ There is, reverend Sirs,
in the heaven of the Thirty-three 2 , and east of the
Vqfayanta palace, a mansion called Ketumati,
wherein dwells the god Mah&sena. He is able to
hold converse with Milinda the king, and to resolve
his doubts.’ And the innumerable company of
1 This paragraph is so unnecessary after what has been said in
the preceding episode, and at the same time so contradictory to
the fact of two teachers at. least living in or near the city, that it
would really seem probable that it (or perhaps § 14) came ori¬
ginally directly after § 10, the rest being an interpolation, and a
clumsy one.
2 These are the principal gods of the Vedic pantheon.
I, 17 .
Arahats vanished from the summit of the Yugan-
dhara mountain, and appeared in the heaven of the
Thirty-three.
17. And Sakka, the king of the gods, beheld
those brethren of the Order as they were coming
from afar. And at the sight of them he went up to
the venerable Assagutta, and bowed down before
him, and stood reverently aside. And so standing
he said to him : ‘ Great, reverend Sir, is the com¬
pany of the brethren that has come. What is it
that they want ? I am at the service of the Order.
What can I do for you ?’
And the venerable Assagutta replied : ‘ There is,
O king, in India, in the city of Sigala, a king named
Milinda. As a disputant he is hard to equal,
harder still to overcome, he is the acknowledged
superior of all the founders of the various schools
of thought. He is in the habit of visiting the mem¬
bers of the Order and harassing them by questions
of speculative import.’
Then said Sakka, the king of the gods, to him :
‘ That same king Milinda, venerable one, left this
condition to be born as a man. And there dwells
in the mansion Ketumati a god, Mahasena by name,
who is able to hold converse with him and to re¬
solve his doubts. [ 7 ] That god we will beseech to
suffer himself to be reborn into the world of men.’
18. So Sakka, the king of the gods, preceded by
the Order, entered the Ketumati mansion; and when
he had embraced Mahisena the god, he said to
him : ‘ The Order of the brethren, Lord, makes this
request of you—to be reborn into the world of men.’
‘ I have no desire, Sir, for the world of men, so
overladen with action (Karma). Hard is life as a
MAHASENA THE GOD.
I, 19 .
man. It is here, Sir, in the world of the gods that,
being reborn in ever higher and higher spheres, I
hope to pass away!’
And a second and a third time did Sakka, the
king of the gods, make the same request, and the
reply was still the same. Then the venerable Assa-
gutta addressed Mah&sena the god, and said: ‘ On
passing in review, Lord, the worlds of gods and men,
there is none but thee that we find able to succour the
faith by refuting the heretical views of Milinda the
king. The whole Order beseeches thee, Lord, saying:
“ Condescend, O worthy one, to be reborn among
men, in order to lend to the religion of the Blessed
One thy powerful aid.’”
Then was Mahasena the god overjoyed and de¬
lighted in heart at the thought that he would be
able to help the faith by refuting the heresy of
Milinda; and he gave them his word, and said:
‘Very well then, venerable ones, I consent to be
reborn in the world of men.’
19. Then the brethren, having thus accomplished
the task they had taken in hand, vanished from the
heaven of the Thirty-three, and reappeared on the
Guarded Slope in the Himalaya mountains. And
the venerable Assagutta addressed the Order, and
said: ‘Is there, venerable ones, any brother belong¬
ing to this company of the Order, who has not
appeared in the assembly?’
Thereupon a certain brother said there was, that
Rohana had a week previously gone into the moun¬
tains, and become buried in meditation, [ 8 ] and
suggested that a messenger should be sent to him.
And at that very moment the venerable Rohana
aroused himself from his meditation, and was aware
H
I, 20 .
that the Order was expecting him 1 . And vanishing
from the mountain top, he appeared in the presence
of the innumerable company of the brethren.
And the venerable Assagutta said to him : ‘ How
now, venerable Rohana ! When the religion of the
Buddha is in danger of crumbling away, have you
no eyes for the work of the Order ?’
‘ It was through inadvertence, Sir,’ said he.
‘ Then, venerable Rohana, atone for it.’
* What, Sir, should I do ? ’
‘ There is a Brahman village, venerable Rohana,
called Kagangala 2 , at the foot of the Himalaya
mountains, and there dwells there a Brahman called
SoTmttara. He will have a son called Nigasena.
Go to that house for alms during seven years and
ten months. After the lapse of that time thou
shalt draw away the boy from a worldly life, and
cause him to enter the Order. When he shall have
abandoned the world, then shalt thou be free of the
atonement for thy fault.’
‘ Let it be even as thou sayest,’ said the venerable
Rohana in assent.
20. Now Mahdsena the god passed away from
the world of the gods, and was reborn in the womb
of the wife of the Brahman So^uttara. And at the
moment of his conception three strange, wonderful
things took place :—arms and weapons became all
1 P a t \m £ n e t i. Childers does not give this meaning to the word.
But it is the usual one. Compare Sumangala, vol. i, pp. 276, 280;
Vinaya Pi/aka IV, 212 ; .Sullavagga VI, 13, 2 ; Gataka II, 423.
2 This is a famous place in Buddhist story. It is at the extreme
limit, to the East, of the Buddhist Holy Land, the ‘ Middle Country.’
See Sumangala Vilasini on D. 2,40 (p. 173); MahavaggaV, 13,12;
Gataka I, 49.
i,2i. mahAsena the god. 15
ablaze, the tender grain became ripe in a moment,
and there was a great raiiy (in the time of drought).
And the venerable Rohana went to that house for
alms for seven years and ten months from the day
of Mahisena’s re-incarnation, but never once did he
receive so much as a spoonful of boiled rice, or a
ladleful of sour gruel, or a greeting, or a stretching
forth of the joined hands, or any sort of salutation.
Nay rather it was insults and taunts that fell to his
share: and there was no one who so much as said,
‘ Be so good, Sir, as to go on to the next house V
But when all that period had gone by he one day
happened to have those very words addressed to
him. And on that day the Brahman, on his way
back from his work in the fields, [ 9 ] saw the Elder as
he met him on his return, and said : ‘Well, hermit,
have you been to our place P ’
‘ Yes. Brahman, I have.’
1 But did you get anything there ? ’
‘Yes, Brahman, I did.’
And he was displeased at this, and went on home,
and asked them : ‘ Did you give anything to that
hermit ?’
‘ We gave him nothing,’ was the reply.
21, Thereupon the Brahman, the next day, seated
himself right in the doorway, thinking to himself:
‘ To-day I’ll put that hermit to shame for having told
a lie.’ And the moment that the Elder in due course
came up to the house again, he said: ‘Yesterday
you said you had got something at my house, having
1 This is the ordinary polite formula used by an Indian peasant
when he wishes to express his inability (or his disinclination) to give
food to a mendicant friar.
t6
I, 22.
all the while got nothing! Is lying allowed to you
fellows ?’
And the Elder replied: ‘ Brahman, for seven
years and ten months no one even went so far as to
suggest politely that I should pass on. Yesterday this
courtesy was extended to me. It was to that that
I referred.’
The Brahman thought to himself: 1 If these men, at
the mere experience of a little courtesy, acknowledge
in a public place, and with thanks, that they have re¬
ceived an alms, what will they not do if they really
receive a gift! ’ And he was much struck by this,
and had an alms bestowed upon the Elder from the
rice and curry prepared for his own use, and added
furthermore : ‘ Every day you shall receive here
food of the same kind.’ And having watched the
Elder as he visited the place from that day onwards,
and noticed how subdued was his demeanour, he be¬
came more and more pleased with him, and invited
him to take there regularly his midday meal. And the
Elder gave, by silence, his consent; and daily from
that time forth, when he had finished his meal, and
was about to depart, he would pronounce some short
passage or other from the words of the Buddha 1 .
22. Now the Brahman’s wife had, after her ten
months, brought forth her son ; and they called his
name Ndgasena. He grew up in due course till he
became seven years old, and his father said to the
child : ‘ Do you want, [ 10 ] dear Nigasena, to study
the learning traditional in this Brahmanical house
of ours ?’
1 This custom is a rule with the mendicant friars. It is their
way of ‘ returning thanks,' as we should say. See below, p. 25.
I, 23. BRAHMAN KNOWLEDGE. 17
‘ What is it called, father ? ’ said he.
‘ The three Vedas are called learning (Sikkhd),
other kinds of knowledge are only arts, my dear.’
‘Yes, I should like to learn them, father,’ said
the boy.
Then Sowuttara the Brahman gave to a Brahman
teacher a thousand pieces as his teaching fee, and
had a divan spread for him aside in an inner cham¬
ber, and said to him : ‘ Do thou, Brahman, teach
this boy the sacred hymns by heart.’
So the teacher made the boy repeat the hymns,
urging him to get them by heart. And young Naga-
sena, after one repetition of them, had learnt the three
Vedas by heart, could intone them correctly, had
understood their meaning, could fix the right place of
each particular verse 1 , and had grasped the mysteries
they contained 2 . All at once there arose in him
an intuitive insight into the Vedas, with a know¬
ledge of their lexicography, of their prosody, of their
grammar, and of the legends attaching to the cha¬
racters in them. He became a philologist and
grammarian, and skilled alike in casuistry and in the
knowledge of the bodily marks that foreshadow the
greatness of a man 3 .
23. Then young N&gasena said to his father: ‘Is
1 Suvava//Mpita, or perhaps its use in ceremonies or sacri¬
fices. The phrase only occurs in this passage. It is literally, ‘ The
three Vedas were well fixed by the boy.’ Hina/i-kumbure simply
repeats the word.
2 On the exact force of the special terms translated in these
clauses, one may further compare the corresponding phrases used
of learning the Buddhist texts in A’ullavagga IV, 14, 17 ; IX, 5, 1.
3 The above are the stock phrases for the learning of a scholarly
Brahman, and one or two points in the details are uncertain.
18 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. I, 23.
there anything more to be learned in this Brahman-
ical family of ours, or is this all ? ’
‘ There is no more, Ndgasena, my dear. This is
all,’ was the reply.
And young Nigasena repeated his lesson to his
teacher for the last time, and went out of the house,
and in obedience to an impulse arising in his heart
as the result of previous Karma, sought a place of
solitude, where he gave himself up to meditation.
And he reviewed what he had learnt throughout
from beginning to end, and found no value in it
anywhere at all. And he exclaimed in bitterness of
soul: ‘Empty forsooth are these Vedas, and as chaff.
There is in them neither reality, nor worth, nor
essential truth! ’
That moment the venerable Rohana, seated at
his hermitage at Vattaniya, felt in his mind what
was passing in the heart of Nagasena. And he
robed himself, and taking his alms-bowl in his hand,
he vanished from Vattaniya and appeared near the
Brahman village Kafangala. And young Naga¬
sena, as he stood again in the doorway, saw him
coming in the distance. At the sight of him he be¬
came happy and glad, and a sweet hope sprang up
in his heart that from him he might learn the essen¬
tial truth. And he went [ 11 ] to him, and said :
‘ Who art thou, Sir, that thou art thus bald-headed,
and wearest yellow robes ? ’
‘They call me a recluse, my child’ (Pabba^ita :
literally, ‘one who has abandoned;’ that is, the
worldly life).
‘ And why do they call thee “ one who has aban¬
doned ?” ’
‘ Because a recluse is one who has receded from
REASONS FOR SHAVING.
I, 23.
the world in order to make the stain of sinful things
recede. It is for that reason, my child, that they
call me a recluse.’
‘ Why, Sir, dost thou not wear hair as others do ? ’
‘ A recluse shaves off his hair and beard on the
recognition of the sixteen impediments therein to
the higher life. And what are those sixteen 1 ? The
impediments of ornamenting it, and decking it out,
of putting oil upon it, of shampooing it, of placing
garlands round it, of using scents and unguents, and
myrobalan seeds, and dyes, and ribbons, and combs,
of calling in the barber, of unravelling curls, and of
the possibility of vermin. When their hair falls off
they are grieved and harassed; yea, they lament
sometimes, and cry, and beat their breasts, or fall
headlong in a swoon—and entangled by these and
such impediments men may forget those parts of
wisdom or learning which are delicate and subtle.’
‘ And why, Sir, are not thy garments, too, as those
of other men ? ’
1 Beautiful clothes, my boy, such as are worn by
worldly men, are inseparable from the five cravings 2 .
But whatsoever dangers lurk in dress he who wears
the yellow robes knows nothing of. It is for that
reason that my dress is not as other men’s/
* Dost thou know, Lord, what is real knowledge ?’
‘ Yes, lad, the real knowledge I know; and what
is the best hymn (mantra) in the world, that too I
know.’
‘ Couldst thou teach it, Lord, to me too ?’
1 This odd idea of the ‘ impediments ’ in the wearing of hair and
beard is in accord both with modern habits of shaving, and also
with a good deal of early Christian and mediaeval ethics.
2 The lust of the eye, of the ear, &c.
I, 24.
‘Yes, I could.’
‘ Teach me, then.’
‘ J ust now is not the right time for that; we have
come down to the village for alms.’
24. Then young Nagasena took the alms-bowl
the venerable Rohana was carrying, and led him
into the house, and with his own hand supplied him
with food, hard and soft, as much as he required.
And when he saw that he had finished his meal,
and withdrawn his hand from the bowl, he said to
him : ‘ Now, Sir, will you teach me that hymn ?’
‘ When thou hast become free from impediments,
my lad, by taking upon thee, and with thy parents’
consent, the hermit’s dress I wear, then I can teach
it thee.’
25. So young [12] Nagasena went to his father
and mother, and said : ‘ This recluse says he knows
the best hymn in the world, but that he cannot teach
it to any one who has not entered the Order as his
pupil. I should like to enter the Order and learn
that hymn.’
And his parents gave their consent; for they
wished him to learn the hymn, even at the cost of
retiring from the world ; and they thought that when
he had learned it he would come back again b
Then the venerable Rohana took Nagasena to
the Vattaniya hermitage, to the Vigiamba Vatthu,
and having spent the night there, took him on to
the Guarded Slope, and there, in the midst of the
innumerable company of the Arahats, young Naga¬
sena was admitted, as a novice, into the Order.
1 Under the rules of the Buddhist Order any one can leave it as
soon as he likes.
BUDDHIST EDUCATION.
I, 26.
26. And then, when he had been admitted to
the Order, the venerable Nagasena said to the
venerable Rohana: ‘ I have adopted your dress;
now teach me that hymn/
Then the venerable Rohana thought thus to
himself: ‘ In what ought I first to instruct him, in
the Discourses (Suttanta) or in the deeper things
of the faith (Abhidhamma)?’ and inasmuch as he
saw that Nagasena was intelligent, and could master
the Abhidhamma with ease, he gave him his first
lesson in that.
And the venerable Nagasena, after hearing it
repeated but once, knew by heart the whole of
the Abhidhamma — that is to say, the Dhamma
Sangawi, with its great divisions into good, bad,
and indifferent qualities, and its subdivisions into
couples and triplets 1 — the Vibhanga, with its
eighteen chapters, beginning with the book on the
constituent elements of beings—the Dhatu Kathi,
with its fourteen books, beginning with that on
compensation and non-compensation—the Puggala
Paw^atti, with its six divisions into discrimination
of the various constituent elements, discrimination
of the various senses and of the properties they
apprehend, and so on 2 —the Katha Vatthu, with its
thousand sections, five hundred on as many points
1 Compare, for instance, p. 125 of the edition of this summary
of Buddhist ethical psychology, edited for the Pali Text Society, by
Dr. Edward Muller, of Bern (London, 1885).
2 The six kinds of discrimination (Pa«/zatti) referred to, are
those set out in § 1 of the Puggala. The work itself is an ethical
tractate dealing only with the last of the six (the discrimination of
individuals). See the edition by Dr. Morris, published by the
Pali Text Society (London, 1883).
I, 27.
of our own views, and five hundred on as many
points of our opponents’ views—the Yamaka, with
its ten divisions into complementary propositions as
to origins, as to constituent elements, and so on—
and the Parana, with its twenty-four chapters on
the reason of causes, the reason of ideas, and the
rest. And he said [ 13 ]: ‘That will do, Sir. You
need not propound it again. That will suffice for
my being able to rehearse it.’
27. Then Nagasena went to the innumerable
company of the Arahats, and said : ‘ I should like
to propound the whole of the Abhidhamma Pi/aka,
without abridgement, arranging it under the three
heads of good, bad, and indifferent qualities.’ And
they gave him leave. And in seven months the
venerable Nagasena recited the seven books of the
Abhidhamma in full. And the earth thundered,
the gods shouted their applause, the Brahma gods
clapped their hands, and there came down a shower
from heaven of sweet-scented sandal-wood dust, and
of Mandarava flowers ! And the innumerable com¬
pany of the Arahats, then and there at the Guarded
Slope, admitted the venerable Nagasena, then
twenty years of age, to full membership in the
higher grade of the Order.
28. Now the next day after he had thus been
admitted into full membership in the Order, the
venerable Nagasena robed himself at dawn, and
taking his bowl, ■ accompanied his teacher on his
round for alms to the village below. And as he
went this thought arose within him : ‘ It was, after
all, empty-headed and foolish of my teacher to leave
the rest of the Buddha’s word aside, and teach me
the Abhidhamma first! ’
nagasena’s punishment.
1,29.
And the venerable Rohana became aware in his
own mind of what was passing in the mind of Naga-
sena, and he said to him: ‘That is an unworthy
reflection that thou art making, Nagasena; it is not
worthy of thee so to think.’
1 How strange and wonderful,’ thought Nagasena,
‘ that my teacher should be able to tell in his own
mind what I am thinking of! I must ask his pardon.’
And he said : ‘ Forgive me, Sir; I will never make
such a reflection again.’
M‘I cannot forgive you, Nagasena, simply on that
promise,’ was the reply. ‘ But there is a city called
Sagala, where a king rules whose name is Milinda,
and he harasses the brethren by putting puzzles to
them of heretical tendency. You will have earned
your pardon, Nagasena, when you shall have gone
there, and overcome that king in argument, and
brought him to take delight in the truth.’
‘ Not only let king Milinda, holy one, but let all
the kings of India come and propound questions to
me, and I will break all those puzzles up and solve
them, if only you will pardon me! ’ exclaimed N&-
gasena. But when he found it was of no avail, he
said: ‘ Where, Sir, do you advise me to spend the
three months of the rains now coming on 1 ?’
29. ‘ There is a brother named Assagutta dwell¬
ing at the Vattaniya hermitage. Go, Nagasena, to
him; and in my name bow down to his feet, and
say: “ My teacher, holy one, salutes you reverently,
and asks whether you are in health and ease, in full
vigour and comfort. He has sent me here to pass
1 It would be against the rules to go at once, during the rains, to
Sagala. So he would spend that time in preparation.
24 the questions of KING MILINDA. 1,30.
the three months of the rains under your charge.”
When he asks you your teacher’s name, tell it him*
But when he asks you his own name, say: “ My
teacher, Sir, knows your name.” ’
And Nagasena bowed down before the venerable
Rohana, and passing him on his right hand as he
left him, took his bowl and robe, and went on from
place to place till he came to the Vattaniya hermit¬
age, begging for his food on the way. And on his
arrival he saluted the venerable Assagutta, and said
exactly what he had been told to say, [ 15 ] and to the
last reply Assagutta said: ‘Very well then, N aga-
sena, put by your bowl and robe.’ And the next
day Nigasena swept out the teacher’s cell, and put
the drinking water and tooth-cleansers ready for him
to use. The Elder swept out the cell again, threw
away the water and the tooth-cleansers, and fetched
others, and said not a word of any kind. So it
went on for seven days. On the seventh the Elder
again asked him the same questions as before. And
on Nagasena again making the same replies, he gave
him leave to pass the rainy season there.
30. N ow a certain woman, a distinguished follower
of the faith, had for thirty years and more adminis¬
tered to the wants of the venerable Assagutta. And
at the end of that rainy season she came one day to
him, and asked whether there was any other brother
staying with him. And when she was told that
there was one, named Nagasena, she invited the
Elder, and Nigasena with him, to take their midday
meal the next day at her house. And the Elder
signified, by silence, his consent. The next forenoon
the Elder robed himself, and taking his bowl in his
hand, went down, accompanied by Nagasena as his
nagasena’ s conversion.
I, 3 1 -
attendant, to the dwelling-place of that disciple, and
there they sat down on the seats prepared for them.
And she gave to both of them food, hard and soft, as
much as they required, waiting upon them with her
own hands. When Assagutta had finished his meal,
and the hand was withdrawn from the bowl, he said
to Nagasena: ‘Do thou, Nigasena, give the thanks
to this distinguished lady.’ And, so saying, he rose
from his seat, and went away. [ 16 ]
3I1 And the lady said to Nagasena: ‘I am old,
friend Nagasena. Let the thanksgiving be from the
deeper things of the faith.’
And Nagasena, in pronouncing the thanksgiving
discourse 1 , dwelt on the profounder side of the
Abhidhamma, not on matters of mere ordinary
morality, but on those relating to Arahatship 2 . And
as the lady sat there listening, there arose in her
heart the Insight into the Truth 3 , clear and stainless,
which perceives that whatsoever has beginning, that
has the inherent quality of passing away. And Na¬
gasena also,when he had concluded that thanksgiving
discourse, felt the force of the truths he himself had
preached, and he too arrived at insight 4 —he too
1 See the note above, p. ig.
2 Suwfiata, used here in the sense of Nirvirca. Compare An-
guttara II, 5, 6; CrStaka III, 191; Aullavagga XII, 2, g.
3 Dhamma-^akkhu. This perception of the impermanency
of all things and all beings is called ‘the Eye for the Truth,’ and
is the sign of the entrance upon the path to Arahatship, i. e. Nir-
v£t«a. It is the same among Buddhists as conversion is among
the Christians. Compare Acts xxvi. 18 (‘Open their eyes, and
turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan
unto God ’) and other similar passages.
4 Vipassana. Childers says this is an attribute of Arahatship;
and Trenckner translates it ‘superior intelligence.’ But Arahats
I, 32-
entered, as he sat there, upon the stream (that is to
say, upon the first stage of the Excellent Way to
Arahatship).
32. Then the venerable Assagutta, as he was
sitting in his arbour, was aware that they both had
attained to insight, and he exclaimed : ‘Well done!
well done, Nagasena! by one arrow shot you have
hit two noble quarries! ’ And at the same time
thousands of the gods shouted their approval.
Now the venerable Nigasena arose and returned
to Assagutta, and saluting him, took a seat reve¬
rently apart. And Assagutta said to him : ‘ Do
thou now go, Nagasena, to Pa/aliputta. There, in
the Asoka Park, dwells the venerable Dhamma-
rakkhita. Under him you should learn the words
of the Buddha.’
‘ How far is it, Sir, from here to Pa/aliputta.’
‘A hundred leagues 1 , Nagasena.’
‘ Great, Sir, is the distance. It will be difficult to
get food on the way. How shall I get there ? ’
‘ Only go straight on, Nagasena. You shall get
food on the way, rice from which the black grains
have been picked out, with curries and gravies of
various sorts.’
‘Very well, Sir!’ said Ndgasena, and bowing
only have it, because they have all the powers possessed by those
in the previous stages of the path, and it is only superior as being
above and beyond the intelligence of the worldly wise, or even of
the mere moralist. It is less than the ‘ Divine Eye,’ and Nagasena
was not yet an Arahat. Compare the passages quoted by Childers
under Dhamma-/£akkhu and Dibba-^akkhu, and also Maha-
vagga I, 6, 33; Gataka I, 140; Sumangala Vilasini, 237, 278.
1 Yo^anas: that is, leagues of seven miles each. See my
‘ Ancient Coins and Measures of Ceylon,’ p. 16, in Thomas’s
‘ Numismata Orientalia,’ vol. i.
1,34- NAGASENA ARRIVES AT INSIGHT. 27
down before his teacher, and passing him on the
right side as he went, he took his bowl and his robe
and departed for Pi/aliputta.
33. [ 17 ] At that time a merchant of Pd/aliputta
was on his way back to that city with five hundred
waggons. And when he saw the venerable Naga-
sena coming in the distance, he stopped the wag¬
gons, and saluted Nagasena, and asked him:
‘ Whither art thou going, father ? ’
‘ To Pa/aliputta, householder.’
‘ That is well, father. We too are going thither.
It will be more convenient for thee to go with us.’
And the merchant, pleased with Nagasena’s
manners, provided him with food, hard and soft,
as much as he required, waiting upon him with his
own hands. And when the meal was over, he took a
low seat, and sat down reverently apart. So seated,
he said to the venerable Nagasena : ‘ What, father,
is your name ? ’
‘ I am called Nagasena, householder.’
‘ Dost thou know, father, what are the words of
Buddha?’
‘ I know the Abhidhamma.’
‘ We are most fortunate, father; this is indeed an
advantage. I am a student of the Abhidhamma,
and so art thou. Repeat to me, father, some
passages from it.’
Then the venerable.Nigasena preached to him
from the Abhidhamma, and by degrees as he did so
there arose in Nagasena’s heart the Insight into the
Truth, clear and stainless, which perceives that what¬
soever has in itself the necessity of beginning, that
too has also the inherent quality of passing away.
34. And the Pa/aliputta merchant sent on his
I> 3fi-
wggons in advance, and followed himself after
them. And at a place where the road divided, not
far from Pa/aliputta, he stopped, and said to Naga-
sena: ‘ This is the turning to the Asoka Park.
Now I have here a rare piece of woollen stuff, sixteen
cubits by eight. [ 18 ] Do me the favour of accepting
it.’ And Nagasena did so. And the merchant,
pleased and glad, with joyful heart, and full of con¬
tent and happiness, saluted the venerable Naga¬
sena, and keeping him on his right hand as he
passed round him, went on his way.
35. But Nagasena went on to the Asoka Park to
Dhamma-rakkhita. And after saluting him, and telling
him on what errand he had come, he learnt by heart,
from the mouth of the venerable Dhamma-rakkhita,
the whole of the three baskets 1 of the Buddha’s
word in three months, and after a single recital, so
far as the letter (that is, knowing the words by
heart) was concerned. And in three months more
he mastered the spirit (that is, the deeper meaning
of the sense of the words).
But at the end of that time the venerable Dham-
1 Pi/akas. This expression is not used in the sacred books of
the canon itself. When it first came into use is unknown. This
is the earliest passage in which it has hitherto been found in the
technical sense of a division of the Scriptures. It was in full use
at the time of Buddhaghosa (see the Sumahgala VMsini, pp. 15,
16, 17, 18, &c., and the Samanta Plsadiki, printed in Oldenberg’s
‘Vinaya Pi/aka,’ vol. iii, p. 293). The tertium quid of the
comparison is not the basket or the box as a receptacle for preser¬
vation, but as a means of handing on (as Eastern navvies removing
earth put it into baskets and pass these latter on from hand to hand).
So the expression ‘ three baskets’ means not ‘the three collections,’
but ‘the three bodies of oral tradition as handed down from
teacher to teacher.’ See Trenckner’s decisive argument in his
‘Pali Miscellanies,’ pp. 67-69.
I, 36, NAGASENA GAINS NIRVANA. 29
ma-rakkhita addressed him, and said: ‘Just, Naga-
sena, as a herdsman tends the cows, but others
enjoy their produce, so thou too carriest in thy
head the whole three baskets of the Buddha’s word,
and still art not yet a partaker of the fruit of
Samazzaship.’
‘ Though that be so, holy one, say no more,’ was
the reply. And on that very day, at night, he attained
to Arahatship and with it to the fourfold power of
that Wisdom possessed by all Arahats (that is to
say : the realisation of the sense, and the apprecia¬
tion of the deep religious teaching contained in the
word, the power of intuitive judgment, and the power
of correct and ready exposition) 1 . And at the
moment of his penetrating the truth all the gods
shouted their approval, and the earth thundered, and
the Brahma gods clapped their hands, and there fell
from heaven a shower of sweet-scented sandal dust
and of Mandarava flowers.
36. Now at that time the innumerable company
of the Arahats at the Guarded Slope in the Hima¬
laya mountains sent a message to him to come, for
they were anxious to see him. And when he heard
the message the venerable Nagasena vanished from
the Asoka Park and appeared before them. And
they said : ‘ Nagasena, that king Milinda is in the
habit of harassing the brethren by knotty questions
and by argumentations this way and that. Do
thou, Ndgasena, go and [ 19 ] master him.’
* Not only let king Milinda, holy ones, but let all
the kings of India, come and propound questions to
1 The four Pa/isambhidas, which form the subject of one of
the books of the Sutta Pi/aka.
30 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. 1 , 37 .
me. I will break all those puzzles up and solve
them. You may go fearlessly to Sagala/
Then all the Elders went to the city of Sagala,
lighting it up with their yellow robes like lamps,
and bringing down upon it the breezes from the
heights where the sages dwell 1 .
2 37. At that time the venerable Ayupala was
living at the Sankheyya hermitage. And king
Milinda said to his counsellors: ‘ Beautiful is the
night and pleasant! Who is the wandering teacher
or Brahman we can visit to night to question him
who will be able to converse with us and to resolve
our doubts ? ’
And the five hundred Yonakas replied : ‘ There
is the Elder, Lord, named Ayupala, versed in the
three baskets, and in all the traditional lore. He is
living now at the Sankheyya hermitage. To him you
might go, O king, and put your questions to him/
‘Very well, then. Let the venerable one be
informed that we are coming/
1 Isi-vatawz parivatazw (nagara m) akawzsu. The meaning
of this phrase, which has not been found elsewhere, is doubtful.
Trenckner renders ‘ making it respire the odour of saints.’ The
literal translation would be ‘making it blown round about by
i?/shi-wind.’ Perhaps it may be meant to convey the idea of
‘ scented with the sweet breath of the wise.’ But in any case the
connotation is intended to be a pleasant one. Calling to mind
the analogous phrase vi,yanavata»z arama«, ‘a hermitage with
breezes from the desert.’ (Mahavagga I, 22, i7=Wullavagga VI,
4, 8.) I venture to suggest the rendering adopted above. Hina/i-
kumburS (p. 24) has i?fshiwarayahge gamandgamanayew
g-anita wa kivara w&tay zrn pratiwataya kalthuya. ‘They
set its air in commotion produced by the waving of the robes of
the coming and going i?2shis.’
2 We here take up the original episode of Milinda as interrupted
at § 15 (or if there is an interpolation at § 10).
1,38.
Ayupala silenced.
Then the royal astrologer sent a message to
Ayupala to the effect that king Milinda desired to
call upon him. And the venerable one said : ‘ Let
him come.’
So Milinda the king, attended by the five hun¬
dred Yonakas, mounted his royal chariot and pro¬
ceeded to the Sankheyya hermitage, to the place
where Ayupala dwelt, and exchanged with him the
greetings and compliments of friendship and cour¬
tesy, and took his seat respectfully apart. And then
he said to him :
38. ‘ Of what use, venerable Ayupala, is the re¬
nunciation of the world carried out by the members
of your Order, and in what do you place the sum-
mum bonum ?’
c Our renunciation, O king,’ replied the Elder, ‘ is
for the sake of being able to live in righteousness,
and in spiritual calm.’
‘ Is there, Sir, any layman who lives so ? ’
‘ Yes, great king, there are such laymen. At the
time when the Blessed One set rolling the royal
chariot wheel of the kingdom of righteousness at
Benares, at the Deer Park, [ 20 ] eighteen ko/is of
the Brahma gods, and an innumerable company of
other gods, attained to comprehension of the truth h
And not one of those beings, all of whom were lay¬
men, had renounced the world. And again when
the Blessed One delivered the Maha Samaya dis¬
course 1 2 , and the discourse on the ‘Greatest Blessing 3 ,’
1 See my ‘Buddhist Suttas,’ pp. 153-155- There is nothing
about the eighteen ko/is in the Pi/aka text referred to.
2 No. 20 in the Digha Nikaya.
8 In the Maha Mahgala, translated in my ‘Buddhism,’ pp.
125-12 7.
32 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. 1,38.
and the Exposition of Quietism \ and the Exhorta¬
tion to Rithula 1 2 * , the multitude of gods who attained
to comprehension of. the truth cannot be numbered.
And not one of those beings, all of whom were
laymen, had renounced the world V
‘Then, most venerable Ayupala, your renuncia¬
tion is of no use. It must be in consequence of sins
committed in some former birth, that the Buddhist
Samaras renounce the world, and even subject
themselves to the restraints of one or other of the
thirteen aids to purity 4 ! Those who remain on
one seat till they have finished their repast were,
forsooth, in some former birth, thieves who robbed
other men of their food. It is in consequence of
the Karma of having so deprived others of food that
they have now only such food as they can get at
one sitting; and are not allowed to eat from time to
time as they want. It is no virtue on their part, no
meritorious abstinence, no righteousness of life. And
they who live in the open air were, forsooth, in
1 Sama-<£itta-pariySya Suttanta. It is not certain which Sutta
is here referred to. Trenckner identifies it with a short Sutta in
the Anguttara (II, 4, g). It is true that the ten short Suttas in
A. II, 4 are (in the Burmese MSS. only) called collectively Sama-
£itta Vagga. But the separate Suttas have no separate titles;
the title of the Vagga is not found-in the Sinhalese MSS., and
is probably later than the text; and it is not, after all, identical
with the title here given.
2 There are several Suttas of this name in the Ptli Pi/akas.
The one referred to here (and also, it may be added, in the A'soka
Edicts) is probably the shorter one (A’llla Rahulovada Sutta)
found both in the Magg^ima (No. 147) and in the Sawyutta
(XXXIV, 120). See Trenckner’s note on this passage.
8 This way of looking at gods as laymen, still ‘ in the world,’ is
thoroughly Buddhist.
4 The dhutangas, enumerated by Childers sub voce.
Ayupala silenced.
I, 39 -
some former birth, dacoits who plundered whole vil¬
lages. It is in consequence of the Karma of having
destroyed other people’s homes, that they live now
without a home, and are not allowed the use of huts.
It is no virtue on their part, no meritorious absti¬
nence, no righteousness of life. And those who
never lie down, they, forsooth, in some former birth,
were highwaymen who seized travellers, and bound
them, and left them sitting there. It is in conse¬
quence of the Karma of that habit that they have
become Nesaj^ikA in this life (men who always
sit) and get no beds to lie on. It is no virtue on
their part, no meritorious abstinence, no righteous¬
ness of life! ’
39. And when he had thus spoken the venerable
Ayupila was silenced, and had not a word to say in
reply. Then the five hundred Yonakas said to the
king: ‘ The Elder, O king, is learned, but is also
diffident. It is for that reason that he makes no
rejoinder. But the king on seeing how silent Ayu¬
pala had become, clapped his hands [21] and cried
out: ‘All India is an empty thing, it is verily like
chaff! There is no one, either Samara or Brahman,
capable of discussing things with me and dispelling
my doubts 1 ! ’
As he looked, however, at the assembly and saw
how fearless and self-possessed the Yonakas ap¬
peared, he thought within himself : ‘ For a certainty
there must be, methinks, some other learned brother
capable of disputing with me, or those Yonakas
would not be thus confident.’ And he said to them:
1 See above, p. 10, § 14.
[ 35 ]
D
34 the questions OF KING MILINDA. 1,40.
‘ Is there, my good men, any other learned brother
to discuss things with me and dispel my doubts ?’
40. Now at that time the venerable Nagasena,
after making his alms-tour through the villages,
towns, and cities, had in due course arrived at
Sagala, attended by a band of Samaras, as the
leader of a company of the Order; the head of a
body of disciples ; the teacher of a school; famous
and renowned, and highly esteemed by the people.
And he was learned, clever, wise, sagacious, and able;
a skilful expounder, of subdued manners, but full of
courage; well versed in tradition, master of the three
Baskets (Pi/akas), and erudite in Vedic lore 1 . He
was in possession of the highest (Buddhist) insight,
a master of all that had been handed down in the
schools, and of the various discriminations 2 by which
the most abstruse points can be explained. He knew
by heart the ninefold divisions of the doctrine of the
Buddha to perfection 3 , and was equally skilled in
discerning both the spirit and the letter of the
Word. Endowed with instantaneous and varied
power of repartee, and wealth of language, and
beauty of eloquence, he was difficult to equal, and
still more difficult to excel, difficult to answer, to
repel, or to refute. He was imperturbable as the
depths of the sea, immovable as the king of moun¬
tains ; victorious in the struggle with evil, a dispeller
1 This is always explained as wise in the Buddhist Vedas, that
is, the three Pi/akas.
2 Pa/isambhid&s: see above, the note on p. 29.
3 Parami-ppatto. This is an unusual use of Parami, but it
occurs again below, p. 36, in a similar connection, and there can
be no doubt of its meaning, Trenckner translates it ‘ better than
any one else.’
NAGASENA.
I, 41 -
of darkness and diffuser of light; mighty in elo¬
quence, a confounder of the followers of other
masters, and a crusher-out of the adherents of rival
doctrines (malleus hereticorum). Honoured and
revered by the brethren and sisters of the Order,
and its lay adherents of either sex, and by kings
and their high officials, he was in the abundant
receipt of all the requisites of a member of the Order
—robes and bowl and lodging, and whatever is need¬
ful for the sick—receiving the highest veneration
no less than material gifts. To the wise and dis¬
cerning who came to him with listening ear he
displayed the ninefold jewel of the Conqueror’s
word, he pointed out to them the path of righteous¬
ness, bore aloft for them the torch of truth, set up
for them the sacred pillar of the truth 1 , and cele¬
brated for their benefit the sacrifice of the truth.
For them he waved the banner, raised the standard,
blew the trumpet, and beat the drum of truth.
And with his mighty lion’s voice, [22] like Indra’s
thunder but sweet the while, he poured out upon
them a plenteous shower, heavy with drops of
mercy, and brilliant with the coruscations of the
lightning flashes of his knowledge, of the nectar
waters of the teaching of the Nirvana of the truth—
thus satisfying to the full a thirsty world.
41. There then, at the Sankheyya hermitage, did
the venerable Nagasena, with a numerous company
of the brethren, dwell 2 . Therefore is it said :
1 Dhamma-yfipaw; with allusion to the sacred sacrificial post,
which plays so great a part in Brahman ritual.
2 Literally ‘with eighty thousand:’ but this merely means to
say, with a large (undefined) number. See the use of the phrase
in the Na/apana Gataka (Fausboll, No. 20).
D 2
36 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. I, 42.
‘ Learned, with varied eloquence, sagacious, bold,
Master of views, in exposition sound,
The brethren—wise themselves in holy writ,
Repeaters of the fivefold sacred word—
Put Nagasena as their leader and their chief.
Him, N&gasena of clear mind and wisdom deep,
Who knew which was the right Path, which the
false,
And had himself attained Nirvi^a’s placid heights!
Attended by the wise, by holders to the Truth,
He had gone from town to town, and come to
Sagala;
And now he dwelt there in Sankheyya’s grove,
Appearing, among men, like the lion of the hills.’
42. And Devamantiya said to king Milinda:
‘ Wait a little, great king, wait a little ! There is an
Elder named Nagasena, learned, able, and wise, of
subdued manners, yet full of courage, versed in the
traditions, a master of language, and ready in reply,
one who understands alike the spirit and the letter
of the law, and can expound its difficulties and
refute objections to perfection 1 . He is staying at
present at the Sankheyya hermitage. You should go,
great king, and put your questions to him. He is able
to discuss things with you, and dispel your doubts.’
Then when Milinda the king heard the name
Ndgasena, thus suddenly introduced, he was seized
with fear, and with anxiety, and the hairs of his
body stood on end 2 . But he asked Devamantiya :
‘ Is that really so ? ’
1 See above, p. 34, note 3.
3 The name itself, which means ‘Chief of Naga Snakes,’ is
nAgasena.
b 43 -
And Devamantiya replied: ‘He is capable, Sire,
of discussing things with the guardians of the world
—with Indra, Yama, Varuwa, Kuvera, Pravapati,
Suyama, [ 23 ] and Santushita—and even with the
great Brahma himself, the progenitor of mankind,
how much more then with a mere human being!’
‘ Do you then, Devamantiya,’ said the king, ‘ send
a messenger to say I am coming.’
And he did so. And Nagasena sent word back
that he might come. And the king, attended by
the five hundred Yonakas, mounted his royal chariot,
and proceeded with a great retinue to the Sankheyya
hermitage, and to the place where Nagasena dwelt.
43. At that time the venerable NAgasena was
seated with the innumerable company of the
brethren of the Order, in the open hall in front
of the hermitage 1 . So king Milinda saw the assem¬
bly from afar, and he said to Devamantiya : ‘ Whose,
Devamantiya, is this so mighty retinue ?’
‘ These are they who follow the venerable Naga¬
sena,’ was the reply.
Then at the sight there came over king Milinda
terrible enough, especially as the Nagas were looked upon as
supernatural beings. But it is no doubt also intended that the
king had heard of his fame.
1 Ma«^ala-mala, that is a hall consisting only of a roof, sup¬
ported by pillars which are connected by a dwarf wall two or
three feet in height. The roof projects beyond the pillars, so that
the space within is well shaded. It is a kind of open air drawing¬
room attached to most hermitages, and may be so small that it can
be rightly rendered arbour (see above, p. 25), or sufficiently large
to accommodate a considerable number. Usually of wood, some¬
times of stone, it is always graceful in appearance and pleasant to
use. It is mentioned in the corresponding passage of the Samaw»a
Phala (D. II, 10).
I. 44 -
a feeling of fear and of anxiety, and the hairs of his
body stood on end 1 . But nevertheless, though he
felt like an elephant hemmed in by rhinoceroses,
like a serpent surrounded by the GaiWas (the
snake-eating mythical birds), like a jackal sur¬
rounded by boa-constrictors, or a bear by buffaloes,
like a frog pursued by a serpent, or a deer by a
panther, like a snake in the hands of a snake
charmer, or a rat played with by a cat, or a devil
charmed by an exorcist, like the moon when it is
seized by Rahu, like a snake caught in a basket,
or a bird in a cage, or a fish in a net, like a man
who has lost his way in a dense forest haunted by
wild be&sts, like a Yakkha (ogre) who has sinned
against Vessavana (the king of ogres and fairies),
or like a god whose term of life as a god has
reached its end—though confused and terrified,
anxious, and beside himself in an agony of fear like
that—yet at the thought that he must at least avoid
humiliation in the sight of the people, he took
courage, and said to Devamantiya : ‘You need not
[ 24 ] trouble to point out to me which is Nagasena.
I shall pick him out unaided.’
‘ Certainly, Sire, recognise him yourself,’ said he 2 .
44. Now Nagasena was junior in seniority (rec¬
koned from the date of his full membership in the
1 This again, like the passage at p. 8, is an echo of the Samawwa
Phala. (See D. 2, 10 of our forthcoming edition, or p. 116 of
Grimblot.)
2 In the corresponding passage of the Simawwa Phala Givaka
points out the Buddha to Agutasattu (§ 11, Grimblot, p. 117).
This would be in the memory of all his readers, and our author
alters the story in this case to show how superior Milinda was to
the royal interlocutor in the older dialogue.
NAGASENA.
l> 44-
Order) to the half of that great company seated in
front of him, and senior to the half seated behind
him. And as he looked over the whole of the
assembly, in front, and down the centre, and be¬
hind, king Milinda detected Nagasena seated in the
middle, and, like a shaggy lion who knows no fear
or frenzy, entirely devoid of nervous agitation, and
free from shyness and trepidation. And as soon as
he saw him, he knew by his mien that that was N 4 -
gasena, and he pointed him out to Devamantiya.
‘Yes, great king,’ said he, ‘that is Nagasena.
Well hast thou, Sire, recognised the sage.’
Whereupon the king rejoiced that he had re¬
cognised Nagasena without having had him pointed
out to him. But nevertheless, at the sight of him,
the king was seized with nervous excitement and
trepidation and fear. Therefore is it said :
‘ At the sight of Ndgasena, wise and pure,
Subdued in all that is the best subjection,
Milinda uttered this foreboding word—
“ Many the talkers I have visited,
Many the conversations I have had,
But never yet, till now, to-day, has fear,
So strange, so terrible, o’erpowered my heart.
Verily now defeat must be my lot,
And victory his, so troubled is my mind.” ’
Here ends the introductory secular narrative
(Bihira-katha) 1 .
1 See note on p. i. This book closes in Hina/i-kumbure’s
Sinhalese version with the title ‘Pfirwa Yoga yayiand is of
course identical with the Pubba-yoga referred to above, p. 4,
as the first division of the work.
II, I, I.
Book II — The Distinguishing Characteristics of Ethical Qualities
THE DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS OF ETHICAL
QUALITIES.
Chapter 1.
i. [ 25 ] Now Milinda the king went up to where
the venerable Nagasena was, and addressed him
with the greetings and compliments of friendship
and courtesy, and took his seat respectfully apart.
And Nagasena reciprocated his courtesy, so that
the heart of the king was propitiated.
And Milinda began by asking, 1 ‘ How is your
Reverence known, and what, Sir, is your name ?’
‘ I am known as N&gasena, O king, and it is by
that name that my brethren in the faith address me.
But although parents, O king, give such a name as
Nagasena, or Surasena, or Virasena, or Sihasena,
yet this, Sire,—N&gasena and so on—is only a gene¬
rally understood term, a designation in common use.
For there is no permanent individuality (no soul)
involved in the matter 2 .’
1 There is a free translation of the Sinhalese version of the
following dialogues (down to the end of our § 4) in Spence Hardy’s
‘ Manual of Buddhism,’ pp. 424-429. But it is very unreliable as
a reproduction of either the Sinhalese or the Pali, and slurs over
the doubtful passages.
3 Na puggalo upalabbhati. This thesis, that ‘there is no
individual,’ is discussed at the opening of the KathS. Vatthu (leaf
ka of my MS.) Put into modern philosophical phraseology it
amounts to saying that there is no permanent subject underlying
the temporary phenomena visible in a man’s individuality. But
INDIVIDUALITY.
II, r, 1.
Then Milinda called upon the Yonakas and the
brethren to witness: ‘ This Nagasena says there is
no permanent individuality (no soul) implied in his
name. Is it now even possible to approve him in
that ? ’ And turning to Nagasena, he said : ‘ If,
most reverend Nagasena, there be no permanent
individuality (no soul) involved in the matter,
who is it, pray, who gives to you members of the
Order your robes and food and lodging and neces¬
saries for the sick ? Who is it who enjoys such
things when given ? Who is it who lives a life of
righteousness ? Who is it who devotes himself to
meditation ? Who is it who attains to the goal of
the Excellent Way, to the Nirvana of Arahatship ?
And who is it who destroys living creatures ? who
is it who takes what is not his own ? who is it who
lives an evil life of worldly lusts, who speaks lies,
who drinks strong drink, who (in a word) com¬
mits any one of the five sins which work out their
bitter fruit even in this life 1 ? If that be so there is
neither merit nor demerit; there is neither doer nor
causer of good or evil deeds 2 ; there is neither fruit
nor result of good or evil Karma 3 . [ 26 ]—If, most
reverend Nagasena, we are to think that were a man
I doubt whether, even in our author’s time, the conception ‘subject’
was common ground, or that the word puggala had acquired
that special connotation.
1 PawMnantariya-kammazrc karoti. See my note on .ffulla-
vagga VII, 3, 9 (‘Vinaya Texts,’ vol. iii, p. 246, in the Sacred
Books of the East).
2 This is no doubt said in these words with allusion to the
opinion ascribed in the Sama«? 7 a Phala (D. II, 17) to Purawa
Kassapa.
3 This is the opinion ascribed in identical words in the S 3 .ma««a
Phala (D. II, 23) to Agita of the garment of hair.
II, i, i.
to kill you there would be no murder l , then it follows
that there are no real masters or teachers in your.
Order, and that your ordinations are void.—You
tell me that your brethren in the Order are in the
habit of addressing you as Nagasena. Now what is
that Nigasena ? Do you mean to say that the hair
is Nagasena?’
‘ I don’t say that, great king.’
‘ Or the hairs on the body, perhaps ? ’
1 Certainly not.’
‘ Or is it the nails, the teeth, the skin, the flesh, the
nerves, the bones, the marrow, the kidneys, the heart,
the liver, the abdomen, the spleen, the lungs, the
larger intestines, the lower intestines, the stomach,
the faeces, the bile, the phlegm, the pus, the blood, the
sweat, the fat, the tears, the serum, the saliva, the
mucus, the oil that lubricates the joints, the urine, or
the brain, or any or all of these, that is Nigasena 2 ?’
And to each of these he answered no.
‘Is it the outward form then (Rupa) that is
N&gasena, or the sensations (Vedana), or the ideas
(Sa?Md), or the confections (the constituent elements
of character, Sawkhari), or the consciousness (Vi n-
n^. na), that is Nagasena 3 ?’
And to each of these also he answfered no.
1 This is practically the same opinion as is ascribed in the
Samawwa Phala (D. II, 26) to Pakudha KaWayana.
2 This list of the thirty-two forms (S^aras) of organic matter
in the human body occurs already in the Khuddaka PaAta, § 3.
It is the standard list always used in similar connections; and is,
no doubt, supposed to be exhaustive. There are sixteen (half as
many) fiMras of the mind according to Dipavawsa I, 42.
3 These are the five Skandhas, which include in them the whole
bodily and mental constituents of any being. See p. 80. .
II, I, I.
SIMILE OF THE CHARIOT.
‘ Then is it all these Skandhas combined that are
Nagasena ?’
‘ No ! great king.’
‘ But is there anything outside the five Skandhas
that is Nigasena ?’
And still he answered no.
‘ Then thus, ask as I may, I can discover no
Nagasena. Nagasena is a mere empty sound. Who
then is the Nagasena that we see before us ? It is
a falsehood that your reverence has spoken, an
untruth! ’
And the venerable Nagasena said to Milinda
the king: ‘ You, Sire, have been brought up in
great luxury, as beseems your noble birth. If you
were to walk this dry weather on the hot and sandy
ground, trampling under foot the gritty, gravelly
grains of the hard sand, your feet would hurt you.
And as your body would be in pain, your mind
would be disturbed, and you would experience a
sense of bodily suffering. How then did you come,
on foot, or* in a chariot ?’
‘ I did not come, Sir, on foot [ 27 ]. I came in a
carriage.’
‘ Then if you came, Sire, in a carriage, explain to
me what that is. Is it the pole that is the chariot ?’
‘ I did not say that.’
‘ Is it the axle that is the chariot ?’
‘ Certainly not.’
‘ Is it the wheels, or the framework, or the ropes,
or the yoke, or the spokes of the wheels, or the
goad, that are the chariot ? ’
And to all these he still answered no.
‘ Then is it all these parts of it that are the
chariot ? ’
II, l, t.
1 No, Sir.’
‘ But is there anything outside them that is the
chariot ? ’
And still he answered no.
‘ Then thus, ask as I may, I can discover no
chariot. Chariot is a mere empty sound. What
then is the chariot you say you came in ? It
is a falsehood that your Majesty has spoken, an
untruth! There is no such thing as a chariot!
You are king over all India, a mighty monarch. Of
whom then are you afraid that you speak untruth ?
And he called upon the Yonakas and the brethren
to witness, saying: ‘ Milinda the king here has said
that he came by carriage. But when asked in that
case to explain what the carriage was, he is unable
to establish what he averred. Is it, forsooth, pos¬
sible to approve him in that ? ’
When he had thus spoken the five hundred Yo-
nakas shouted their applause, and said to the king :
‘ Now let your Majesty get out of that if you can ?’
And Milinda the king replied to Nagasena, and
said : ‘ I have spoken no untruth, reverend Sir. It
is on account of its having all these things—the
pole, and the axle, the wheels, and the framework,
the ropes, the yoke, the spokes, and the goad—that
it comes under the generally understood term, the
designation in common use, of “ chariot.” ’
‘Very good! Your Majesty has rightly grasped
the meaning of “ chariot.” And just even so it is on
account of all those things you questioned me about
—[ 28 ] the thirty-two kinds of organic matter in a
human body, and the five constituent elements of
being—that I come under the generally understood
term, the designation in common use, of “N&gasena.”
II, X, 2.
SENIORITY.
For it was said, Sire, by our Sister Va^ird in the
presence of the Blessed One :
‘ “ J ust as it is by the condition precedent of the
co-existence of its various parts that the word
‘ chariot’ is used, just so is it that when the Skan-
dhas are there we talk of a ‘ being 1 .’
‘Most wonderful, Nagasena, and most strange.
Well has the puzzle put to you, most difficult though
it was, been solved. Were the Buddha himself
here he would approve your answer. Well done,
well done, Nagasena ! ’
2. ‘ How many years seniority have you, Naga¬
sena P ’
* Seven, your Majesty.’
‘ But how can you say it is your “seven ?” Is it
you who are “seven,” or the number that is “seven?”’
Now that moment the figure of the king, decked
in all the finery of his royal ornaments, cast its
shadow on the ground, and was reflected in a vessel
of water. And Ndgasena asked him : ‘ Your figure,
O king, is now shadowed upon the ground, and
reflected in the water, how now, are you the king,
or is the reflection the king ? ’
‘ I am the king, Nagasena, but the shadow comes
into existence because of me.’
‘Just even so, O king, the number of the years is
seven, I am not seven. But it is because of me,
O king, that the number seven has come into ex¬
istence ; and it is mine in the same sense as the
shadow is yours 2 .’
1 From the Sawyutta Nikaya V, ro, 6.
2 Hardy (p. 427, § 4 of the first edition) has quite missed the
point of this crux.
n, x, 3 .
‘ Most wonderful again, and strange, Nagasena.
Well has the question put to you, most difficult
though it was, been solved ! ’
3 . The king said : ‘ Reverend Sir, will you discuss
with me again ? ’
‘ If your Majesty will discuss as a scholar (pa^afit),
well; but if you will discuss as a king, no.’
‘ How is it then that scholars discuss ?’
‘ When scholars talk a matter over one with
another then is there a winding up 1 , an unravelling;
one or other is convicted of error 2 , and he then
acknowledges his mistake; [29] distinctions are
drawn, and contra-distinctions 3 ; and yet thereby
they are not angered. Thus do scholars, O king,
discuss.’
‘ And how do kings discuss ? ’
‘ When a king, your Majesty, discusses a matter,
and he advances a point, if any one differ from him
on that point, he is apt to fine him, saying : “ In¬
flict such and such a punishment upon that fellow! ”
Thus, your Majesty, do kings discuss 4 .’
‘Very well. It is as a scholar, not as a king,
that I will discuss. Let your reverence talk unre¬
strainedly, as you would with a brother, or a novice,
or a lay disciple, or even with a servant. Be not
afraid! ’
1 Ave/^anaa; not in Childers, but see Crataka II, 9 ; IV, 383,
384; and Morris in the ‘Journal of the Pali Text Society,’ 1887.
2 Niggaho kariyati, as for instance below, p. 142.
8 Pa/iviseso; not in Childers, but see again 6'ataka II, 9.
4 Hardy, loc. cit. § 5, puts all this into the mouths of ‘the
priests.’
IT, i, 3*
SABBADINNA.
‘Very good, your Majesty,’ said Nigasena, with
thankfulness.
‘ Ndgasena, I have a question to ask you;’ said
the king.
‘ Pray ask it, Sire.’
‘ I have asked it, your Reverence.’
‘ That is answered already.’
‘ What have you answered ? ’
‘To what, then, does your Majesty refer?’
But Milinda the king thought: ‘ This Bhikkhu is
a great scholar. He is quite capable of discussing
things with me. And I shall have a number of
points on which to question him, and before I can
ask them all, the sun will set. It would be better
to carry on the discussion at home to-morrow.’
And he said to Devamantiya : ‘You may let his
reverence know that the discussion with the king
shall be resumed to-morrow at the palace.’ And so
saying, he took leave of N&gasena, and mounted
his horse, and went away, muttering as he went,
‘ Nagasena, N agasena ! ’
And Devamantiya delivered his message to Naga¬
sena, who accepted the proposal with gladness. And
early the next morning Devamantiya and Ananta-
kiya and Mankura and Sabbadinna went to the
king, and said: ‘Is his reverence, N&gasena, to
come, [30] Sire, to-day ? ’
‘ Yes, he is to come.’
‘With how many of the brethren is he to come ?’
‘ With as many as he likes.’
And Sabbadinna said: * Let him come with ten.’
But the king repeated what he had said. And on Sab¬
badinna reiterating his suggestion, the king rejoined:
‘ All this preparation has been made, and I say:
4 8
II, i, 4.
“ Let him come with as many as he likes,” yet
Sabbadinna says : “ Let him come with ten.” Does
he suppose we are not capable of feeding so many ? ’
Then Sabbadinna was ashamed.
4 . And Devamantiya and Anantakaya and Man-
kura went to Nagasena and told him what the king
had said. And the venerable Nigasena robed him¬
self in the forenoon, and taking his bowl in his hand,
went to Sigala with the whole company of the
brethren. And Anantakaya, as he walked beside
N&gasena, said:
‘ When, your reverence, I say, “ Nagasena,” what
is that Nigasena ?’
The Elder replied: ‘What do you think Naga¬
sena is ? ’
‘ The soul, the inner breath which comes and
goes, that I suppose to be Nigasena.’
‘ But if that breath having gone forth should not
return, or having returned should not go forth,
would the man be alive ? ’
‘ Certainly [31] not, Sir.’
‘ But those trumpeters, when they blow their
trumpets, does their breath return again to them ?’
‘ No, Sir, it does not.’
‘ Or those pipers, when they blow their pipes or
horns, does their breath return again to them ? ’
‘ No, Sir.’
‘ Then why don’t they die ? ’
‘ I am not capable of arguing with such a reasoner.
Pray tell me, Sir, how the matter stands.’
‘ There is no soul in the breath. These inhala¬
tions and exhalations are merely constituent powers
RENUNCIATION.
of the bodily frame,’ said the Elder. And he talked
to him from the Abhidhamma 1 to such effect that 1
Anantakdya confessed himself as a supporter of the
Order.
5 . And the venerable Nagasena went to the king,
and sat down on the seat prepared for him. And
the king provided Nigasena and his following with
food, both hard and soft, as much as they required :
and presented each brother with a suit of garments,
and Nagasena himself with a set of three robes.
And then he said to him : 1 Be pleased to keep your
seat .here, and with you ten of the brethren. Let
the rest depart.’
And when he saw that N&gasena had finished his
meal, he took a lower seat, and sat beside him, and
said : ‘ What shall we discuss ? ’
‘ We want to arrive at truth. Let our discussion
be about the truth.’
And the king said : ‘ What is the object, Sir, of
your 2 renunciation, and what the summum bonum
at which you aim ?’
‘ Why do you ask ? Our renunciation is to the
end that this sorrow may perish away, and that no
further sorrow may arise; the complete passing
away, without cleaving to the world, is our highest
aim.’
c How now, Sir! Is it for such high reasons that
all members of it have joined the Order ? ’
1-1 I venture to think it is incorrect to put a full stop, as Mr.
Trenckner has done, after aka si.
2 Plural. ‘You members of the Buddhist Order.’ The question
is further elaborated below, III, 1, 3, and above, I, 38.
[3o]
E
II, i, 6.
but some have left the world in terror at the tyranny
of kings. Some have joined us to be safe from being
robbed, some harassed by debt, and some perhaps
to gain a livelihood.’
‘ But for what object, Sir, did you yourself join.’
4 1 was received into the Order when I was a mere
boy, I knew not then the ultimate aim. But I
thought: “ They are wise scholars, these Buddhist
Samaras, they will be able to teach me.” And by
them I have been taught; and now do I both know
and understand what is at once the reason for, and
the advantage of renunciation.’
‘ Well put, Nagasena ! ’
6 . The king said : ‘ Nigasena, is there any one
who after death is not reindividualised ?’
‘ Some are so, and some not.’
‘ Who are they ? ’
‘ A sinful being is reindividualised, a sinless
one is not.’
‘ Will you be reindividualised ? ’
* If when I die, I die with craving for existence in
my heart, yes ; but if not, no V
‘Very good, Nagasena!’
7 . The king said : ‘ Ndgasena, he who escapes rein¬
dividualisation is it by reasoning that he escapes it?’
‘ Both by reasoning 1 2 , your Majesty, and by wis¬
dom 3 , and by other good qualities.’
‘ But are not reasoning and wisdom surely much
the same ? ’
‘ Certainly not. Reasoning is one thing, wisdom
1 Repeated below, with an illustration, Chap. 2, § 7, p. 76.
2 Yoniso manasikSra. 8 Panna. See pp. 59, 64, 128.
II, I, 9 .
REASON AND WISDOM.
another. Sheep and goats, oxen and buffaloes,
camels and asses have reasoning, but wisdom they
have not.’
‘ Well put, Nagasena!’
8. The king said: ‘ What is the characteristic
mark of reasoning, and what of wisdom ?’
‘ Reasoning has always comprehension as its
mark; but wisdom has cutting off V
‘ But how is comprehension the characteristic of
reasoning, and cutting off of wisdom ? Give me an
illustration.’
‘ You remember the barley reapers ? ’
‘Yes, certainly.’ [33]
‘ How do they reap the barley?’
‘ With the left hand they grasp the barley into a
bunch, and taking the sickle into the right hand, they
cut it off with that.’
‘Just even so, O king, does the recluse by his
thinking grasp his mind, and by his wisdom cut off
his failings. In this way is it that comprehension
is the characteristic of reasoning, but cutting off of
wisdom.’
‘ Well put, Nagasena ! ’
9 . The king said : ‘ When you said just now,
“ And by other good qualities,” to which did you
refer?’ '
1 In the long list of the distinguishing characteristics of ethical
qualities given by Buddhaghosa in the Sumangala, p. 63, p -dg anana
is the mark of pa»«indriya, avi^aya akampiyawz of parawa-
bala, and tad-uttariya/rc of pawraa simply. He gives no ‘mark’
of yoniso manasikSra.
E 2
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. II, i, 9.
('‘ Good conduct, great king, and faith, and per-
severance, and mindfulness, and meditation 1 .
‘ And what is the characteristic mark of good
conduct ? ’
‘ It has as its characteristic that it is the basis of
all good qualities. The five moral powers 2 —faith,
perseverance, mindfulness, meditation, and wisdom—;
the seven conditions of Arahatship 3 —self-possession,
investigation of the Dhamma, perseverance, joy,
calm, meditation, and equanimity—; the Path ; readi¬
ness of memory (unbroken self-possession) 4 ; the four
kinds of right exertion 5 ; the four constituent bases of
extraordinary powers 6 ; the four stages of ecstasy 7 ;
the eight forms of spiritual emancipation 8 ; the four
modes of self-concentration 9 ; and the eight states
of intense contemplation 10 have each and all of them
good conduct (the observance of outward morality)
as their basis. And to him who builds upon that
foundation, O king, all these good conditions will
not decrease 11 .’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘Just, O king, as all those forms of animal and
vegetable life which grow, develope, and mature, do
so with the earth as their basis ; just so does the
recluse, who is devoted in effort, develope in himself
the five moral powers, and so on, by means of
virtue, on the basis of virtue.’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
1 Silaw, saddha, viriya m, sati, samadhi.
2 Indriya-balani. 3 Bo^^anga. 4 Satipa///zana.
5 Sammappadhana. 6 Iddhipada. 7 Ghana.
8 Vimokha. 9 Samadhi. 10 SamSpatti.
11 The above-mentioned meritorious conditions are those the sum
of which make Arahatship.
II, i,9-
GOOD CONDUCT.
‘Just, O king, as all the occupations which involve
bodily exertion are carried on in ultimate dependence
upon the earth, just so does the recluse develope in
himself the five moral powers, and so on, by means
of virtue, on the basis of virtue.’ [34]
‘ Give me a still better illustration.’
‘ J ust, O king, as the architect of a city, when he
wants to build one, first clears the site of the town,
and then proceeds to get rid of all the stumps and
thorny brakes, and thus makes it level, and only then
does he lay out the streets and squares, and cross¬
roads and market places, and so build the city; just
so does the recluse develope in himself the five
moral powers, and so on, by means of virtue, on the
basis of virtue.’
‘ Can you give me one more simile ? ’
‘Just, O king, as an acrobat 1 , when he wants to
exhibit his skill, first digs over the ground, and pro¬
ceeds to get rid of all the stones and fragments of
broken pottery, and thus to make it smooth, and
only then, on soft earth, shows his tricks; just even
so does the recluse develope in himself the five
moral powers, and so on, by means of virtue, on the
basis of virtue. For it has been said, Sire, by the
Blessed One :
“Virtue’s the base on which the man who’s wise
Can train his heart, and make his wisdom grow.
Thus shall the strenuous Bhikkhu, undeceived,
U nravel all the tangled skein of life 2 .
1 Langhako, not in Childers; but compare Cataka I, 431, and
below, pp. 191, 331 of the text.
2 This verse occurs twice in the Sawyutta (I, 3, 3, and VII, 1, 6).
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. II, i, 10.
“ This is the base—like the great earth to men—
And this the root of all increase in goodness,
The starting-point of all the Buddhas’ teaching,
Virtue, to wit, on which true bliss depends V’ ’
‘ Well said, Nagasena! ’
io 1 2 . The king said, ‘Venerable Nagasena, what is
the characteristic mark of faith ? ’
1 Tranquillisation, O king, and aspiration 3 .’
‘And how is tranquillisation the mark of faith ?’
‘As faith, O king, springs up in the heart it
breaks through the five hindrances—lust, malice,
mental sloth, spiritual pride, and doubt—and the
heart, free from these hindrances, [35] becomes clear,
serene, untroubled.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ J ust, O king, as a suzerain king, when on the
march with his fourfold army, might cross over a
small stream, and the water, disturbed by the ele¬
phants and cavalry, the chariots and the bowmen,
might become fouled, turbid 4 , and muddy. And
1 Vara-patimokkhiyo, a poetical expression found only in this
passage, and of the exact connotation of which I am uncertain.
It is not in Childers; and Hinad-kumbure gives no assistance.
The whole line may mean, ‘ The scheme of a virtuous life as
laid down in the most excellent Patimokkha.’ See the use of
Sawyutta-NikSya-vare below, p. 36 of the text. On the whole
section compare M. P. S. I, 12.
2 This section is summarised in Hardy’s ‘ Manual of Buddhism,’
pp. 411, 412 (1st edition).
3 Sampasadana and sampakkhandana. Buddhaghosa, loc.
cit., does not give faith in his list, but he gives the power of faith
(saddha-bala), and as its ‘mark’ ‘that it cannot be shaken by
incredulity.’
4 Lu/ita, not in Childers; but compare Ahguttara I, 55, and
‘Book of the Great Decease,’ IV, 26-32.
II, I, 10.
FAITH.
when he was on the other side the monarch might
give command to his attendants, saying: “ Bring
some water, my good men. I would fain drink.”
Now suppose the monarch had a water-clearing
gem] 1 , and those men, in obedience to the order,
were to throw the jewel into the'water ; then at once
all the mud would precipitate itself, and the sandy
atoms of shell and bits of water-plants would dis¬
appear, and the water would become clear, trans¬
parent, and serene, and they would then bring
some of it to the monarch to drink. The water is
the heart; the royal servants are the recluse; the
mud, the sandy atoms, and the bits of water-plants
are evil dispositions; and the water-cleansing gem
is faith.’
‘And how is aspiration the mark of faith ?’
‘ In as much as the recluse, on perceiving how
the hearts of others have been set free, aspires to
enter as it were by a leap upon the fruit of the
first stage, or of the second, or of the third in the
Excellent Way, or to gain Arahatship itself, and thus
applies himself to the attainment of what he has
not reached, to the experience of what he has not
yet felt, to the realisation of what he has not yet
realised,—therefore is it that aspiration is the mark
of faith.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘Just, O king, as if a mighty storm [36] were to
break upon a mountain top and pour out rain, the
water would flow down according to the levels, and
after filling up the crevices and chasms and gullies
1 Udakappasadako ma«i. Doubtless a magic gem is meant:
with allusion particularly to the Wondrous Gem (the Mam-ratana)
of the mythical King of Glory (see my ‘ Buddhist Suttas,’ p. 256).
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IT, r, 10.
of the hill, would empty itself into the brook below,
so that the stream would rush along, overflowing
both its banks. Now suppose a crowd of people,
one after the other, were to come up, and being
ignorant of the real breadth or depth of the water,
were to stand fearful and hesitating on the brink.
And suppose a certain man should arrive, who
knowing exactly his own strength and power should
gird himself firmly and, with a spring, land him¬
self on the other side. Then the rest of the
people, seeing him safe on the other side, would
likewise cross. That is the kind of way in which
the recluse,, by faith 1 , aspires to leap, as it were by
a bound, into higher things. For this has been
said, O king, by the Blessed One in the Sawyutta
N ikaya:
“ By faith he crosses over the stream,
By earnestness the sea of life ;
By steadfastness all grief he stills,
By wisdom is he purified 2 .” ’
‘ Well put, Nagasena !’
1 In the Buddha, in the sufficiency of the Excellent Way he
taught, and in the capacity of man to walk along it. It is spoken
of slightingly (compared with Arahatship) in Mahavagga V, i, 21—
in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta VI, 9 (of Ananda, who has faith, com¬
pared with the brethren, who have entered one or other of the
stages of the Excellent Way)—and in Anguttara III, 21 (in com¬
parison with intuitive insight and intellectual perception). For this
last comparison see further the Puggala Pa»«atti III, 3. From
these passages a fair idea of the Buddhist view of faith could be
formed. Although the Buddhist faith and the Christian faith are
in things contradictory, the two conditions of heart are strikingly
similar both in origin and in consequence.
2 This verse is not yet reached in the Pali Text Society’s edition
of the Sawyutta, but it is found also in the Sutta NipSta I, 10, 4.
PERSEVERANCE.
ii, i, ii.
ii 1 . The king said: ‘ What, Nagasena, is the
characteristic mark of perseverance ? ’
‘ The rendering of support, O king, is the mark
of perseverance 2 . All those good qualities which
it supports do not fall away.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘Just as a man, if a house were falling, would
make a prop for it of another post, and the house
so supported would not fall; just so, O king, is
the rendering of support the mark of perseverance,
and all those good qualities which it supports do
not fall away.’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ J ust as when a large army has broken up a
small one, then the king of the latter would call to
mind every possible ally and reinforce his small
army 3 , and by that means the small army might
in its turn break up the large one ; just so, O king,
is the rendering of support the mark of perseverance,
and all those good qualities which it supports do not
fall away [37]. For it has been said by the Blessed
One: “ The persevering hearer of the noble truth,
O Bhikkhus, puts away evil and cultivates goodness,
puts away that which is wrong and developes in him¬
self that which is right, and thus does he keep him¬
self pure.” ’
1 This section is summarised by Hardy, loc. cit. p. 409.
2 Buddhaghosa, loc. cit., says that paggaha (tension) is the
mark of viriyindriya.
3 Annama.nna.rn anusareyya anupeseyya. This is the way
in which Hina/i-kumbure understands this doubtful passage. Hardy
has bungled the whole simile. Both the words are new, and I am
not sure that the first does not after all come from the root sar, to
follow.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. II, i, 12.
‘Well put, Nigasena !’
12 . The king said: ‘What, Nagasena, is the
characteristic mark of mindfulness 1 ?’
‘ Repetition, O king, and keeping up V
‘ And how is repetition the mark of mindfulness ? ’
‘ As mindfulness, O king, springs up in his heart
he repeats over the good and evil, right and wrong,
slight and important, dark and light qualities, and
those that resemble them, saying to himself: “ These
are the four modes of keeping oneself ready and
mindful, these the four modes of spiritual effort,
these the four bases of extraordinary powers, these
the five organs of the moral sense, these the five
mental powers, these the seven bases of Arahatship,
these the eight divisions of the Excellent Way, this
is serenity and this insight, this is wisdom and this
emancipation 3 .” Thus does the recluse follow after
1 Sati, summarised in Hardy’s ‘Manual,’ p. 412.
2 Api/Spana and upagawhana, both new words. This definition
is in keeping with the etymological meaning of the word sati, which
is ‘ memory.’ It is one of the most difficult words (in its secondary,
ethical, and more usual meaning) in the whole Buddhist system
of ethical psychology to translate. Hardy renders ‘conscience,’
which is certainly wrong; and Gogerly (see my ‘ Buddhist Suttas,’
p. 144) has ‘meditation,’ which is equally wide of the mark.
I have sometimes rendered it ‘self-possession.’ It means that
activity of mind, constant presence of mind, wakefulness of heart,
which is the foe of carelessness, inadvertence, self-forgetfulness.
And it is a very constant theme of the Buddhist moralist. Buddha-
ghosa, loc. cit., makes upa//Mna, ‘readiness,’ its mark.
3 These are the various moral qualities and mental habits which
together make up Arahatship, and may be said also to make up
Buddhism (as the Buddha taught it). It was on these that he laid
special stress, in his last address to the members of the Order, just
before his death (‘ Book of the Great Decease,’ III, 65, in my
‘ Buddhist Suttas,’ pp. 60-63) > arid the details of them will be
found in the note to that passage.
IX, I, 12.
MINDFULNESS (SATl).
those qualities that are desirable, and not after those
that are not; thus does he cultivate those which
ought to be practised, and not those which ought
not. That is how repetition is the mark of mind¬
fulness.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ It is like the treasurer of the imperial sovran 1 ,
who reminds his royal master early and late of his
glory, saying : “ So many are thy war elephants, O
king, and so many thy cavalry 2 , thy war chariots
and thy bowmen, so much the quantity of thy
money, and gold, and wealth, may your Majesty keep
yourself in mind thereof.’
‘ And how, Sir, is keeping up a mark of mind¬
fulness ? ’
‘ As mindfulness springs up in his heart, O king,
he searches out the categories of good qualities
and their opposites, saying to himself: “ Such and
such qualities are good, and such bad; [38] such
and such qualities helpful, and such the reverse.”
Thus does the recluse make what is evil in himself
to disappear, and keeps up what is good. That is
how keeping up is the mark of mindfulness.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ It is like the confidential adviser of that imperial
1 iTakkavattissa bhawrfigariko, no doubt with allusion to
the gahapati-ratanazra, one of the seven treasures of the mythical
King of Glory (see my 1 Buddhist Suttas,’ p. 257). It is particularly
interesting to me to find here the use of the word ‘ treasurer ’ in¬
stead of ‘householder;’ for it was in that exact sense that I had
understood the word gahapati in that connection, at a time when,
in the then state of Pali scholarship, it seemed very bold to do so.
2 Literally ‘ horses.’ The whole list is again a manifest allusion
to the corresponding one in the Sutta of the Great King of
Glory.
6 o
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IT, i, 13 .
sovran 1 who instructs him in good and evil,
saying : “ These things are bad for the king and
these good, these helpful and these the reverse.”
And thus the king makes the evil in himself die out,
and keeps up the good.’
‘ Well put, Nagasena ! ’
13 2 . The king said: ‘What, Nagasena, is the
characteristic mark of meditation 3 ? ’
‘ Being the leader, O king. All good qualities
have meditation as their chief, they incline to it, lead
up towards it, are as so many slopes up the side of
the mountain of meditation.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ As all the rafters of the roof of a house, O king,
go up to the apex, slope towards it, are joined on
together at it, and the apex is acknowledged to be
the top of all; so is the habit of meditation in its
relation to other good qualities.’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ It is like a king, your Majesty, when he goes
down to battle with his army in its fourfold array.
The whole army—elephants, cavalry, war chariots,
and bowmen—would have him as their chief, their
1 Pariwayaka, the seventh treasure of the King of Glory.
(Compare the ‘Buddhist Suttas,’ p. 259.) It will be seen that our
author is in substantial agreement with the older tradition, and
does not, like the Lalita Vistara, understand under this officer a
general.
2 Omitted by Hardy.
3 Samadhi. Buddhaghosa, loc. cit. p. 65, gives also ‘being
the chief’ as its mark, but he previously (p. 64) gives avikkhepa,
‘serenity,’ as the mark of samma-samadhi, and also (p. 63) of
samadhindriya, while ‘being unshaken by spiritual pride’ is his
mark (p. 63) of Samadhi-bala.
II, i, 14 -
WISDOM.
lines would incline towards him, lead up to him, they
would be so many mountain slopes, one above
another, with him as their summit, round him they
would all be ranged. [39] And it has been said, O
king, by the Blessed One : “ Cultivate in yourself,
O Bhikkhus, the habit of meditation. He who is
established therein knows things as they really are 1 .’”
‘ Well put, Nagasena !’
14 . The king said: ‘What, Nigasena, is the
characteristic mark of wisdom 2 ? ’
1 1 have already told you, O king, how cutting off,
severance, is its mark 3 , but enlightenment is also
its mark.’
‘ And how is enlightenment its mark ? ’
‘ When wisdom springs up in the heart, O king,
it dispels the darkness of ignorance, it causes the
radiance of knowledge to arise, it makes the light of
intelligence to shine forth 4 , and it makes the Noble
Truths plain. Thus does the recluse who is devoted
to effort perceive with the clearest wisdom the imper-
manency (of all beings and things), the suffering
(that is inherent in individuality), and the absence
of any soul.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ It is like a lamp, O king, which a man might
introduce into a house in darkness. When the lamp
had been brought in it would dispel the darkness,
1 Sawyutta Nikaya XXI, 5.
2 Pa«»a. Hardy in the ‘Manual of Buddhism,’ pp. 414, 415,
gives a jumble of this passage and several others.
3 See above, p. 51.
4 Vidawseti, not in Childers; but compare Theri Gatha, 74 ;
Anguttara III, 103; and Cfataka III, 222.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. II, i, 15.
cause radiance to arise, and light to shine forth, and
make the objects there plainly visible. Just so
would wisdom in a man have such effects as were
just now set forth.’
1 Well put, Nagasena !’
15 . The king said: ‘These qualities which are
so different 1 , Nagasena, do they bring about one
and the same result ? ’
‘ They do. The putting an end to evil disposi¬
tions.’
‘ How is that ? Give me an illustration.’
‘ They are like the various parts of an army—
elephants, cavalry, war chariots, and archers—who
all work to one end, to wit: the conquest in battle of
the opposing army.’
‘ Well put, Nigasena !’
Here ends the First Chapter.
1 That is, the five referred to above, p. 51, § 9.
II, 2, T.
IDENTITY.
Book II. Chapter 2 .
1 . [40] The king said: ‘ He who is born, Naga-
sena, does he remain the same or become another ? ’
‘ Neither the same nor another.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ Now what do you think, O king ? You were
once a baby, a tender thing, and small in size, lying
flat on your back. Was that the same as you
who are now grown up ? ’
‘ No. That child was one, I am another.’
‘ If you are not that child, it will follow that you
have had neither mother nor father, no ! nor teacher.
You cannot have been taught either learning, or
behaviour, or wisdom. What, great king! is the
mother of the embryo in the first stage different
from the mother of the embryo in the second stage,
or the third, or the fourth 1 ? Is the mother of the
baby a different person from the mother of the
grown-up man ? Is the person who goes to school
ope, and the same when he has finished his schooling
another ? Is it one who commits a crime, another who
is punished by having his hands or feet cut off 2 ?’
‘ Certainly not. But what would you, Sir, say to
that?’
The Elder replied : ‘ I should say that I am the
same person, now I am grown up, as I was when I was
a tender tiny baby, flat on my back. For all these
states are included in one by means of this body.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
1 On these four stages see Crataka IV, 496, and Sawyutta X, 1, 3.
a Hardy makes sad nonsense of all this.
II, 2, I.
1 Suppose a man, O king, were to light a lamp,
would it bum the night through ? ’
‘ Yes, it might do so.’
‘ Now, is it the same flame that burns in the first
watch of the night, Sir, and in the second?’
* No.’
‘ Or the same that burns in the second watch and
in the third ? ’
‘No.’
‘ Then is there one lamp in the first watch, and
another in the second, and another in the third ? ’
* No. The light comes from the same lamp all
the night through.’
‘ J ust so, O king, is the continuity of a person or
thing maintained. One comes into being, another
passes away; and the rebirth is, as it were, simul¬
taneous. Thus neither as the same nor as another
does a man go on to the last phase of his self-con¬
sciousness V
1 Give me a further illustration.’
1 Hardy (p. 429) renders this as follows: ‘In the same way,
great king, one being is conceived, another is born, another dies;
when comprehended by the mind, it is like a thing that has no
before, and no after; no preceding, no succeeding existence.
Thus the being who is born does not continue the same, nor does
he become another; the last winyana, or consciousness, is thus
united with the rest.’ (!) He confesses himself in doubt as to the
last few words, but is quite unconscious of having completely mis¬
interpreted the whole paragraph.
The meaning is really quite plain in both the Pali and the
Sinhalese. A man, at any one moment, is precisely all that he is
then conscious of. The phase of his self-consciousness, the totality
of that of which he is conscious, is always changing; and is so
different at death from what it was at birth that, in a certain sense,
he is not the same at the one time as he was at the other. But
there is a continuity in the whole series;—a continuity dependent
II, 2 , 2.
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION.
‘ It is like milk, [41] which when once taken from
the cow, turns, after a lapse of time, first to curds,
and then from curds to butter, and then from butter
to ghee. Now would it be right to say that the
milk was the same thing as the curds, or the butter,
or the ghee ?’
‘ Certainly not ; but they are produced out of it.’
‘ J ust so, O king, is the continuity of a person or
thing maintained. One comes into being, another
passes away; and the rebirth is, as it were, simul¬
taneous. Thus neither as the same nor as another
does a man go on to the last phase of his self-con¬
sciousness.’
‘ Well put, N agasena !’
2 1 . The king said: ‘Is a man, Nigasena, who
will not be reborn, aware of the fact ? ’
‘Yes, O king.’
‘ And how does he know it ? ’
‘ By the cessation of all that is cause, proximate
or remote 2 , of rebirth.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ Suppose a farmer, great king, had ploughed and
sown and filled his granary; and then for a period
should neither plough nor sow, but live on the
on the whole body. And this fits the simile, in which the lamp is
the body, and the flame the changing self-consciousness; whereas
it is impossible to make the simile fit the conclusion as rendered
by Hardy.
On the phrase apubbawz a^ariya« see Dr. Morris’s note at
p. 101 of the Pali Text Society’s Journal, 1887, and the passages
he there quotes.
1 Omitted in Hardy. The correlative question is discussed
below, III, 5, 8, p. 112.
2 That is to say, Tanha and Upadfina.
II, 2, 3.
stored-up grain, or dispose of it in barter, or deal
with it as he had need. Would the farmer be aware,
great king, that his granary was not getting filled ? ’
‘ Yes, he ought to know it.’
‘ But how ?’
‘ He would know that the cause, proximate and
remote, of the filling of the granary had ceased.’
‘ J ust so with the man you spoke of. By the
cessation of all that leads to rebirth, he would be
conscious of having escaped his liability to it.’
‘ Well explained, Nagasena ! ’
3 b The king said: ‘ He who has intelligence,
Nigasena, has he also wisdom 1 2 ?’
‘ Yes, great king.’ [42]
‘ What; are they both the same ? ’
‘ Yes.’
‘ Then would he, with his intelligence — which,
you say, is the same as wisdom—be still in bewilder¬
ment or not ? ’
‘ In regard to some things, yes; in regard to
others, no.’
‘ What would he be in bewilderment about ? ’
‘ He would still be in bewilderment as to those
parts of learning he had not learnt, as to those
countries he had not seen, and as to those names
or terms he had not heard.’ •
‘ And wherein would he not be in bewilderment ? ’
‘As regards that which has been accomplished
by insight—-(the perception, that is,) of the imper-
1 Summarised in Hardy’s ‘Manual,’ p. 414.
2 iVana and pa nnL
II, 2, 3-
INTELLIGENCE AND WISDOM.
manence of all beings, of the suffering inherent in
individuality, and of the non-existence of any soul V
‘ Then what would have become of his delusions
on those points.’
‘ When intelligence has once arisen, that moment
delusion has died away.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘It is like the lamp, which when a man has brought
into a darkened room, then the darkness would
vanish away, and light would appear.’
‘ And what, Ndgasena, on the other hand, has
then become of his wisdom ?’
‘ When the reasoning wisdom has effected that
which it has to do, then the reasoning ceases to go
on. But that which has been acquired by means of
it remains—the knowledge, to wit, of the imper¬
manence of every being, of the suffering inherent in
individuality, and of the absence of any soul.’
‘ Give me an illustration, reverend Sir, of what
you have last said.’
‘It is as when a man wants, during the night,
to send a letter, and after having his clerk called,
has a lamp lit, and gets the letter written. Then,
when that has been done, he extinguishes the lamp.
But though the lamp had been put out the writing
would still be there. Thus does reasoning cease,
and knowledge remain.’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ In Eastern districts [43] the peasants have a
custom of arranging five pots full of water behind
1 That is, he might still be wrong on matters of mere worldly
knowledge, but would be clear in his mind as to the fundamental
truths of religion. Compare the analogous distinctions often drawn
as to the inspiration of Scripture, or the infallibility of the Pope.
F 2
II, 2 , 3-
each hut with the object of putting out at once any
spark of fire that may be kindled. Suppose now
the house had caught fire, and they had thrown those
five potfulls of water over the hut, and the fire had
gone out, would those peasants then think of still
going on using the water-pots ?’
‘ No, Sir, the water-pots would be done with.
What would be the use of them (on that occasion)
any more ? ’
‘ The five water-pots are the five organs of moral
sense—faith, to wit, and perseverance in effort, and
mindfulness, and meditation, and the reasoning wis¬
dom. The peasantry are the recluse, who is devoted
in effort 1 ; the fire is sinfulness. As the fire is put
out by the water in the five pots, so is sinfulness
extinguished by the five organs of moral sense, and
when once extinguished it does not again arise 2 .’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ It is like a physician who goes to the sick man
with the five kinds of drugs made from medicinal
1 Yogava^aro ; one of the technical terras in constant use by
our author, but not found in the Pali Pi/akas. Hardy renders it,
‘who is seeking Nirvtwa;’ but though this may be suggested by
the term, it is not its meaning. Literally it is ‘ he whose sphere,
whose constant resort, is Yoga.’ Now yoga is ‘ diligence, devotion,
mental concentration; ’ and there is nothing tQ show that our
author is using the word as an epithet of Arahatship. It seems to
me, therefore, that the whole compound merely means one of those
‘ religious,’ in the technical sense, who were also religious in the
higher, more usual sense. It would thus be analogous to the
phrase saw.gamavaf’aro, ‘at home in war,’ used of a war elephant
in the SawgamSva^ara Gataka (Fausboll, II, 95), and of a
soldier below, Mil. 44.
2 This must, I think, be understood in a modified sense, for the
first of the four Great Exertions (Sammappadhanas) is the effort
to prevent sinful conditions arising.
II, 2, 4-
SUICIDE.
roots 1 , and grinding them up, gives him to drink,
and thereby his sickness passes away. Would the
physician in that case think of making any further
use of the medicine ?’
‘ Certainly not, the medicine has done its work.
What would be the use of any more ?’
‘Just so, O king, when sinfulness is destroyed by
the five moral powers, then reasoning ceases, but
knowledge remains.’
‘ It is like a warrior, at home in war, who takes
five javelins and goes down to battle to conquer
the foe. And when he has cast them the enemy is
broken. There is no need for him to go on casting
javelins any more.’
‘Well put, Nagasena !’
4 . The king said: ‘ He who will not be reborn,
Nagasena, does he still feel any painful sensation ?’
The Elder replied: ‘Some he feels and some not.’
‘Which are they?’
‘He may feel bodily pain, O king; but mental
pain he would not.’
‘ How would that be so ?’
‘ Because the causes, proximate or remote, of
bodily pain still continue, he would be liable to it.
But the causes, proximate or remote, of mental
agony having ceased, he could not feel it. For it
has been said by the Blessed One: “ One kind of
pain he suffers, bodily pain : but not mental.” ’
‘ Then why, Sir, does he not die ?’
‘ The Arahat, O king, has need neither to curry
1 Paw^a mfila bhessa^dni: not the five principal sorts of
medicine mentioned by Childers.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. II, 2, 5,
favour nor to bear malice. He shakes not down
the unripe fruit, but awaits the full time of its ma¬
turity. For it has been said, O king, by the Elder,
Sdriputta, the Commander of the faith [45] :
“ It is not death, it is not life I welcome;
As the hireling his wage, so do I bide my time.
It is not death, it is not life I want;
Mindful and thoughtful do I bide my time 1 2 .’”
‘Well put, Nagasena!’
5 . The king said: ‘Is a pleasant sensation, Naga¬
sena, good or evil or indifferent ?’
‘ It may be any one of the three.’
‘ But surely, Sir, if good conditions are not painful,
and painful ones not good, then there can arise no
good condition that is at the same time painful V
‘ Now, what do you think, great king ? Suppose
a man were to hold in one hand a red-hot ball of
iron, and in the other a lump of icy snow, would they
both hurt him ?’
‘ Yes ; they both would.’
‘ But are they both hot ?’
‘ Certainly not.’
‘ But are they both cold ? ’
‘ No.’
‘ Then acknowledge yourself put in the wrong!
If the heat hurts, and they are not both hot, the
pain cannot come from the heat. If the cold hurts,
1 These verses are nearly the same as those put in reverse order
into Sariputta’s mouth in the Theri Gathi, 1003, 1002. And the
first two lines, as Dr. Rost was good enough to point out to me,
are identical (except as to a slight grammatical variation) with Manu
VI, 45 -
2 And the same, therefore, of pleasant sensations that are evil.
11,2,6. WHAT IS REBORN? 71
and they are not both cold, the pain cannot come
from the cold. How then, O king, can they both
hurt you, since they are not both hot, nor both cold,
and (as one is hot and the other cold) the pain comes
neither from the hot nor from the cold?’
‘ I am not equal to argument with you. Be so
good, Sir, as to explain how the matter stands.’
Then the Elder reasoned with king Milinda, per¬
suading him by talk on the subject drawn from the
Abhidhamma, such as : ‘ There are these six plea¬
sures, O king, connected with life in the world, and
these other six with renunciation. There are six
griefs connected with life in the world, and six with
renunciation. There are six kinds of indifference
to pleasure and to grief connected with life in the
world, and six with renunciation. [46] Altogether
there are thus six series of six, that is to say, thirty-
six kinds of sensations in the present, and the like
number in the past, and the like in the future. And
adding all these up in one total we arrive at one
hundred and eight kinds of sensation.’
‘ Well put, Nagasena !’
6 1 . The king said : ‘ What is it, Nagasena, that is
reborn ? ’
‘ N ame-and-form is reborn.’
‘What, is it this same name-and-form that is re¬
born ? ’
‘ No : but by this name-and-form deeds are done,
good or evil, and by these deeds (this Karma)
another name-and-form is reborn.’
1 This dialogue is in Hardy, p. 429 (No. 7).
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. II, 2 , 6.
‘ If that be so, Sir, would not the new being be
released from its evil Karma 1 ?’
The Elder replied: ‘Yes, if it were not reborn.
But just because it is reborn, O king, it is therefore
not released from its evil Karma.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ Suppose, O king, some man were to steal a
mango from another man, and the owner of the
mango were to seize him and bring him before the
king, and charge him with the crime. And the thief
were to say: “Your Majesty! I have not taken
away this man’s mangoes. Those that he put in the
ground are different from the ones I took. I do not
deserve to be punished.” How then ? would he be
guilty ?’
‘Certainly, Sir. He would deserve to be pun¬
ished.’
‘ But on what ground ?’
‘ Because, in spite of whatever he may say, he
would be guilty in respect of the last mango which
resulted from the first one (the owner set in the
ground).’
‘Just so, great king, deeds good or evil are done
by this name-and-form and another is reborn. But
that other is not thereby released from its deeds (its
Karma).’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ It is like rice or sugar so stolen, of which the
same might be said as of the mango. [47] Or it is
like the fire which a man, in the cold season, might
kindle, and when he had warmed himself, leave still
burning, and go away. Then if that fire were to set
1 Repeated below, III, 5, 7, p. 112.
KARMA.
II, 2, 6 .
another man’s field on fire, and the owner of the
field were to seize him, and bring him before the
king, and charge him with the injury, and he were
to say: “Your Majesty! It was not I who set this
man’s field on fire. The fire I left burning was
a different one from that which burnt his field.
I am not guilty.” Now would the man, O king,
be guilty?’
‘ Certainly, Sir.’
‘But why?’
‘ Because, in spite of whatever he might say, he
would be guilty in respect of the subsequent fire
that resulted from the previous one.’
‘ J ust so, great king, deeds good or evil are done
by this name-and-form and another is reborn. But
that other is not thereby released from its deeds (its
Karma).’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ Suppose, O king, a man were to take a lamp and
go up into the top storey of his house, and there eat
his meal. And the lamp blazing up were to set the
thatch on fire, and from that the house should catch
fire, and that house having caught fire the whole
village should be burnt. And they should seize him
and ask : “ What, you fellow, did you set our village
on fire for?” And he should reply: “I’ve not set
your village on fire ! The flame of the lamp, by the
light of which I was eating, was one thing; the fire
which burnt your village was another thing.” Now
if they, thus disputing, should go to law before
you, O king, in whose favour would you decide
the case ?’
‘ In the villagers’ favour.’
‘ But why ?’
II, 2 , 6.
‘ Because, Sir, in spite of whatever the man might
say, the one fire was produced from the other.’
‘Just so, great king, it is one name-and-form which
has its end in death, and another name-and-form
which is reborn. But the second is the result of
the first, and is therefore not set free from its
evil deeds.’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ Suppose, O king, a man were to choose a young
girl in marriage, and give a price 1 for her and go
away. [48] And she in due course should grow up
to full age, and then another man were to pay a price
for her and marry her. And when the first one had
come back he should say : “ Why, you fellow, have
you carried off my wife ? ” And the other were to
reply: “ It’s not your wife I have carried off! The
little girl, the mere child, whom you chose in mar¬
riage and paid a price for is one; the girl grown up
to full age whom I chose in marriage and paid a
price for, is another.” Now if they, thus disputing,
were to go to law about it before you, O king, in
whose favour would you decide the case ?’
‘ In favour of the first.’
‘ But why ? ’
‘ Because, in spite of whatever the second might
say, the grown-up girl would have been derived
from the other girl.’
‘Just so, great king, it is one name-and-form which
has its end in death, and another name-and-form
1 Sunkam datva. Literally ‘paying a tax.’ So early were
early marriages! Compare Theri Githa, 402. Hina/i-kumbur§,
p. 58, has woe/up di, ‘ having provided her with means of sub¬
sistence.’ But, of course, the Sunk a must have been a price paid
to the parents.
II, 2, 7-
KARMA.
which is reborn. But the second is the result of the
first, and is therefore not set free front its evil deeds.’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ Suppose a man, O king, were to buy of a herds¬
man a vessel of milk, and go away leaving it in his
charge, saying : “ I will come for it to-morrow;” and
the next day it were to become curds. And when the
man should come and ask for it, then suppose the
other were to offer him the curds, and he should
say: “ It was not curds I bought of you; give me
my vessel of milk.” And the other were to reply:
“ Without any fault of mine 1 your milk has turned
to curds.” Now if they, thus disputing, were to go
to law about it before you, O king, in whose favour
would you decide the case ?’
‘ In favour of the herdsman.’
‘ But why?’
‘ Because, in spite of whatever the other might
say, the curds were derived from the milk.’
‘Just so, great king, it is one name-and-form that
finds its end in death, and another that is reborn.
But that other is the result of the first, and is there¬
fore not thereby released from its evil deeds (its
bad Karma).’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! ’
7 2 . The king said: * Will you, Nigasena, be
reborn ? ’
1 A^anato : there is an ambiguity here, as the word may mean
‘ to me not knowing it,’ or ‘ to you not knowing it.’ Hina/i-
kumbure takes the latter interpretation, and renders: ‘ O come!
Do you not know that your milk has become curds ?’ (Embala,
tage kiri mawfi bawa no dannehi doeyi.)
2 Not in Hardy.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. II, 2 , 8.
‘ Nay, great king, what is the use of asking that
question again ? Have I not already told you that
if, when I die, [49] I die with craving in my heart,
I shall; but if not, not 1 ? ’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ Suppose, O king, a man were to render service
to the king 2 : and the king, pleased with him, were
to bestow an office upon him. And then that he,
while living through that appointment, in the full
possession and enjoyment of all the pleasures of
sense, should publicly declare that the king had
repaid him naught. Now would that man, O king,
be acting rightly ? ’
‘ Most certainly not’
‘Just so, great king, what is the use of asking
that question again ? Have I not already told you
that if, when I die, I die with craving in my heart,
I shall; and if not, not ? ’
‘ You are ready, Nagasena, in reply.’
8. The king said : ‘ You were talking just now of
name-and-form. What does “ name ” mean in that
expression, and what “ form ” ? ’
‘ Whatever is gross therein, that is “ form”: what¬
ever is subtle, mental, that is “ name.” ’
‘ Why is it, Nagasena, that name is not reborn
separately, or form separately ? ’
‘ These conditions, great king, are connected one
with the other; and spring into being together.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ As a hen, great king, would not get a yoke or
1 See above, Chapter 1, § 6, p. 50.
2 This simile, with a different conclusion, recurs below, II, 3, 10
(P- 93 )-
IT, 2 , 9 .
TIME.
an egg-shell separately, but both would arise in
one, they two being intimately dependent one on
the other; just so, if there were no name there
would be no form. What is meant by name in that
expression being intimately dependent on what is
meant by form, they spring up together. And this
is, through time immemorial, their nature V
‘ You are ready, Nagasena, in reply.’
9 . The king said : ‘ You speak, Nagasena, of time
immemorial. What does this word “ time ” mean ?’
‘ Past time, O king, and present, and future.’
‘ But what ? is there such a thing as time ? ’
‘ There is time which exists, and time which
does not.’
‘ Which then exists, and which not ? ’
tialities of being) 1 2 , O king, which are past in the
sense of having passed away, and ceased to be,
or of having been dissolved, or altogether changed.
To them time is not. But there are conditions of
heart which are now producing their effect, or still
have in them the inherent possibility of producing
1 Evam eta m dtgham addhanawz sawbhavitaw: which
Hardy, p. 141, renders: ‘They accompany each other (as to the
species, but not as to the individual) during infinitude.’ But even
the Sinhalese text cannot be made to mean this.
2 SazrckhdrS. See the full list in my ‘Buddhism,’ pp. 91, 92
(a list, indeed, not found as yet in the Pi/akas, and probably later,
but yet founded on the older divisions, and explanatory of them).
They are all those divisions into which existence (or the process of
becoming and ceasing to be as Buddhism looks at it) should be
divided, and are practically so many sorts of action (Karma). For
the older divisions see the note at the passages quoted in ‘ Vinaya
Texts,’ I, 76.
7 8
II, 2 , 9 .
effect, or which will otherwise lead to reindividuali¬
sation. To them time is. Where there are beings
who, when dead, will be reborn, there time is.
Where there are beings who, when dead, will not
be reborn, there time is not; and where there are
beings who are altogether set free (who, having
attained Nirvdwa in their present life, have come to
the end of that life), there time is not—because of
their having been quite set free V
‘ You are ready, Nagasena, in reply.’
Here ends the Second Chapter.
* Parinibbutatti. Hardy renders this whole clause (the last
lines) : ‘ NirvSraa is attained, time is no longer.’ But this is one of
the endless confusions arising out of not knowing the distinction
between Nirvana and Parinirvaraa, To a man who had ‘ attained
Nirvana ’ there would still be time as long as he was in the enjoy¬
ment of it, that is as long as he continued in his present (and last)
existence. The Sinhalese is perfectly clear.
II, 3, 2.
CAUSATION.
Book II, Chapter 3.
1. The king said : ‘What is the root, Nagasena,
of past time, and what of present, and what of
future time ? ’
‘ Ignorance. By reason of Ignorance came the
Confections, by reason of the Confections conscious¬
ness, by reason of consciousness name-and-form, by
reason of name-and-form the six organs of sense *,
by reason of them contact, by reason of contact
sensation, by reason of sensation thirst, by reason of
thirst craving, by reason of craving becoming, by
reason of becoming birth, by reason of birth old
age and death, grief, lamentation, sorrow, pain, and
despair. Thus is it that the ultimate point in the
past of all this time is not apparent.’
‘ You are ready, Nigasena, in reply.’
2 . The king said: ‘You say that the ultimate
point of time is not apparent. Give me an illustra¬
tion of that.’
‘ Suppose, O king, a man were to plant in the
ground a tiny seed, and that it were to come up as
a shoot, and in due course grow, develope, and
mature until it produced a fruit. [51] And then the
man, taking a seed from that fruit, were again to
plant it in the ground, and all should happen as
before. Now would there be any end to this
series ? ’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
1 Sa/ay atanani, that is the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body (as the
organ of touch), and mind (or, as we should say, brain).
8o
II, 3 , 2 .
‘ J ust so, O king, the ultimate point in the past of
the whole of this time is not apparent.’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ The hen lays an egg. From the egg comes a
hen. From the hen an egg. Is there any end to
this series ? ’
‘ No.’
‘ J ust so, O king, the ultimate point in the past of
the whole of this time is not apparent.’
Give me a further illustration.’
Then the Elder drew a circle on the ground and
sked the king : ‘ Is there any end to this circle ? ’
‘No, it has no end.’
‘ Well, that is like those circles spoken of by the
Blessed One 1 . “ By reason of the eye and of forms
there arises sight 2 * * * * * , when these three come together
there is touch, by reason of touch sensation, by
reason of sensation a longing (Ta»ha, thirst), by
reason of the longing action (Karma), and from
action eye is once more produced 8 9 .” Now is there
any end to this series ? ’
‘No.’
1 Hina/i-kumbure applies this to the previous words (the circles
of the chain of life quoted in § i from the Mahavagga I, i, 2), and
he is followed by Hardy, p. 434. Trenckner makes it apply to the
following words, giving the reference to No. 18 in the Ma^/bma
Nikaya, and I think he is right. Whichever way it is taken, the
result is much the same.
2 X’akkhu-vinna.na. It is not clear from the terse phraseology
of this passage whether this is supposed to be a subjective stage pre¬
liminary to the ‘ touch ’ (phasso), or whether it is inclusive of it.
(Compare Dhamma Sangawi, 589, 599, 620.) I am inclined to
think it is the former. But if the latter be meant it might be ren¬
dered ‘ there arises that consciousness (of existence) which is
dependent upon the eye.’ See below, § 4.
9 That is, another eye in another birth.
II, 3, 3-
THE FIRST BEGINNINGS.
8l
Then setting out a precisely corresponding circle
of each of the other organs of sense (of the ear,
nose, tongue, body, and mind 1 ), he in each case put
the same question. And the reply being always
the same, he concluded :
‘Just so, O king, the ultimate point of time in
the past is not apparent.’
‘You are ready, Nigasena, in reply.’
3 . The king said: ‘ When you say that the
ultimate point is not apparent, what do you mean
by “ ultimate point” ? ’
‘ Of whatsoever time is past. It is the ultimate
point of that, O king, that I speak of.’
‘ But, if so, when you say that it is not apparent,
do you mean to say that of everything ? Is the
ultimate point of everything unknown ? ’
‘ Partly so, and partly not.’
‘ Then which is so, and which not ? ’
‘ Formerly, O king, everything in every form,
everything in every mode, was ignorance. It is to
us as if it were not. In reference to that the
ultimate beginning is unknown. But that, which
has not been, becomes; as soon as it has begun to
become it dissolves away again. In reference to
that the ultimate beginning is known 2 .’ [52]
‘But, reverend Sir, if that which was not, becomes,
and as soon as it has begun to become passes again
' In the text the whole sentence is repeated of each.
2 That is, ‘ the beginning of each link in the chain—the begin¬
ning of each individuality—can be traced, but not the beginning of
each chain. Each life is a link in a chain of lives, bound together
by cause and effect, different, yet the same. There are an infinite
number of such chains; and there is no reference in the discussion
to any greater unity, or to any “ ultimate point ” of all the chains.’
H) 3> 4-
away, then surely, being thus cut off" at both ends, it
must be entirely destroyed 1 ? ’
‘ Nay, surely, O king, if it be thus cut off at both
ends, can it not at both ends be made to grow
again 2 ? ’
‘ Yes, it might. But that is not my question.
Could it grow again from the point at which it
was cut off ? ’
‘ Certainly.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
Then the Elder repeated the simile of the tree
and the seed, and said that the Skandhas (the con¬
stituent elements of all life, organic and inorganic)
were so many seeds, and the king confessed himself
satisfied.
^ 4. The king said : 1 Are there any Confections 3
which are produced?’
‘ Certainly.’
‘ Which are they ? ’
‘ Where there is an eye, and also forms, there is
sight 4 , where there is sight there is a contact through
the eye, where there is contact through the eye
there is a sensation, where there is sensation there
is a longing 6 , where there is longing there is a grasp¬
ing 6 , where there is grasping there is a becoming,
1 That is, ‘ each individuality must be separate. The supposed
chain does not really exist.’
2 There is an odd change of gender here. Possibly the word
‘ ignorance ’ has been dropped out. Trenckner says the passage is
corrupt, and the Sinhalese is so involved as to be unintelligible.
3 Sankhara, potentialities, possible forms, of sentient existence.
4 -ffakkhu-viMraaraa. See note 2 above, p. 80.
6 Tanhi, thirst.
6 Upadana, a stretching out towards a satisfaction of the long¬
ing, and therefore a craving for life, time, in which to satisfy it.
n, 3 ,5-
BECOMING.
where there is becoming there is birth, and at
birth old age and death, grief, lamentation, pain,
sorrow, and despair begin to be. Thus is the rise
of the whole of this class of pain.—Where there is
neither eye nor form there is no sight, where there
is not sight there is no contact through the eye,
where there is not contact there is no sensation,
where there is not sensation there is no long¬
ing, where there is not longing there is no grasping,
where there is not grasping there is no becoming,
where there is not becoming there is no birth, and
where there is not birth there is neither old age
nor death nor grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and
despair. Thus is the ending of all this class of
pain.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! ’
5 . The king said : ‘ Are there any Confections
*—-(qualities) which spring into being without a gradual
becoming ? ’
‘ No. They all have a gradual becoming.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ Now what do you think, great king ? Did this
house in which you are sitting spring suddenly into
being ? ’
which arose in that way. Each portion of it has
had its gradual becoming—these beams had their
becoming in the forest, and this clay in the earth,
and by the moil and toil of women and of men 1 was
this house produced.’
1 It is a small matter, but noteworthy, that the Buddhist texts
always put the women first.
G 2
84 the questions of KING MILINDA. II, 3 , g.
‘ J ust so, great king, there is no Confection which
has sprung into being without a gradual becoming.
It is by a process of evolution that Confections
come to be! ’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ They are like all kinds of trees and plants which,
when set in the ground, grow, develope, and mature,
and then yield their fruits and flowers. The trees
do not spring into being without a becoming. It is
by a process of evolution that they become what
they are. Just so, great king, there is no Confection
which has sprung into being without a gradual
becoming. It is by a process of evolution that
Confections come to be ! ’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ They are like the pots of various kinds which a
potter might form when he has dug up the clay out
of the earth. The pots do not spring into being
without a becoming. It is by a process of evolution
that they become what they are. Just so, great
king, there is no Confection which has sprung into
being without a gradual becoming. It is by a pro¬
cess of evolution that Confections come to be ! ’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ Suppose, O king, there were no bridge of metal
on a mandolin 1 , no leather, no hollow space, no frame,
no neck, no strings, no bow, and no human effort or
exertion, would there be music ? ’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘ But if all these things were there, would not
there be a sound ? ’
1 Vi«aya pattaw. I don’t know what this is. The Sinhalese
merely repeats the words.
II, 3, 5-
FORMATION OF QUALITIES.
‘ Of course there would.’
‘Just so, great king, there is no Confection which
has sprung into being without a gradual becoming.
It is by a process of evolution that Confections
come to be ! ’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ Suppose, O king, there were no fire-stick ap¬
paratus \ no twirling-stick 1 , and no cord for the
twirling-stick, and no matrix 1 , and no burnt rag for
tinder, and no human effort and exertion, could
there be fire by attrition ? ’
‘ Certainly not.’
‘ But if all these conditions were present, then
might not fire appear ? ’
‘ Yes, certainly.’
which has sprung into being without a gradual
becoming. It is by a process of evolution that
Confections come to be ! ’
‘ Give me one more illustration.’
‘ Suppose, O king, there were no burning glass,
and no heat of the sun, and no dried cow-dung for
tinder, could there be fire ? ’
‘ Certainly not.’
‘ But where these things are present there fire
might be struck, might it not ? ’
‘ Yes.’
‘Just so, great king, there is no Confection which
1 Arawi, aram-potako, and uttarara«i. The exact differentiation
of these parts of the fire-stick apparatus is uncertain. The Sin¬
halese throws no real light on them, as it translates them respec¬
tively ya/a liya, ‘under wood,’ matu liya, ‘upper wood,’ and
uturu liya, also ‘ upper wood.’ This method of ignition was
probably quite as strange to Hina/i-kumburS as it is to us.
II, 3, 6.
has sprung into being without a gradual becoming.
It is by a process of evolution that Confections
come to be ! ’
‘ Give me another illustration.’
! ‘ Suppose, O king, there were no looking-glass,
and no light, and no face in front of it, would there
appear an image ?’
‘ No.’
‘But given these things,there might be a reflection ? ’
‘ Yes, Sir, there might.’
‘ J ust so, great king, there is no Confection which
has sprung into being without a gradual becoming.
It is by a process of evolution that Confections
come to be ! ’
‘ Very good, Nigasena! ’
/, 6. The king said: ‘Is there, Nagasena, such a
/tiling as the soul 1 ? ’
‘ What is this, O king, the soul (Vedagu) ?’
* The living principle within 2 which sees forms
through the eye, hears sounds through the ear,
experiences tastes through the tongue, smells odours
through the nose, feels touch through the body, and
discerns things (conditions, “ dhamma ”) through the
mind—just as we, sitting here in the palace, can look
out of any window out of which we wish to look, the
east window or the west, or the north or the south.’
The Elder replied : ‘ I will tell you about the five
1 Vedagu, see below, III, 5, 6, p. m, not found in this
meaning in the Pi/akas.
2 A b b h a n t a r e ^ 1 v o, also not found in this sense in the Pi/akas.
Att£, rendered just above ‘image’ or ‘reflection,’ is the word
used in them for soul. Hina/i-kumbure renders this here by
prawa gUva., ‘breath-soul.’ See below, III, 7, 15, p. 132 ; and
above, II, 4, p. 48; and II, 2, 6, p. 71.
II, 3, 6.
THE SOUL.
doors 1 great king. Listen, and give heed atten¬
tively. If the living principle within sees forms
through the eye in the manner that you mention,
forms not only through the eye, but also through each
of the other five organs of sense ? And in like man¬
ner can it not then as well hear sounds, and experience
taste, and smell odours,and feel touch, and discern con¬
ditions through each of the other five organs of sense,
besides the one you have in each case specified ? ’
‘ No, Sir.’
‘ Then these powers are not united one to an¬
other indiscriminately, the latter sense to the former
organ, and so on. Now we, as we are seated here
in the palace, with these windows all thrown open,
and in full daylight, if we only stretch forth our
heads, see all kinds of objects plainly. Can the
living principle do the same when the doors of the
eyes are thrown open ? When the doors of the ear
are thrown open, can it do so ? Can it then not
only hear sounds, but see sights, experience tastes,
smell odours, feel touch, and discern conditions ?
And so with each of its windows ? ’
‘ No, Sir.’
another indiscriminately. Now again, great king, if
Dinna here were to go outside and stand in the
gateway, would you be aware that he had done so ? ’
‘Yes, I should know it.’
‘ And if the same Dinna were to come back again,
and stand before you, would you be aware of his
having done so ?’
1 It is odd he does not say six.
II, 3, 6-
‘Yes, I should know it.’
‘ Well, great king, would the living principle within
discern, in like manner, if anything possessing flavour
were laid upon the tongue, its sourness, or its salt¬
ness, or its acidity, or its pungency, or its astrin-
gency, or its sweetness 1 ? ’
‘ Yes, it would know it.’
‘ But when the flavour had passed into the
stomach would it still discern these things ? ’
‘ Certainly not.’
‘ Then these powers are not united one to the other
indiscriminately. Now suppose, O king, a man were
to have a hundred vessels of honey brought and
poured into one trough, and then, having had another
man’s mouth closed over and tied up, were to have
him cast into the trough full of honey. Would he
know whether that into which he had been thrown
was sweet or whether it was not ?’
‘ No, Sir.’
‘ But why not ?’
‘ Because the honey could not get into his mouth.’
‘ Then, great king, these powers are not united
one to another indiscriminately 2 .’
‘ I am not capable of discussing with such a
reasoner. Be pleased, Sir, to explain to me how
the matter stands.’
Then the Elder convinced Milinda the king with
discourse drawn from the Abhidhamma, saying : ‘It
is by reason, O king, of the eye and of forms that
sight arises, and those other conditions—contact,
3 This list recurs below, II, 4, 1.
2 That is: ‘ Your “ living principle within ” cannot make use of
whichever of its windows it pleases. And the simile of a man inside
a house does not hold good of the soul.’ See the end of II, 3,16.
II, 3, 7-
THE SOUL.
sensation, idea, thought, abstraction, sense of vitality,
and attention 1 —arise each simultaneously with its
predecessor. And a similar succession of cause-and
effect arises when each of the other five organs of
sense is brought into play. [57] And so herein there
is no such thing as soul (Vedagu) V
7 . The king said: ‘ Does thought-perception 8
arise wherever sight arises 4 ? ’
‘Yes, O king, where the one is there is the other.’
‘ And which of the two arises first ?’
‘ First sight, then thought.’
‘ Then does the sight issue, as it were, a com¬
mand to thought, saying : “ Do you spring up there
where I have ? ” or does thought issue command to
sight, saying : “ Where you spring up there will I.” ’
‘ It is not so, great king. There is no intercourse
between the one and the other.’
‘ Then how is it, Sir, that thought arises wherever
sight does ? ’
‘ Because of there being a sloping down, and because
of there being a door, and because of there being a
habit s , and because of there being an association.’
‘ How is that ? Give me an illustration of mind
arising where sight arises because of there being a
sloping down.’
‘ Now what do you think, great king ? When it
rains 6 , where will the water go to ?’
1 The last four are ketana, ekaggata, g-ivitindriyaw, and
manasikaro; and in the Sinhalese are simply repeated in their
Sinhalese form.
2 This conclusion is all wrong in Hardy, pp. 457, 458.
3 Ma.no-vinnana.rn. 4 itfakkhu-vi«»araa«.
5 K\nnaXX.&, which Hfna/i-kumburS renders purudu boewin.
6 Deve vassante: ‘when the god rains.’
II, 3, 7-
‘ It will follow the slope of the ground.’
‘ And if it were to rain again, where would the
water go to ?’
‘ It would go the same way as the first water had
gone.’
‘ What then ? Does the first water issue, as it
were, command to the second, saying : “ Do you go
where I have ?” Or does the second issue com¬
mand to the first, saying : “ Whithersoever you go,
thither will I”?’
‘ It is not so, Sir. There is no intercourse between
the two. Each goes its way because of the slope of
the ground.’
‘Just so, great king, [58] is it by reason of the
natural slope that where sight has arisen there also
does thought arise. And neither does the sight-
perception issue command to the mind-perception,
saying : “ Where I have arisen, there do thou also
spring up; ” nor does the mind-perception inform
the sight-perception, saying : “ Where thou hast
arisen, there will I also spring up.” There is no
conversation, as it were, between them. All that
happens, happens through natural slope.’
‘ Now give me an illustration of there being a door.’
‘ What do you think, great king ? Suppose a king
had a frontier city, and it was strongly defended
with towers and bulwarks, and had only one gate¬
way. If a man wanted to leave the city, how would
he go out ?’
‘ By the gate, certainly.’
‘ And if another man wanted to leave it, how would
he go out ?’
‘ The same way as the first.’
‘ What then ? Would the first man tell the second:
II, 3, 7-
SENSATION AND IDEAS.
“ Mind you go out the same way as I do” ? Or would
the second tell the first: “ The way you go out, I
shall go out too”?’
‘ Certainly not, Sir. There would be no communi¬
cation between them. They would go that way
because that was the gate.’
‘Just so, great king, with thought and sight.’
‘ Now give me an illustration of thought arising /
where sight is because of habit.’ f
‘ What do you think, great king ? If one cart
went ahead, which way would a second cart go ?’
‘ The same as the first.’
‘ But would the first tell the second to go where it
went, [59] or the second tell the first that it would go
where it (the first) had gone ?’
‘ No, Sir. There would be no communication
between the two. The second would follow the
first out of habit.’
‘Just so, great king, with sight and thought.’
‘ Now give me an illustration of how thought y
arises, where sight has arisen, through association.’/
‘ In the art of calculating by using the joints of
the fingers as signs or marks 1 , in the art of arithmetic
pure and simple 2 , in the art of estimating the probable
1 M u d d a. Ilina/i-kumbure is here a little fuller than Buddha-
ghosa at vol. i, p. 95 of the Sumangala. He says: yam se cehgili
purukhi alwfi gena sanna ko/a kiyana hasta mudra
jastraya, ‘the finger-ring, art, so called from seizing on the joints
of the fingers, and using them as signs.’
2 Ga«and. Hina/i-kumbure says: akkhi&ra wu ganarn
jastraya,‘the art of unbroken counting,’which is precisely Buddha-
ghosa’s explanation (confirming the reading we have there adopted),
and probably means arithmetic without the aids involved in the last
phrase. We have here in that case an interesting peep into the
II, 3, 8.
yield of growing crops 1 , and in the art of writing, O
king, the beginner is clumsy. But after a certain
time with attention and practice he becomes expert.
Just so is it that, where sight has arisen, thought
too by association springs up.’
And in response to similar questions, the Elder
declared that in the same way thought sprang up
wherever there was hearing, or taste, or smell, or
touch : that in each case it was subsequent to the
other, but arose without communication from [60]
the natural causes above set out.
/ 8 . The king said : ‘ Where thought (mental per¬
ception 2 ) is, Nigasena, is there always sensation ?’
‘ Yes, where thought arises there is contact, and
there is sensation, and there is idea; and there is
conceived intention, and there is reflection, and there
is investigation 3 .’
9 . ‘ Reverend Sir, what is the distinguishing cha¬
racteristic of contact (Phassa)?’
‘ Touch 4 , O king.’
‘ But give me an illustration.’
‘ It is as when two rams are butting together, O
progress of arithmetical knowledge. When our author wrote, the
old way of counting on the fingers was still in vogue, but the
modern system was coming into general use.
1 'Sankhfi, literally 1 calculation,’ but which Hardy amplifies into
Kshetraya wrfksha vilokaya ko/a phala pramazzaya
kiyannfiwft sazzzkhyfi .rfistraya.
2 Mano-vi»«a»a as all through the last section. The reader
must not forget that mano is here strictly an organ of sense, on an
exact level with eye, ear, tongue, &c.
3 Wetana, vitakko, and viMro. See fuller further on, §§ n,
I 3 > r 4 -
4 Phusana. So also Buddhaghosa at p. 63 of the Sumangala.
II, 3> I0 -
SENSATION AND IDEA.
king. The eye should be regarded as one of those
two, the form (object) as the other, and the contact
as the union of the two.’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ It is as when two cymbals 1 are clashed together.
The one is as the eye, the other as the object, and
the junction of the two is like contact.’
‘ Very good, Nigasena! ’
io. ‘ Reverend Sir, what is the characteristic mark
of sensation (Vedani) ?’
‘ The being experienced, great king, and enjoyed V
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ It is like the case of the man 8 on whom the king,
pleased with a service he has rendered him, should
bestow an office. He while living, through that
appointment, in the full possession and enjoyment of
all the pleasures of sense, would think : “ Formerly I
did the king a service. For that the king, pleased
with me, gave me this office. It is on that account
that I now experience such sensations.”—And it is
like the case of the man [ 61 ] who having done good
deeds is re-born, on the dissolution of the body after
death, into some happy conditions of bliss in heaven.
He, while living there in the full possession and
enjoyment of all the pleasures of sense, would think :
“ Formerly I must have done good deeds. It is on
that account that I now experience such sensations.”
Thus is it, great king, that the being experienced and
enjoyed is the characteristic mark of sensation.’
‘Very good, N agasena ! ’
1 SammS, compare Theri Gatha, 893, 911.
2 Buddhaghosa, loc. cit., only gives the first of these.
3 See for a similar illustration above, II, 2, 7, p. 76.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. II, 3 , 11 .
11 . ‘What is the distinguishing characteristic,
Nigasena, of idea (Sanna.)? ’
‘ Recognition, O king 1 2 . And what does he
recognise ?—blueness and yellowness and redness
and whiteness and brownness.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ It is like the king’s treasurer, O king, who
when he sees, on entering the treasure, objects the
property of the king of all those colours, recognises
(that they have such). Thus it is, great king, that
recognition is the mark of idea.’
‘ Very good, Nigasena ! ’
‘ What is the distinguishing characteristic, Naga-
sena, of the conceived purpose (Wetani) ?’
‘ The being conceived, O king, and the being
prepared V
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ It is like the case of a man, O king, who should
prepare poison, and both drink of it himself, and
give of it to others to drink. He himself would
suffer pain, and so would they. In the same way
some individual, having thought out with intention
some evil deed, on the dissolution of the body after
death, would be reborn into some unhappy state of
woe in purgatory, and so also would those who
followed his advice.—And it is like the case of a
1 So also Buddhaghosa, Sumangala, p. 63.
2 Buddhaghosa, loc. cit., gives no mark of Afetana, but he gives
both it and ‘the being prepared’ as the marks of the Confections. It
is not clear from the Milinda alone how to render the term ATetana,
but I follow Anguttara III, 77 (where it is placed on a level with
aspiration), and Dhamma Sa«zga«i 5 (where it is said to be born of
the contact of mind, perception, and exertion).
II, 3. 13-
PERCEPTION.
man, O king, who should prepare a mixture of
ghee, butter, oil, honey and molasses, and should
both drink thereof himself and give of it to others
to drink. He himself would have pleasure, and so
would they. [62] In the same way some individual,
having thought out with intention some good deed,
will be reborn, on the dissolution of the body after
death, into some happy state of bliss in heaven, and
so also would those who follow his advice. Thus is
it, great king, that the being conceived, and the being
prepared, are marks of the conceived purpose.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! ’
12 . ‘What, Nagasena, is the distinguishing charac¬
teristic of perception (Vi««ana) ?’
‘ Recognition *, great king.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ It is like the case of the guardian of a city who,
when seated at the cross roads in the middle of the
city, could see a man coming from the East, or the
South, or the West, or the North. In the same way,
O king, he knows an object which he sees with his
eye, or a sound which he hears with his ear, or an
odour which he smells by his nose, or a taste which
he experiences with his tongue, or a touchable thing
which he touches with his body, or a quality that he
recognises by his mind. Thus is it, great king, that
knowing is the mark of perception.’
‘ Very good, Nigasena ! ’
13 . ‘What is the distinguishing characteristic,
Nagasena, of reflection (Vitakka).
1 Vi^anana. So also Buddhaghosa, loc. cit., and below, III,
7, 15, p. 131.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. II, 3, 14.
‘ The effecting of an aim V
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘It is like the case of a carpenter, great king,
who fixes in a joint a well-fashioned piece of wood.
Thus is it that the effecting of an aim is the mark
of reflection.’
‘ Very good, N&gasena ! ’
14. ‘What is the distinguishing characteristic,
Nagasena, of investigation (Vi^llra) ? ’
‘ Threshing out again and again 1 2 * .’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ It is like the case of the copper vessel, which,
when it is being beaten into shape [63], makes a
sound again and again as it gradually gathers
shape 8 . The beating into shape is to be regarded
as reflection, and the sounding again and again as
investigation. Thus is it, great king, that threshing
out again and again is the mark of investigation.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena! ’
Here ends the Third Chapter 4 * * * .
1 Appanl, which Hinad-kumbur6 renders pihi/ana. Buddha-
ghosa, p. 63, gives abhiniropana as its mark, which comes to
much the same thing.
2 Anuma^ana. So also Buddhaghosa, loc. cit. p. 63. The
word is not in Childers, but see Morris in the Journal of the Pali
Text Society, 1886, p. 118.
8 Anuravati anusandahati. Not in Childers. Hinad-
kumbure says pasuwa anurawawa kere da anuwa pihi/a da.
4 The following two sections form an appendix to this chapter
corresponding to that formed by the last three sections of Book
III, Chapter 7. The numbering of the sections is therefore carried
on in both cases.
II, 3 . 15-
CONDITIONS.
Book II. Chapter 3 .
15. The king said : ‘ When those conditions
(whose marks you have just specified) have run
together, is it possible, by bending them apart one
to one side and one to the other *, to make the
distinction between them clear, so that one can say :
“ This is contact, and this sensation, and this idea,
and this intention, and this perception, and this
reflection, and this investigation 1 2 ” ? ’
‘ No : that cannot be done.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ Suppose, O king, the cook in the royal house¬
hold were to make a syrup or a sauce, and were to
put into it curds, and salt, and ginger, and cummin
seed 3 , and pepper, and other ingredients. And
suppose the king were to say to him : “ Pick out
for me the flavour of the curds, and of the salt,
and of the ginger, and of the cummin seed, and of
the pepper, and of all the things you have put into
it.” Now would it be possible, great king, separating
off one from another those flavours that had thus run
together, to pick out each one, so that one could say :
“ Here is the sourness, and here the saltness, and
here the pungency, and here the acidity, and here the
astringency, and here the sweetness 4 ” ? ’
1 Vinibbhu^-itva vinibbhu^itva. This question is identical
with the one asked of the Buddha at Maggvfoma Nikaya 43, p. 293.
Compare also p. 233 and Tela Ka/aha Gatha 59.
2 This list differs from that in II, 3, 8, by the addition ofvirawawa.
3 frlraka. Compare ( 7 ataka I, 244; II, 181, 363. Hina/i-
kumburl translates it by duru, and Hardy by ‘onions’ (p. 439).
4 This is the same list as is found above, II, 3, 6; and below,
III, 4, 2, and the items are not intended to correspond with the
condiments in the list above.
98 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA.
TI, 3 , U>.
‘ No, that would not be possible [ 64 ]. But each
flavour would nevertheless be distinctly present by
its characteristic sign.’
‘And just so, great king, with respect to those
conditions we were discussing.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! ’
16. The Elder said: ‘Is salt, O king, recognis-
able by the eye ? ’
‘ Yes, Sir, it is.’
* But be careful, O king.’
‘ Well then, Sir, is it perceptible by the tongue ?’
‘ Yes, that is right.’
‘ But, Sir, is it only by the tongue that every
kind of salt is distinguished ? ’
‘ Yes, every kind.’
‘ If that be so, Sir, why do bullocks bring whole
cart-loads of it ? Is it not salt and nothing else
that ought to be so brought ? ’
‘ It is impossible to bring salt by itself. But all
these conditions 1 have run together into one, and
produced the distinctive thing called salt 2 . (For
instance) : salt is heavy, too. But is it possible, O
king, to weigh salt ? ’
1 Not saltness only, but white colour, &c. &c.
2 He means the king to draw the conclusion that that
distinct thing is only recognisable by the tongue; so the
senses are not interchangeable. In other words it is true that
salt seems to be recognised by the sight, as when people load it
into carts they do not stop to taste it. But what they see is not
salt, what they weigh is not salt, it is whiteness and weight. And
the fact of its being salt is an inference they draw. So, great king,
your simile of the soul being inside the body, and using the five
senses, as a man inside a house uses windows, does not hold good.
See the conclusion above of II, 3, 6, p. 88.
II, 3, i6.
CONDITIONS.
‘ Certainly, Sir.’
‘ Nay, great king, it is not the salt you weigh, it
is the weight.’
‘ You are ready, Nigasena, in argument.’
Here ends the questioning of Nagasena by Milinda 1 .
1 This is again most odd. One would expect, ‘ Here ends the
questioning as to characteristic signs.’ See the note at the end of
last chapter.
H 2
IOO
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MIL1NDA. Ill, 4 , 1 .
Book III — The Removal of Difficulties
THE REMOVAL OF DIFFICULTIES.
Chapter 4 1 .
1. [ 65 ] The king said: ‘Are the five Ayata-
nas, Nagasena, (eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body,)
produced by various actions, or by one action?’ (that
is, the result of various Karmas, or of one Karma.)
‘ By various actions, not by one.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ Now, what do you think, O king ? If I were to
sow in one field five kinds of seed, would the produce
of those various seeds be of different kinds ?’
‘ Yes, certainly.’
‘Well, just so with respect to the production of
Ayatanas.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena 2 ! ’
2. The king said : ‘ Why is it, Nagasena, that all
men are not alike, but some are short-lived and some
long-lived, some sickly and some healthy, some ugly
and some beautiful, some without influence and some
of great power, some poor and some wealthy, some low
born and some high born,some stupid and somewise ?’
1 The chapters go straight on because Books II and III are
really only parts of one Book. See above, p. 4.
2 The meaning here is not easy to follow, as the word Aya-
tana is used either for the organs of sense, or for the objects of
sense; and there is nothing in the context to show which is meant.
Probably the idea is that good sight, hearing, &c. in one birth are
each the result of a separate Karma in the last birth. But I am
by no means sure of this, and the Sinhalese (p. 76) is just as
ambiguous as the Pali.
HI, 4, 3-
RENUNCIATION.
IOI
The Elder replied : ‘Why is it that all vegetables
are not alike, but some sour, and some salt, and some
pungent, and some acid, and some astringent, and
some sweet ? ’
‘ I fancy, Sir, it is because they come from different
kinds of seeds.’
‘And just so, great king, are the differences you
have mentioned among men to be explained. For
it has been said by the Blessed One: “ Beings, O
brahmin, have each their own Karma, are inheritors
of Karma, belong to the tribe of their Karma, are
relatives by Karma, have each their Karma as their
protecting overlord. It is Karma that divides them
up into low and high and the like divisions V’ ’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! ’
3. The king said: ‘You told me, Nagasena, that
your renunciation was to the end that this sorrow
might perish away, and no further sorrow might
spring up 1 2 .’
‘ But is that renunciation brought about by pre¬
vious effort, or to be striven after now, in this present
time ?’
The Elder replied : ‘ Effort is now concerned with
what still remains to be done, former effort has
accomplished what it had to do.’
‘ Give me an illustration 3 .’
1 Mr. Trenckner points out that this quotation is from the
MaggAima, No. 135. The doctrine is laid down frequently else¬
where also in the Pi/akas. See, for instance, Anguttara IV, 197
(pp. 202-203 of Dr. Morris’s edition for the Pdli Text Society).
2 Above, II, 1, 5, p. 50, and compare I, 38.
3 These three illustrations recur (nearly) below, III, 7, 3, pp.
125-126.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. 111,4,3-
‘ Now what do you think, O king ? Is it when
you feel thirst that you would set to work to have a
well or an artificial lake dug out, with the intention
of getting some water to drink ?’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘ J ust so, great king, is effort concerned now with
what still remains to be done, former effort has
accomplished what it had to do.’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ Now what do you think, O king ? Is it when
you feel hungry that you set to work to have fields
ploughed and seed planted and crops reaped with
the intention of getting some food to eat ?’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
4 J ust so, great king, is effort concerned now with
what still remains to be done, former effort has
accomplished what it had to do.’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ Now what do you think, O king ? Is it when
the battle is set in array against you that you set
to work to have a moat dug, and a rampart put up,
and a watch tower built, and a stronghold formed,
and stores of food collected ? Is it then that you
would have yourself taught the management of ele¬
phants, or horsemanship, or the use of the chariot
and the bow, or the art of fencing ?’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘ J ust so, great king, is effort concerned now with
what still remains to be done, former effort has
accomplished what it had to do. For it has been
thus said, O king, by the Blessed One:
“ Betimes let each wise man work out
That which he sees to be his weal!
Not with the carter’s mode of thought, but firm
in, 4,4-
PURGATORY.
Let him, with resolution, step right out.
As a carter who has left the smooth high road,
And turned to byways rough, broods ill at ease 1 —
(Like him who hazards all at dice, and fails)—
So the weak mind who still neglects the good,
And follows after evil, grieves at heart,
When fallen into the power of death, as he,
The ruined gamester, in his hour of need 2 .” ’
[ 67 ] ‘Verygood, Nagasena!’
4. The king said: ‘You (Buddhists 3 ) say thus:
“ The fire of purgatory is very much more fierce
than an ordinary fire. A small stone cast into an
ordinary fire may smoke for a day without being
destroyed ; but a rock as big as an upper chamber
cast into the furnace of purgatory would be that
moment destroyed.” That is a statement I cannot
believe. Now, on the other hand you say thus :
“ Whatsoever beings are there reborn, though they
1 GMyati. It is an odd coincidence that this word, which
means either to burn or to meditate, according to the root from
which it is derived, can be rendered here either ‘ burn ’ or ‘ brood ’
in English. In fact it is the second, not the first, root that is here
intended, as is plain from such passages as Gitaka Ill, 354, where
the compound pa^Myati means ‘to brood over a thing.’
2 Quoted from the Sarayutta Nikaya II, 3, 2 (p. 57 in M. Feer’s
edition, published by the Pali Text Society). The readings there
differ slightly from those of our text here, and the verses are put
into the mouth of Khema, the god, instead of being ascribed
to the Buddha. Hina/i-kumbure (p. 79) agrees with M. L 6 on
Feer in reading mando for mano in the last line; and I have
followed them in my translation. There are several stanzas in the
G &taka book of carters lost in the desert, but there is nothing to
identify any one of them with the story referred to.
3 * You ’ in the plural: that is, ‘ you Bhikkhus.’ So also above,
PP- 3 °. 50 -
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. Ill, 4, 4.
burn for hundreds of thousands of years in purgatory,
yet are they not destroyed.” That too is a statement
I don’t believe.’
The Elder said : ‘Now what do you think, O
king ? Do not the females of sharks 1 and crocodiles
and tortoises and peacocks and pigeons eat hard bits
of stone and gravel ?’
‘ Yes, Sir. They do.’
‘ What then ? Are these hard things, when they
have got into the stomach, into the interior of the
abdomen, destroyed ?’
1 Yes, they are destroyed.’
‘ And the embryo that may be inside the same
animals,—is that too destroyed ?’
1 Certainly not.’
‘ But why not.’
4 I suppose, Sir, it escapes destruction by the
influence of Karma.’
‘Just so, great king, it is through the influence of
Karma that beings, though they have been for
thousands of years in purgatory, are not destroyed.
If they are reborn there, there do they grow up,
and there do they die. For this, O king, has been
declared by the Blessed One: “He does not die
until that evil Karma is exhausted 2 .” ’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
1 It may be noticed that the particular feminine forms chosen
are in each case unusual, being in ini instead of the simple 1. The
first animal, the Makar ini, is said by Childers to be a mythical
animal, but it is clear from Buddhaghosa on Aullavagga V, 1, 4,
that an ordinary animal is meant, and that is so I think here,
though the translation ‘ shark ’ is conjectural.
2 From Anguttara III, 35, 4 (p. 141 of Dr. Morris’s edition for
the Pdli Text Society).
Ill, 4 , 4-
KARMA.
‘ Now what do you think, O king ? Do not the
females of lions and tigers and panthers and dogs eat
hard bits of bone and flesh ?’
* Yes, they eat such things.’
‘ What then ? are such hard things, [68] when
they have got into the stomach, into the interior of
the abdomen, destroyed ? ’
‘ Yes, they are destroyed ?’
‘ And the embryo that may be inside the same
animals,—is that too destroyed ?’
‘ Certainly not.’
1 But why not ? ’
‘ I suppose, Sir, it escapes destruction by the
influence of Karma.’
‘Just so, great king, it is by the influence of
Karma that beings in purgatory, though they
burn for thousands of years, are not destroyed.’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ Now what do you think, O king ? Do not the
tender women—wives of the Yonakas, and nobles,
and brahmins, and householders—eat hard cakes and
meat ?’
‘ Yes, they eat such hard things.’
‘ And when those hard things have got into the
stomach, into the interior of the abdomen, are not
they destroyed ? ’
‘ Yes, they are.’
‘ But the children in their womb,—are they de¬
stroyed ?’
‘ Certainly not.’
‘ And why not ? ’
‘ I suppose, Sir, they escape destruction by the
influence of Karma ? ’
‘ J ust so, great king, it is through the influence
106 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. 111,4,5-
of Karma that beings in purgatory, though they
burn for thousands of years, yet are they not de¬
stroyed. If they are reborn there, there do they
grow up, and there do they die. For this, O king,
has been declared by the Blessed One : “ He does
not die until that evil Karma is exhausted.” ’
‘ Very good, Nagasena !’
5. The king said : ‘ Venerable N&gasena, your
people say that the world rests on water, the water
on air, the air on space b This saying also I can¬
not believe.’
Then the Elder brought water in a regulation
water-pot 1 2 , and convinced king Milinda, saying:
‘ As this water is supported by the atmosphere, so
is that water supported by air.’
1 Very good, Nigasena ! ’
6. The king said : ‘ Is cessation Nirvi;za 3 * * * * 8 ? ’
‘ Yes, your Majesty’ [ 69 ].
1 H ow is that, Nigasena ? ’
‘ All foolish individuals, O king, take pleasure in
1 This is not a distinctively Buddhist belief. It was commonly
held at the time by other teachers. Compare ‘ Book of the Great
Decease,’ III, 13 (in ‘Buddhist Suttas,’ Sacred Books of the East,
vol. xi, p. 45).
2 Dhamma-karakena. The passages show that this was a
pot so made, that no water could pass from it except through a
filtering medium. When not being actually used the water was
no doubt kept at a certain height in it by the pressure of the
atmosphere. I do not know of any specimen preserved in our
modern museums or figured on ancient bas-reliefs, and the exact
shape is unknown. It must be different from the one represented
in plate xlviii of Cunningham’s ‘Bhilsa Tope.’ See Wullavagga
V, 13, 1 (note); VI, 21, 3 ; XII, 2, r; Mah&vama, p. 60.
8 Nirodho nibbanan ti.
111,4,7- NIRVANA. 107
the senses and in the objects of sense, find delight
in them, continue to cleave to them x . Hence are
they carried down by that flood (of human passions),
they are not set free from birth, old age, and death,
from grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and despair,—
they are not set free, I say, from suffering. But the
wise, O king, the disciple of the. noble ones, neither
takes pleasure in those things, nor finds delight in
them, nor continues cleaving to them. And inas¬
much as he does not, in him craving 1 2 ceases, and by
the cessation of craving grasping 2 ceases, and by
the cessation of grasping becoming 2 ceases, and
when becoming has ceased birth ceases, and with its
cessation birth, old age, and death, grief, lamentation,
pain, sorrow, and despair cease to exist. Thus is
the cessation brought about the end of all that
aggregation of pain. Thus is it that cessation is
NirvA/za.’
‘ Very good, NAgasena ! ’
7. The king said : ‘ Venerable NAgasena, do all
men receive NirvA^a ?’
‘ Not all, O king. But he who walks righteously,
who admits those conditions which ought to be
admitted, perceives clearly those conditions which
ought to be clearly perceived, abandons those con¬
ditions which ought to be abandoned, practises him¬
self in those conditions which ought to be practised,
realises those conditions which ought to be realised—
he receives NirvAwa.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena !’
1 Kgghos&ya. ti//^anti. Compare Ahguttara II, 4, 6, and
Theri Gatha, 794.
2 Ta«M, Up&dAna, Bhava.
108 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. 111,4,8.
8 . The king said : ‘Venerable Nagasena, does he
who does not receive Nirvazza know how happy a
state Nirvizza is 1 ?’
‘ Yes, he knows it.’
‘ But how can he know that without his receiving
N irvazza ? ’
‘Now what do you think, O king? Do those
whose hands and feet have not been cut off know
how sad a thing it is to have them cut off?’
‘ Yes, Sir, that they know.’
‘ But how do they know it ? ’
‘ Well, by hearing the sound of the lamentation of
those whose hands and feet have been cut off, they
know it.’
[ 70 ] ‘ J ust so, great king, it is by hearing the glad
words of those who have seen Nirv&zza, that they who
have not received it know how happy a state it is.’
‘ Very good, Nigasena !’
Here ends the Fourth Chapter.
1 The opposite point (whether he who has Nirvawa, knows that
he has it) is discussed above, II, 2.
Ill, S, 2.
THE BUDDHA PRE-EMINENT.
Book III. Chapter 5 .
1. The king said: ‘Have you, Nigasena, seen
the Buddha ?’
‘ No, Sire.’
* Then have your teachers seen the Buddha ?’
‘ No, Sire.’
‘ Then, venerable Nagasena, there is no Buddha 1 ! ’
‘ But, great king, have you seen the river t)ha in
the Himalaya mountains ?’
‘ No, Sir.’
‘ Or has your father seen it ? ’
‘ No, Sir.’
‘ Then, your Majesty, is there therefore no such
river ? ’
‘ It is there. Though neither I nor my father has
seen it, it is nevertheless there.’
‘Just so, great king, though neither I nor my
teachers have seen the Blessed One, nevertheless
there was such a person.’
‘ Very good, Nigasena !’
2. The king said: ‘Is the Buddha, Nigasena,
pre-eminent ? ’
‘ Yes, he is incomparable.’
‘ But how do you know of one you have never
seen that he is pre-eminent.’
‘ Now what do you think, O king ? They who
have never seen the ocean would they know con-
1 This dialogue is so far identical with VI, 1, 1. It is a kind of
parody on Gotama’s own argument about the Brahmans and
Brahma (‘Have they seen God,’ &c.) in the Tevigga Sutta I, 12-
15, translated in my ‘Buddhist Suttas,’ pp. 172-174.
X IO
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. Ill, 5 , 3 .
cerning it: “ Deep, unmeasurable, unfathomable is
the mighty ocean. Into it do the five great rivers
flow—the Ganges, the Jumna, the A/£iravatl, the
Sarabhfi, and the Mahl—and yet is there in it no
appearance of being more empty or more full!” ?’
‘ Yes, they would know that.’
‘Just so, great king, when I think of the mighty
disciples who have passed away then do I know that
the Buddha is incomparable.’ [ 71 ]
‘Very good, Nagasena!’
3. The king said: ‘Is it possible, Nigasena, for
others to know how incomparable the Buddha is ?’
‘ Yes, they may know it.’
‘ But how can they ?’
‘ Long, long ago, O king, there was a master of
writing, by name Tissa the Elder, and many are the
years gone by since he has died. How can people
know of him ? ’
‘ By his writing, Sir.’
‘ J ust so, great king, whosoever sees what the
Truth 1 is, he sees what the Blessed One was, for
the Truth was preached by the Blessed One.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena !’
4. The king said: ‘ Have you, Nagasena, seen
what the Truth is?’
‘ Have not we disciples, O king, to conduct our¬
selves our lives long as under the eye of the Buddha,
and under his command 2 ?’
‘ Very good, Ndgasena ! ’
1 Dhammaa, here nearly=Buddhism. See below, III, 5, 10.
3 Mr. Trenckner thinks there is a lacuna here; and Hina/i-
kumbure’s version perhaps supports this. He renders the passage,
< How can a man use a path he does not know ? And have not we
Ill, s, 6.
THE SOUL.
I I I
5. The king said : ‘ Where there is no transmi¬
gration, Nigasena, can there be rebirth ?’
‘ Yes, there can.’
‘ But how can that be ? Give me an illustration.’
‘ Suppose a man, O king, were to light a lamp
from another lamp, can it be said that the one trans¬
migrates from, or to, the other ?’
‘ Certainly not.’
‘Just so, great king, is rebirth without transmi¬
gration.’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘ Do you recollect, great king, having learnt, when
you were a boy, some verse or other from your
teacher ? ’
‘Yes, I recollect that.’
‘ Well then, did that verse transmigrate from your
teacher ?’
‘ Certainly not.’
‘ J ust so, great king, is rebirth without transmi¬
gration.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena !’
6. The king said: ‘ Is there such a thing, Niga-
sena, as the soul 1 ? ’
‘ In the highest sense, O king, there is no such
thing 2 .’
our lives longto conduct ourselves according to the Vinaya (the rules
of the Order), which the Buddha preached, and which are called the
eye of the Buddha, and according to the Sikkhapada (ethics) which
he laid down, and which are called his command ? ’ But there are
other passages, no less amplified in the Sinhalese, where there is evi¬
dently no lacuna in the P&li; and the passage may well have been
meant as a kind of riddle, to which the Sinhalese supplies the
solution.
1 Vedagft. See above, II, 3, 6, p. 86 (note).
2 Mr. Trenckner thinks there is a lacuna here. The Sinhalese
follows the P&li word for word.
I 12
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. Ill, 5, 7.
‘ Very good, Nigasena ! ’
7. [ 72 ] The king said: ‘ Is there any being,
Nagasena, who transmigrates from this body to
another ?’
‘ No, there is not.’
‘ But if so, would it not get free from its evil deeds.’
‘ Yes, if it were not reborn ; but if it were, no V
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ Suppose, O king, a man were to steal another
man’s mangoes, would the thief deserve punishment?’
‘ Yes.’
‘ But he would not have stolen the mangoes the
other set in the ground. Why would he deserve
punishment ?’
‘ Because those he stole were the result of those
that were planted.’
‘Just so, great king, this name-and-form commits
deeds, either pure or impure, and by that Karma
another name-and-form is reborn. And therefore
is it not set free from its evil deeds ?’
‘Very good, Nagasena!’
8. The king said: ‘ When deeds are committed,
Nagasena, by one name-and-form, what becomes of
those deeds ?’
‘ The deeds would follow it, O king, like a shadow
that never leaves it V
‘ Can any one point out those deeds, saying: “ Here
are those deeds, or there ” ?’
‘No.’
1 This is an exact repetition of what we had above, II, 2, 6.
2 These last words are a quotation of those that recur at Sa m-
yutta III, 2, 10, 10, and Dhammapada, verse 2.
Ill, 5, io.
THE BUDDHA.
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ Now what do you think, O king ? Can any one
point out the fruits which a tree has not yet pro¬
duced, saying : “ Here they are, or there ” ? ’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘Just so, great king, so long as the continuity of
life is not cut off, it is impossible to point out the
deeds that are done.’
‘ Very good, Nigasena!’
9. [ 73 ] The king said : ‘ Does he, Nagasena, who
is about to be reborn know that he will be born ? ’
‘ Yes, he knows it, O king.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ Suppose a farmer, O king, a householder, were
to put seed in the ground, and it were to rain well,
would he know that a crop would be produced.’
‘Yes, he would know that.’
‘Just so, great king, does he who is about to be
reborn know 1 that he will be born.’
‘ Very good, Nigasena 2 !’
10. The king said: ‘Is there such a person as
the Buddha, Nagasena?’
‘ Yes.’
‘ Can he then, Nagasena, be pointed out as being
here or there ?’
‘ The Blessed One, O king, has passed away by
that kind of passing away in which nothing remains
which could tend to the formation of another indi-
1 That is before he is born.
2 This is all very parallel to II, 2, 2.
I
I 14 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. Ill, s, 10.
vidual 1 . It is not possible to point out the Blessed
One as being here or there.’
1 Give me an illustration.’
‘ Now what do you think, O king ? When there
is a great body of fire blazing, is it possible to point
out any one flame that has gone out, that it is here
or there ?’
‘ No, Sir. That flame has ceased, it has vanished.’
‘Just so, great king, has the Blessed One passed
away by that kind of passing away in which no root
remains for the formation of another individual.
The Blessed One has come to an end, and it cannot
be pointed out of him, that he is here or there. But
in the body of his doctrine he can, O king, be
pointed out. For the doctrine 2 was preached by
the Blessed One ?’
‘ Very good, N&gasena!’
Here ends the Fifth Chapter.
1 Anupidisesaja nibbanadh 4 tuy&.
2 Dhamma. See above, III, 5, 3.
Ill, 6, i.
THE BODY.
I 15
Book III. Chapter 6.
1. The king said: ‘ Is the body, Nagasena, dear
to you recluses ? ’
‘ No, they love not the body.’
‘ Then why do you nourish it and lavish attention
upon it ?’
‘In all the times and places, O king, that you
have gone down to battle, did you never get wounded
by an arrow ?’
‘ Yes, that has happened to me.’
‘ In such cases, O king, [ 74 ] is not the wound
anointed with salve, and smeared with oil, and
bound up in a bandage.’
‘Yes, such things are done to it.’
‘ What then? Is the wound dear to you that you
treat it so tenderly,and lavish such attention upon it?’
‘ No, it is not dear to me in spite of all that, which
is only done that the flesh may grow again.’
‘ J ust so, great king, with the recluses and the
body. Without cleaving to it do they bear about
the body for the sake of righteousness of life. The
body, O king, has been declared by the Blessed
One to be like a wound. And therefore merely as
a sore, and without cleaving to it, do the recluses
bear about the body. For it has been said by the
Blessed One:
“Covered with clammy skin, an impure thing and foul,
Nine-apertured, it oozes, like a sore 1 .”’
‘Well answered, Nagasena!’
1 I have not been able to trace this couplet. On the sentiment
compare the eloquent words of the young wife at vol. i, p. 200 of
my ‘ Buddhist Birth Stories,’ and Sutta Nipata I, ir.
I 1 6 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. 111,6,2.
2. The king said: ‘ Did the Buddha, Nagasena,
the omniscient one, foresee all things ? ’
‘Yes. The Blessed One was not only omniscient.
He foresaw all things.’
‘ Then why was it that he was in the habit only
from time to time, and as occasion arose, of laying
down rules for the members of the Order 1 ? ’
‘ Is there any physician, O king, who knows all
the medicinal drugs to be found on the earth ? ’
‘ Yes, there may be such a man.’
‘ Well, O king, does he give his decoctions to the
patient to drink at a time when illness has already
set in, or before that ? ’
‘When the malady has arisen.’
‘Just so, great king, the Blessed One, though he
was omniscient and foresaw all things, laid down no
rule at an unseasonable time, but only when need
arose did he establish a regulation which his disciples
were not to transgress as long as they lived.’
‘ Well answered, Nagasena! ’
3. [ 75 ] The king said: ‘Is it true, Nagasena,
that the Buddha was endowed with the thirty-two
bodily marks of a great man, and graced with the
eighty subsidiary characteristics ; that he was golden
in colour with a skin like gold, and that there spread
around him a glorious halo of a fathom’s length?’
‘ Such, O king, was the Blessed One.’
‘ But were his parents like that ?’
‘ No, they were not.’
‘ In that case you must say that he was born so. But
surely a son is either like his mother, or those on
1 This is how Hinad-kumbure understands the passage.
Ill, 6, 4.
CONDUCT.
the mother’s side, or he is like his father, or those
on the father’s side ! ’
The Elder replied : ‘ Is there such a thing, O
king, as a lotus flower with a hundred petals ? ’
* Yes, there is.’
‘ Where does it grow up ?’
‘ It is produced in mud, and in water it comes to
perfection V
‘ But does the lotus resemble the mud of the lake,
whence it springs up, either in colour, or in smell, or
in taste ?’
‘ Certainly not.’
‘ Then does it resemble the water ?’
‘ Nor that either.’
‘ J ust so, great king, is it that the Blessed One
had the bodily signs and marks you have mentioned,
though his parents had them not.’
‘Well answered, Nigasena!’
4. The king said: ‘ Was the Buddha, Nagasena,
pure in conduct (was he a Brahma-Mrin)?’
‘ Yes, the Blessed One was pure.’
‘ Then, N&gasena, it follows that he was a follower
of Brahmi 2 .’
] A s i y a t i. See Dr. Morris in the ‘Journal of the Pali Text
Society,’ 1884, p. 72.
2 There is an untranslatable play here upon the name of the
god, which is used in its sense of ‘pure, best,’ in the expression
‘ pure in conduct.’ The first question really amounts to: Was
the Buddha’s conduct ‘Brahma,’ that is, ‘best,’ which has come
to have the meaning‘pure’for the same reason that our expression
‘ a moral man ’ has often that particular connotation? It is quite
true that the etymological meaning of the word is neither ‘ best ’
nor ‘ pure ’; but when our author wrote the secondary sense had
completely, in Pali, driven out the etymological sense.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. Ill, 6 , 5 .
‘ Have you a state elephant, O king ? ’
‘ Certainly.’ [ 76 ]
‘ Well now, does that elephant ever trumpet
(literally “ cry the heron’s cry 1 2 ”) ? ’
1 Oh, yes.’
‘ But is he, then, on that account a follower of the
herons ?’
‘ Of course not.’
‘ Now tell me, great 'king, has Brahmi wisdom
(Buddhi), or has he not ? ’
‘ He is a being with wisdom.’
‘ Then (on your argument) he is surely a follower
of Buddha V
‘ Well answered, Nagasena ! ’
5. The king said : ‘Is ordination 3 a good thing ? ’
‘Yes, a good thing and a beautiful.’
‘ But did the Buddha obtain it, or not ? ’
1 Great king, when the Blessed One attained omni¬
science at the foot of the tree of Knowledge, that
was to him an ordination. There was no conferring
of ordination upon him at the hands of others—in
the way that the Blessed One laid down regulations
for his disciples, never to be transgressed by them
their lives long 4 ! ’
‘Very true, Nagasena ! ’
1 This technical term for an elephant’s trumpeting is not in¬
frequent. See, for instance, Gataka I, go.
2 As a matter of fact Brahma, the nearest approach in the Indian
thought of that time to our idea of God, is always represented, in
Buddhism, as a good Buddhist. See, for instance, ‘ Buddhist
Suttas,’ p. 116, and my note at p. 117.
3 Upasampada. Admission to the higher grade in the Order.
4 Mr. Trenckner again suspects something dropped out in this
reply. But the connection of ideas seems to me quite sufficient.
111,6,7- PASSION. Iig
6. The king said: ‘To which of these two,
Nigasena,—the man who weeps at the death of his
mother, and the man who weeps out of love for the
Truth (Dhamma),—are his tears a cure ?’
‘ The tears of the one, O king, are stained and hot
with the three fires of passion. The tears of the
other are stainless and cool. Now there is cure in
coolness and calm, but in heat and passion there can
be no cure V
‘ Very good, Nagasena!’
7. The king said: ‘ What is the distinction, Ndga-
sena, between him who is full of passion, and him
who is void of passion ?’
‘ The one is overpowered by craving, O king, and
the other not.’
‘ But what does that mean ? ’
1 The one is in want, O king, and the other not.’
‘ I look at it, Sir, in this way. He who has
passion and he who has not—both of them alike—
desire what is good to eat, either hard or soft. And
neither of them desires what is wrong.’
‘ The lustful man, O king, in eating his food
enjoys both the taste and the lust that arises from
taste, [77] but the man free from lusts experiences
the taste only, and not the lust arising therefrom.’
‘ Well answered, Nagasena !’
The Sinhalese follows the Pali, but that of course only shows that
the text before the translator was here the same as in Mr.
Trenckner’s edition.
1 The point of this lies in the allusion to the coolness and calm
of Nirvana, or Arahatship, which is the dying out of the three fires
of lust, ill-will, and delusion. The word used for coolness, Si tala,
is one of the many epithets of Arahatship.
I 20 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. Ill, 6, 8.
8. The king said: ‘Venerable Nigasena, where
does wisdom dwell ? ’
‘ Nowhere, O king.’
‘ Then, Sir, there is no such thing as wisdom.’
‘ Where does the wind dwell, O king ? ’
‘ Not anywhere, Sir.’
‘ So there is no such thing as wind.’
‘Well answered, Nigasena !’
9. The king said : ‘ When you speak of transmi¬
gration 1 , Nagasena, what does that mean ?’
‘A being born here, O king, dies here. Having
died here, it springs up elsewhere. Having been
born there, there it dies. Having died there, it
springs up elsewhere. That is what is meant by
transmigration.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘It is like the case of a man who, after eating a
mango, should set the seed in the ground. From
that a great tree would be produced and give fruit.
And there would be no end to the succession, in that
way, of mango trees.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! ’
10. The king said: ‘By what, Nigasena, does
one recollect what is past and done long ago ? ’
‘ By memory.’
‘ But is it not by the mind 2 , not by the memory 2 ,
that we recollect ?’
‘ Do you recollect any business, O king, that you
have done and then forgotten ?’
‘ Yes.’
‘ What then ? Were you then without a mind ?’
1 Samara.
2 -fflttena, no satiyi.
Ill, 6, ii.
MEMORY.
I 2 I
‘ No. But my memory failed me.’
‘ Then why do you say that it is by the mind, not
by the memory, that we recollect ?’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! ’
ii. The king said: ‘Does memory, N&gasena,
always arise subjectively, [ 78 ] or is it stirred up by
suggestion from outside 1 ?’
‘ Both the one and the other.’
‘ But does not that amount to all memory being
subjective in origin, and never artificial ?’
‘If, O king, there were no artificial (imparted)
memory, then artisans would have no need of prac¬
tice, or art, or schooling, and teachers would be
useless. But the contrary is the case.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena !’
Here ends the Sixth Chapter.
1 I follow Hma/i-kumbure’s interpretation of the difficult words
in the text, which Mr. Trenckner says is corrupt. Ka/umika is
1 artificial,’ like the Sanskrit krftrima. It has only been found as
yet in our author.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. Ill, 7, 1.
Book III. Chapter 7.
i. The king said : ‘ In how many ways, Nagasena,
does memory spring up ? ’
‘ In sixteen ways, O king. That is to say: by
personal experience 1 , as when the venerable Ananda,
or the devoted woman Khugfuttard, or any others
who had that power, called to mind their previous
births— [ 79 ] or by outward aid 2 , as when others con¬
tinue to remind one who is by nature forgetful—or by
the impression made by the greatness of some occa¬
sion 3 , as kings remember their coronation day, or as
we remember the day of our conversion—by the im¬
pression made by joy 4 , as when one remembers that
which gave him pleasure—or by the impression
made by sorrow 5 , as when one remembers that
which pained him—or from similarity of appearance 6 ,
as on seeing one like them we call to mind the
mother or father or sister or brother, or on seeing
a camel or an ox or an ass we call to mind others like
them—or by difference of appearance as when we
remember that such and such a colour, sound, smelly
taste, or touch belong to such and such a thing—or
by the knowledge of speech 8 , as when one who is by
nature forgetful is reminded by others and then him¬
self remembers—or by a sign 9 , as when we recognise
a draught bullock by a brand mark or some other
sign—or from effort to recollect 10 , as when one by
1 Abhig'anato. 2 Ka/umikaya. s O/arika-viraMnato.
4 Hita-vi#»&nato. 6 Ahita-vmw&nato.
6 Sabhaga-nimittato. 7 Visabhaga-nimittato.
8 Kath&bhiwreanato. 9 Lakkharaato. 10 Sararcato.
Ill, 7, 2.
MEMORY.
nature forgetful is made to recollect by being urged
again and again : “ try and think of it ”—or by cal¬
culation 11 , as when one knows by the training he
has received in writing that such and such a letter
ought to follow after such and such a one—or by
arithmetic 12 , as when accountants do big sums
by their knowledge of figures—or by learning by
heart 13 , as the repeaters of the scriptures by their
skill in learning by heart recollect so much— [ 80 ] or
by meditation 14 , as when a Bhikkhu calls to mind
his temporary states in days gone by—by reference
to a book 1S , as when kings calling to mind a previous
regulation, say: “ Bring the book here,” and remind
themselves out of that—or by a pledge 16 , as when
at the sight of goods deposited a man recollects (the
circumstances under which they were pledged)—or
by association 17 , as when one remembers a thing
because one has seen it, or a sound because one has
heard it, or an odour because one has smelt it, or a
touch because one has felt it, or a concept because
one has perceived it.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! ’
2 . The king said: ‘Your people say, Nagasena,
that though a man should have lived a hundred
11 Muddato (see above, p. 6). 12 Gazzanato.
13 Dhararaato. The noun dharazzakS is only found here
(where I follow the Sizzzhalese interpretation) and at 6'ataka II, 203
(where it means ‘ debtor,’ as in Sanskrit).
14 Bhavanato. For a translation of the full text, here abridged
in the text, see ‘Buddhist Suttas,’ pp. 215, 216 (§ 17).
1B Potthaka-nibandhanato. 16 Upanikkhepato.
17 Anubhutato, perhaps ‘experience.’ There are really seven¬
teen, not sixteen, so some two must have been regarded by the
author as forming one between them. These may be Nos. 1 and
14, or more likely Nos. 4 and 5.
HI, 7, 3-
years an evil life, yet if, at the moment of death,
thoughts of the Buddha should enter his mind, he
will be reborn among the gods. This I don’t believe.
And thus do they also say : “ By one case of destruc¬
tion of life a man may be reborn in purgatory.”
That, too, I cannot believe.’
' ‘ But tell me.O king. Would even a tiny stone float
on the water without a boat ? ’
‘ Certainly not.’
‘ Very well; but would not a hundred cart-loads of
stones float on the water if theywereloaded in a boat?’
‘ Yes, they would float right enough.’
‘ Well, good deeds are like the boat.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena! ’
3. The king said : ‘ Do you (recluses), Nagasena,
strive after the removal of past sorrow ?’
‘ No.’
‘ What then ? Is it future sorrow you strive to
remove ?’
‘No.’
‘ Present sorrow, then ? ’ [ 81 ]
‘ Not that either.’
‘ Then if it be neither past, nor future, nor present
sorrow that you strive to remove, whereunto is it
that you strive ?’
‘ What are you asking, O king ? That this sorrow
should cease and no other sorrow should arise—that
is what we strive after.’
‘ But, Nagasena, is there (now) such a thing as
future sorrow ?’
‘No. I grant that.’
‘ Then you are mighty clever people to strive
after the removal of that which does not exist!’
Ill, 7 , 3-
FUTURE SORROW.
‘Has it ever happened to you, O king, that rival
kings rose up against you as enemies and opponents ? ’
‘ Yes, certainly.’
‘ Then you set to work, I suppose, to have moats
dug, and ramparts thrown up, and watch towers
erected, and strongholds built, and stores of food
collected 1 ?’
‘ N ot at all. All that had been prepared before¬
hand.’
‘ Or you had yourself trained in the manage¬
ment of war elephants, and in horsemanship, and in
the use of the war chariot, and in archery and
fencing ?’
‘ Not at all. I had learnt all that before.’
‘ But why ?’
‘With the object of warding off future danger.’
‘ How so ? Is there such a thing (now) as future
danger ?’
‘No. I must grant that.’
‘ Then you kings are mighty clever people to
trouble yourselves about the warding off of that
which does not exist! ’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
‘Tell me, O king. Is it when you are athirst
that you set to work to have wells dug, or ponds
hollowed out, or reservoirs formed, with the object
of getting something to drink ?’
‘ Certainly not. All that has been prepared
beforehand.’
‘ But to what end ?’
‘ With the object of preventing future thirst.’
‘ How so ? Is there such a thing as future thirst?'
1 All that follows only differs by slight additions from III, 4, 3
above, pp. 100-102.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. Ill, 7, 4.
‘ No, Sir.’
‘ So you are mighty clever people, O king, [ 82 ]
to take all that trouble to prevent the future thirst
which all the time does not exist! ’
‘ Give me a further illustration.’
[Then the Elder referred, as before, to the means
people always took of warding against future hunger,
and the king expressed his pleasure at the way in
which the puzzle had been solved.]
4. The king said : ‘ How far is it, Nigasena,
from here to the Brahma world 1 ? ’
‘Very far is it, O king. If a rock, the size of an
upper chamber, were to fall from there, it would
take four months to reach the earth, though it came
down eight-and-forty thousand leagues 2 each day
and night.’
‘ Good, Nagasena! Now do not your people say
that a Bhikkhu, who has the power of Iddhi and
the mastery over his mind 3 , can vanish from
(Pambu-dipa, and appear in the Brahma world,
as quickly as a strong man could stretch forth his
bent up arm, or bend it in again if it were stretched
out ? That is a saying I cannot believe. How is
it possible that he could traverse so quickly so many
hundreds of leagues ? ’
The Elder replied : ‘In what district, O king,
were you born ? ’
1 One of the highest heavens.
3 Yo^ana, a league of seven miles.
8 YTetovasippatto, which Hina/i-kumbure renders mano
vasi prapta wu. I know of no passage in the Pi/akas where the
phrase occurs in connection with Iddhi; but it is often used by our
author. See, for instance, just below, III, 7, 9.
HI, 7, 5-
ALASANDA.
‘There is an island called Alasanda x . It was
there I was born.’
‘ And how far is Alasanda from here ? ’
‘About two hundred leagues.’
‘ Do you know for certain of any business you
once did there and now recollect ? ’
‘ Oh, yes.’
‘ So quickly, great king, have you gone about two
hundred leagues.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! ’
5. The king said : ‘ If one man, Ndgasena, were
to die here and be reborn in the Brahma world, and
another were to die here and be reborn in Kashmir,
which of the two would arrive first ?’
‘ Both together, O king.’
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ In what town [ 83 ], O king, were you born ? ’
‘ There is a village called Kalasi. It was there I
was born.’
‘ And how far is Kalasi from here ? ’
‘ About two hundred leagues.’
‘ How far is Kashmir from here ? ’
‘ Twelve leagues.’
‘ Now, great king, think of Kalasi.’
‘ I have done so.’
‘ And now, think of Kashmir.’
‘ I have done so.’
‘ Well, which did you think of quickest ? ’
‘ Of each in the same time.’
‘Just so, great king, would it take no longer to
be reborn in the Brahma world than to be reborn
in Kashmir. And tell me, O king. Suppose two
1 Alexandria (in Baktria) built on an island in the Indus.
Ill, 7, 6 .
birds were flying, and one were to alight on a tall
tree, and the other on a small shrub. If they settled
both at the same moment, whose shadow would first
fall to the ground ? ’
‘ The two shadows would fall together.’
1 Just so, great king, in the case you put.’
‘ Very good, N agasena! ’
6. The king said: ‘Venerable N&gasena, how
many kinds of wisdom are there ? ’
‘ Seven, O king.’
‘ And by how many kinds of wisdom does one
become wise ? ’
‘ By one : that is to say by the kind of wisdom
called “ the investigation of the Truth V’ ’
‘ Then why is it said there are seven ?’
‘Tell me, O king. Suppose a sword were lying
in its sheath and not taken in the hand, could it cut
off anything you wanted to cut off with it ? ’
‘ Certainly not.’
‘Just so, great king, by the other kinds of wisdom
can nothing be understood without investigation of
the Truth.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! ’
7. The king said : ‘ Which, Nagasena, is there
more of, merit or demerit ? ’
‘ Merit.’ [ 84 ]
‘ But why ? ’
‘ He -who does wrong, O king, comes to feel
remorse, and acknowledges his evil-doing. So de¬
merit does not increase. But he who does well
feels no remorse, and feeling no remorse gladness will
1 Dhamma-vi/^aya-sambo^. 4 angena.
Ill, 7 - 9 -
PEACE.
spring up within him, and joy will arise to him thus
gladdened, and so rejoicing all his frame will be at
peace, and being thus at peace he will experience a
blissful feeling of content, and in that bliss his heart
will be at rest, and he whose heart is thus at rest
knows things as they really are 1 . For that reason
merit increases. A man, for example, though his
hands and feet are cut off, if he gave to the Blessed
One merely a handful of lotuses, would not enter
purgatory for ninety-one Kalpas. That is why I
said, O king, that there is more merit than demerit.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! ’
8. The king said: ‘ Whose, Nagasena, is the
greater demerit—his who sins consciously, or his
who sins inadvertently ? ’
‘ He who sins inadvertently, O king, has the
greater demerit.’
‘ In that case, reverend Sir, we shall punish
doubly any of our family or our court who do
wrong unintentionally.’
‘ But what do you think, O king ? If one man were
to seize hold intentionally of a fiery mass of metal
glowing with heat, and another were to seize hold
of it unintentionally, which would be more burnt ? ’
‘ The one who did not know what he was doing.’
‘ Well, it is just the same with the man who
does wrong.’
‘Very good, Nagasena ! ’
9. The king said: ‘ Is there any one, Nigasena,
1 The above is a paragraph constantly recurring in the Pali
Pi/akas. See, for instance, Digha II, 75 ; Anguttara III, 104; and
Mahavagga VIII, 15, 13 (where I have annotated the details).
[ 35 ] K
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. Ill, 7 , 10 .
who can go with this bodily frame to Uttara-kuru
or to the Brahma world, or to any other of the four
great continents (into which the world is divided)?’
‘ Yes, there are such people.’
‘ But how can they ?’ [ 85 ]
‘ Do you recollect, O king, having ever jumped a
foot or two feet across the ground ? ’
‘Yes, Nclgasena, I can jump twelve feet.’
‘ But how ?’
‘ I fix my mind, on the idea of alighting there, and
at the moment of my determination my body comes
to seem light to me.’
‘Just so, O king, can the Bhikkhu, who has the
power of Iddhi, and has the mastery over his mind,
when he has made his mind rise up to the occasion,
travel through the sky by means of his mind.’
‘ Very good, N&gasena !’
10. The king said: ‘Your people say there are
bones even a hundred leagues long. Now there is
no tree even one hundred leagues in length, how
then can there be bones so long ? ’
‘ But tell me, O king. Have you not heard of
fishes in the sea five hundred leagues in length ?’
‘Yes. I have heard of such.’
‘If so, could they not have bones a hundred
leagues long ? ’
‘ Very good, Nclgasena !’
11. The king said: ‘Your people, N&gasena,
say that it is possible to suppress the inhaling and
exhaling (of one’s breath).’
‘ Yes, that can be done.’
‘ But how ?’
Ill, 1 , 13.
SNORING.
‘ Tell me, O king. Have you ever heard of a
man snoring 1 ? ’
‘ Yes.’
‘Well, would not that sound stop if he bent his body?’
‘ Yes.’
‘ Then surely if that sound would stop at the mere
bending of the body of one who is untrained alike in
body, in conduct, in mind, and in wisdom —why
should it not be possible for the breathing of one
trained in all these respects, and who has besides
reached up to the fourth stage of the ecstatic con¬
templation 2 , to be suppressed?’
‘Very good, Nagasena ! ’
12. The king said: ‘There is the expression
ocean, Nagasena. Why is the water called ocean ?’
The Elder replied [ 86 ] : ‘ Because there is just as
much salt as water, O king, and just as much water
as salt, therefore is it called ocean Y
‘ Very good, Ndgasena ! ’
13. The king said : ‘Why, Nffgagena, is the ocean
all of one taste, the taste of salt ?’
1 K&ka/fcMamiino. See (Pataka I, 60, 24; 160, 18. Hina/i-
kumbur£ renders it ‘sleeping with a snore (gorawamin) like the
sound of crows (kaka).’ 2 Gh& na.
3 Samudda. The answer (to give opportunity for which the
question is invented) is a kind of punning etymology of this Pali
word for ocean. Our author seems to take it as meaning ‘ equal
water-ness,’ from sama and ud(aka). The real derivation
is very different. It is from the root ud, which is allied to our
‘wet’ and the Greek veto's, and the prefix sam in the sense of
completeness. It is difficult to reconcile the reply to this. There
is a kind of conversation condemned in the Digha I, 1, 17, and
elsewhere as samuddakkh&yika, which is explained in the
Sumangala, p. 91, as deriving samudda from sa, ‘with,’ and
mudda, ‘a seal ring?
K 2
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. Ill, 7 ,14.
‘ Because the water in' it has stood so long, there¬
fore it is all of one taste, the taste of salt V
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! ’
14. The king said: ‘Can even the most minute
thing, Nagasena, be divided ?’
‘ Yes, it can.'
‘ And what, Sir, is the most minute of all things.’
‘Truth (Dhamma), O king, is the most minute
and subtle. But this is not true of all qualities
(Dhamma). Subtleness or the reverse are epithets
of qualities. But whatever can be divided that can
wisdom (Pa«M) divide, and there is no other quality
which can divide wisdom.’
‘Very good, Nagasena ! ’
15. The king said: ‘These three, Nagasena,—
perception, and reason, and the soul in a being,—are
they all different both in letter and in essence, or
the same in essence differing only in the letter?’
‘ Recognition, O king, is the mark of perception,
and discrimination of reason 1 2 , and there is no such
thing as a soul in beings 3 .’
1 In the same way the Buddhist religion (the Dhamma-
Vinaya) is said in the A’ullavagga IX, 1, 4, to be ‘all of one
taste, the taste of salvation, emancipation’ (Vimutti).
2 So also above, II, 3, 12. Here the words are Vi^anana-
lakkha»a#z vitinanatn, pa^anana-lakkhawa pawhich the
Ceylon translator amplifies into ‘ As a peasant, on seeing grains of
gold, would recognise them as valuable, so is it the characteristic
of vinn&na to recognise aramuwu (objects of sense) when it sees
them. As a goldsmith, on seeing grains of gold, would not only
know they were valuable, but also discriminate their value (as large
or small), so is it the characteristic of pa»M, not only to recognise,
but also to discriminate between the objects of sense.’
3 See above, II, 3,6, and II, 3, 16. Hinafi-kumbure here renders
IIT, 7,16.
SOUL.
‘ But if there be no such thing as a soul, what is
it then which sees forms with the eye, and hears
sounds with the ear, and smells odours with the nose,
and tastes tastes with the tongue, and feels touch
with the body, or perceives qualities with the mind ? ’
The Elder replied: ‘ If there be a soul (distinct
from the body) which does all this, then if the door
of the eye were thrown down (if the eye were plucked
out) could it stretch out its head, as it were, through
the larger aperture and (with greater range) see
forms much more clearly than before ? Could one
hear sounds better if the ears were torn away, or
smell better if the nose were cut off, or taste better
if the tongue were pulled out, or feel touch better if
the body were destroyed ? ’
[ 87 ] ‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘ Then there can be no soul inside the body.’
‘Very good, Nhgasena !’
16. The Elder said: ‘A hard thing there is, O
king, which the Blessed One has done,’
‘ And what is that ?’
‘ The fixing of all those mental conditions which
depend on one organ of sense, telling us that such
is contact, and such sensation, and such idea, and
such intention, and such thought V
‘ Give me an illustration.’
‘ Suppose, O king, a man were to wade down into
the sea, and taking some water in the palm of his
hand, were to taste it with his tongue. Would he
^•ivo by the ‘life (or perhaps living principle, ^ivita) inside the
forms produced out of the four elements.'
1 Phasso, vedanS, sannsi, £etana, k'M&m.
1 24 the questions OF KING MILINDA. 111,7,17.
distinguish whether it were water from the Ganges,
or from the Jumna, or from the A^iravati, or from
the Sarabhu, or from the Mahi ?’
‘ Impossible, Sir.’
‘ More difficult than that, great king, is it to have
distinguished between the mental conditions which
follow on the exercise of any one of the organs
of sense! ’
‘ Very good, N agasena ! ’
Here ends the Seventh Chapter b
17. The Elder said: ‘Do you know, O king,
what time it is now ?’
‘ Yes, Sir, I know. The first watch of the night
is now passed. The middle w'atch is now going on.
The torches are lit. The four banners are ordered
to be raised, and appropriate gifts to be issued to
you from the treasury.’
The Yonakas said: ‘Very good, great king.
Most able is the Bhikkhu.’
‘Yes, my men. Most able is the Bhikkhu.
Were the master like him and the pupil like me,
[ 88 ] a clever scholar would not take long in getting
at the truth.’
Then the king, pleased with the explanations
given of the questions he had put, had Nagasena
robed in an embroidered cloak worth a hundred
thousand 1 2 , and said to him : ‘Venerable Nagasena,
I hereby order that you shall be provided with your
daily meal for eight hundred days, and give you the
1 See the note at the end of Book II, Chapter 3, § 14.
2 That is kahapawas, ‘ half-pennies.’
Ill, 7, ,8.
DEPARTURE.
choice of anything in the palace that it is lawful for
you to take.’ And when the Elder refused, saying he
had enough to live on, the king rejoined : ‘ I know,
Sir, you have enough to live on. But you should both
protect me and protect yourself—yourself from the
possibility of a public rumour to the effect that you
convinced me but received nothing from me, and
me from the possibility of a public rumour that
though I was convinced I would give nothing in
acknowledgement.’
‘ Let it be as you wish, great king,’ was the reply.
Then the king said : ‘ As the lion, the king of
beasts, when put into a cage, though it were of gold,
would turn his face longingly to the outside ; even
so do I, though I dwell in the world, turn my
thoughts longingly to the higher life of you recluses.
But, Sir, if I were to give up the household life and
renounce the world it would not be long I should
have to live, so many are my foes.’
Then the venerable Nagasena, having thus solved
the questions put by Milinda the king, arose from
his seat and departed to the hermitage.
18. Not long after Nagasena had gone, Milinda
the king thought over to himself whether he had
propounded his questions rightly, and whether the
replies had been properly made. And he came to
the conclusion that to questions well put replies had
been well given. And Nigasena likewise, when he
reached the hermitage, thought the matter over to
himself, and concluded that to questions well put
right replies had been given.
Now Nagasena robed himself early in the morn¬
ing, and went with his bowl in his hand to the palace,
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. Ill, 7, 18.
and sat down on the seat prepared for him. And
Milinda saluted the venerable Nagasena, [ 89 ] and
sat down respectfully at his side, and said to him :
‘ Pray do not think, Sir, that I was kept awake all
the rest of the night exulting in the thought of hav¬
ing questioned you. I was debating with myself as
to whether I had asked aright, and had been rightly
answered. And I concluded that I had.’
And the Elder on his part said : ‘ Pray do not
suppose, great king, that I passed the rest of the
night rejoicing at having answered all you asked.
I too was thinking over what had been said by us
both. And I came to the result that you had ques¬
tioned well, and that I had rightly answered.’
Thus did these two great men congratulate each
the other on what he had spoken well.
Here ends the answering of the problems of
the questions of Milinda.
IV, I, i.
DILEMMAS.
f 37
Book IV — The Solving of Dilemmas
THE SOLVING OF DILEMMAS.
Chapter 1 . [ 90 ]
i. Master of words and sophistry, clever and wise
Milinda tried to test great Nhgasena’s skill.
Leaving him not h again and yet again,
He questioned and cross-questioned him, until
H is own skill was proved foolishness.
Then he became a student of the Holy Writ.
All night, in secrecy, he pondered o’er
The ninefold Scriptures, and therein he found
Dilemmas hard to solve, and full of snares.
And thus he thought: ‘The conquering Buddha’s
words
Are many-sided, some explanatory,
Some spoken as occasion rose to speak,
Some dealing fully with essential points.
Through ignorance of what, each time, was meant
There will be strife hereafter as to what
The King of Righteousness has thus laid down
In these diverse and subtle utterances.
Let me now gain great Nagasena’s ear,
And putting to him that which seems so strange
And hard—yea contradictory—get him
To solve it. So in future times, when men
Begin to doubt, the light of his solutions
Shall guide them, too, along the path of Truth.’
1 Vasanto tassa kh&y&ya., literally ‘abiding under his shadow.’
Compare (Pataka I, 91.
X38 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 1,2.
2. Now Milinda the king, when the night was
turning into day, and the sun had risen, bathed, and
with hands clasped and raised to his forehead, called
to mind the Buddhas of the past, the present, and
the future, and solemnly undertook the observance
of the eightfold vow, saying to himself: ‘ For seven
days from now will I do penance by taking upon
myself the observance of the eight rules, and when
my vow is accomplished will I go to the teacher and
put to him, as questions, these dilemmas.’ So Milinda
the king laid aside his usual dress, and put off his
ornaments ; and clad in yellow robes, with only a
recluse’s turban 1 on his head, in appearance like a
hermit, did he carry out the eightfold abstinence,
keeping in mind the vow—‘ For this seven days I
am to decide no case at law. I am to harbour no
lustful thought, no thought of ill-will, no thought
tending to delusion. Towards all slaves, servants,
and dependents I am to show a meek and lowly
disposition. [91] I am to watch carefully over every
bodily act, and over my six organs of sense. And
I am to fill my heart with thoughts of love towards
all beings.’ Keeping this eightfold vow, establishing
his heart in this eightfold moral law, for seven days
he went not forth. But as the night was passing
into day, at sunrise of the eighth day, he took his
breakfast early, and then with downcast eyes and
measured words, gentle in manner, collected in
thought, glad and pleased and rejoicing in heart,
did he go to Nagasena. And bowing down at his
feet, he stood respectfully on one side, and said :
3. ‘There is a certain matter, venerable Nhgasena,
1 Pa/isisaka»z. See (rataka II, 197.
IV, x, 4-
SECRET DOCTRINE.
that I desire to talk over with you alone. I wish
no third person to be present. In some deserted
spot, some secluded place in the forest, fit in all the
eight respects for a recluse, there should this point
of mine be put. And therein let there be nothing
hid from me, nothing kept secret. I am now in a
fit state to hear secret things when we are deep
in consultation. And the meaning of what I say can
be made clear by illustration. As it is to the broad
earth, O Nigasena, that it is right to entrust treasure
when occasion arises for laying treasure by, so is it
to me that it is right to entrust secret things when
we are deep in consultation.’
4. Then having gone with the master to a secluded
spot he further said: ‘There are eight kinds of places,
Nagasena, which ought to be altogether avoided by
a man who wants to consult. No wise man will talk
a matter over in such places, or the matter falls to
the ground and is brought to no conclusion. And
what are the eight ? U neven ground, spots unsafe
by fear of men, windy places, hiding spots, sacred
places, high roads, light bambfi bridges, and public
bathing places.’
The Elder asked : ‘ What is the objection to each
of these ?’
The king replied : ‘On uneven ground, Nagasena,
and diffuse, and comes to nothing. In unsafe places
the mind is disturbed, and being disturbed does not
follow the point clearly. In windy spots the voice
is indistinct. In hiding places there are eaves¬
droppers. In sacred places the question discussed
is apt to be diverted to the serious surroundings.
On a high road it is apt to become frivolous, on a
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, i, 5 .
bridge unsteady and wavering, at a public bathing
place the discussion would be matter of common
talk. Therefore is it said 1 :
“ Uneven ground, unsafe and windy spots,
And hiding places, and god-haunted shrines,
High roads, and bridges, and all bathing ghats—
These eight avoid when talking of high things.” ’
5. ‘ There are eight kinds of people, Ndgasena,
who when talking a matter over, spoil the discussion.
And who are the eight ? He who walks in lust, he
who walks in ill-will, he who walks in delusion, he
who walks in pride, the greedy man, the sluggard,
the man of one idea, and the fool.’
‘ What is the objection to each of these ? ’ asked
the Elder.
‘ The first spoils the discussion by his lust, the
next by his ill-will, the third by his delusions, the
fourth by his pride, the fifth by his greed, the sixth
by his sloth, the seventh by his narrowness, and the
last by his folly. Therefore is it said :
“ The lustful, angry, or bewildered man,
The proud, the greedy, or the slothful man,
The man of one idea, and the poor fool—
These eight are spoilers of high argument.” ’
6. ‘There are nine kinds of people, Nagasena,
who let out a secret that has been talked over with
them, and treasure it not up in their hearts. And
who are the nine ? The lustful man reveals it in
obedience to some lust, the ill-tempered man in con-
1 It is not known where the verses here (or the others quoted in
these two pages) are taken from.
IV, i, 8. THE RIPENING OF INSIGHT. 141
sequence of some ill-will, the deluded man under
some mistake. [93] The timid man reveals it
through fear, and the man greedy for gain to get
something out of it. A woman reveals it through
infirmity, a drunkard in his eagerness for drink, a
eunuch because of his imperfection, and a child
through fickleness. Therefore is it said :
“ The lustful, angry, or bewildered man,
The timid man, and he who seeks for gain,
A woman, drunkard, eunuch, or a child—
These nine are fickle, wavering, and mean.
When secret things are talked over to them
They straightway become public property.” ’
7. ‘ There are eight causes, Nagasena, of the
advance, the ripening of insight. And what are
the eight ? The advance of years, the growth of
reputation, frequent questioning, association with
teachers, one’s own reflection, converse with the
wise, cultivation of the loveable, and dwelling in
a pleasant land. Therefore is it said :
“ By growth in reputation, and in years,
By questioning, and by the master’s aid,
By thoughtfulness, and converse with the wise,
By intercourse with men worthy of love,
By residence within a pleasant spot—
By these nine is one’s insight purified.
They who have these, their wisdom grows 1 .” ’
8. ‘This spot, Nagasena, is free from the objections
to talking matters over. And I am a model com¬
panion for any one desiring to do so. I can keep a
1 Pabhi^ati in the text appears not to be an old error. The
Sinhalese repeats it, but leaves it untranslated.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, i, 8.
secret, and will keep yours as long as I live. In all
the eight ways just described my insight has grown
ripe. It would be hard to find such a pupil as you
may have in me.
thus, aright the teacher ought to conduct himself in
accordance with the twenty-five virtues of a teacher.
And what are the twenty-five ? He must always
and without fail keep guard over his pupil. He must
let him know what to cultivate, and what to avoid ;
about what he should be earnest, and what he may
neglect. He must instruct him as to sleep, and as
to keeping himself in health, and as to what food he
may take, and what reject. He should teach him
discrimination 1 (in food), and share with him all
that is put, as alms, into his own bowl. He should
encourage him, saying: “Be not afraid. You will
gain advantage (from what is here taught you).”
He should advise him as to the people whose
company he should keep, and as to the villages
and Vihiras he should frequent. He should never
indulge in (foolish) talk 2 with him. When he sees
any defect in him he should easily pardon it.
He should be zealous, he should teach nothing
partially, keep nothing secret, and hold nothing
back 3 . He should look upon him in his heart as a
son, saying to himself: “ I have begotten him in
1 Viseso. It does not say in what, and the Sinhalese simply
repeats the w'ord.
2 Sallapo na Mtabbo. The Sinhalese merely repeats the
word, w'hich is often used without any bad connotation. See, for
instance, Galaka I, 112.
s So that, in the author’s opinion, there is no ‘Esoteric Doctrine’
in true Buddhism. See the note, below, on IV, 4, 8.
IV, I, 9-
THE MODEL TEACHER.
learning 1 .” He should strive to bring him forward,
saying to himself: “How can I keep him from going
back ? ” He should determine in himself to make him
strong in knowledge, saying to himself: “ I will make
him mighty.” He should love him, never desert
him in necessity, never neglect him in anything he
ought to do for him, always befriend him—so far
as he can rightly do so 2 —when he does wrong.
These, Sir, are the twenty-five good qualities in a
teacher. Treat me altogether in accordance there¬
with. Doubt, Lord, has overcome me. There are
apparent contradictions in the word of the Conqueror.
About them strife will hereafter arise, and in future
times it will be hard to find a teacher with insight
such as yours. Throw light for me on these dilem¬
mas, to the downfall of the adversaries.’
9. Then the Elder agreed to what he had said,
and in his turn set out the ten good qualities which
ought to be found in a lay disciple: ‘ These ten, O
king, are the virtues of a lay disciple. He suffers
like pain and feels like joy as the Order does. He
takes the Doctrine (Dhamma)as his master. He
delights in giving so far as he is able to give.
On seeing the religion (Dhamma) of the Conqueror
decay, he does his best to revive it. He holds right
views. Having no passion for excitement 3 , he runs
1 So also in the Vinaya (Mahavagga I, 25, 6).
2 In the well-known passage in the Vinaya in which the mutual
duties of pupils and teachers are set out in full (Mahavagga I,
25, 26, translated in the ‘Vinaya Texts,’ vol. i, pp. 154 and foil.)
there is a similar injunction (25, 22 = 26, 10) which throws light on
the meaning ofdhammena here.
3 Apagata-ko/uhala-mangaliko. ‘Laying aside the erro¬
neous views and discipline called ko/fihala and mangalika,'
says the Sinhalese.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, i, io.
not after any other teacher his life long. He keeps
guard over himself in thought and deed. He
delights in peace, is a lover of peace. He feels
no jealousy, [95] and walks not in religion in a
quarrelsome spirit. He takes his refuge in the
Buddha, he takes his refuge in the Doctrine, he
takes his refuge in the Order. These, great king,
are the ten good qualities of a lay disciple. They
exist all of them in you. Hence is it fit, and right,
and becoming in you that, seeing the decay of the
religion of the Conqueror, you desire its prosperity.
I give you leave. Ask of me whatever you will.’
[Here ends the introduction to the solving of
dilemmas.]
THE DILEMMAS.
[ON HONOURS PAID TO THE BUDDHA.]
io. Then Milinda the king, having thus been
granted leave, fell at the feet of the teacher, and
raising his clasped hands to his forehead, said:
‘Venerable Nagasena, these leaders of other sects
say thus: “If the Buddha accepts gifts he cannot
have passed entirely away. He must be still in
union with the world, having his being somewhere
in it, in the world, a shareholder in the things of the
world; and therefore any honour paid to him be¬
comes empty and vain h On the other hand if he
1 ‘ Because honours should be paid, in the way of worship, to
those who have so passed away, and to them only,’ is the implied
suggestion, as if it were common ground to the Buddhists and their
opponents. But there is no such doctrine in the Pali Pi/akas, and
could not be. The whole discussion breathes the spirit of a later
time.
TV, I, to.
GIFTS.
T 45
be entirely passed away (from life), unattached to
the world, escaped from all existence, then honours
would not be offered to him. For he who is en¬
tirely set free accepts no honour, and any -act done
to him who accepts it not becomes empty and vain.”
This is a dilemma which has two horns. It is not a
matter within the scope of those who have no mind \
it is a question fit for the great. Tear asunder this
net of heresy, put it on one side. To you has this
puzzle been put. Give to the future sons of the
Conqueror eyes wherewith to see the riddle to the
confusion of their adversaries.’
1 The Blessed One, O king,’ replied the Elder, 1 is
entirely set free. And the Blessed One accepts no
gift. Even at the foot of the Tree of Wisdom he
abandoned all accepting of gifts, how much more
then now when he has passed entirely away by that
kind of passing away which leaves no root over (for
the formation of a new existence). For this, O king,
has been said by Siriputta, the commander of the
faith 2 :
“Though worshipped, these Unequalled Ones, alike
By gods and men, unlike them all they heed
Neither a gift nor worship. They accept
It not, neither refuse it. Through the ages
All Buddhas were so, so wil ever be 3 !” ’
1 Apatta-m&nasanaw. ‘Of those who have not attained to
the insight of the Arahats,’ says the Si halese by way of gloss.
a This verse is not found in our printed texts. The Thera
Gatha (981-1017) has preserved thirty-seven of the verses attributed
to Sariputta, but this is not one of them.
8 Hina/i-kumbure, who quotes the Pali verses, reads pu^a-
yantS, and s&dtyanti.
[ 35 ]
L
146 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 1, II.
11 . The king said: ‘Venerable Nagasena, a
father may speak in praise of his son, or a son of
his father. But that is no ground for putting the
adversaries to shame. It is only an expression of
their own belief. Come now! Explain this matter
to me fully to the establishing of your own doc¬
trine, [96] and to the unravelling of the net of the
heretics.’
The Elder replied: 1 The Blessed One, O king,
is entirely set free (from life). And the Blessed One
accepts no gift. If gods or men put up a building
to contain the jewel treasure of the relics of a
Tathagata who does not accept their gift, still by
that homage- paid to the attainment of the supreme
good under the form of the jewel treasure of his
wisdom do they themselves attain to one or other of
the three glorious states \ Suppose, O king, that
though a great and glorious fire had been kindled,
it should die out, would it then again accept any
supply of dried grass or sticks ?’
‘ Even as it burned, Sir, it could not be said to
accept fuel, how much less when it had died away,
and ceased to burn, could it, an unconscious thing,
accept it ?’
‘ And when that one mighty fire had ceased, and
gone out, would the world be bereft of fire ?’
‘ Certainly not. Dry wood is the seat, the basis
of fire, and any men who want fire can, by the exer¬
tion of their own strength and power, such as resides
in individual men, once more, by twirling the fire-
stick, produce fire, and with that fire do any work
for which fire is required.’
1 Tisso sampattiyo. That is, to another life as a man, or as
a god, or to Arahatship here, on earth, in this birth.
IV, I, 12 . HONOURS PAID TO THE BUDDHA. 147
‘ Then that saying of the sectarians that “ an act
done to him who accepts it not is empty and vain ”
turns out to be false. As that great and glorious
fire was set alight, even so, great king, was the
Blessed One set alight in the glory of his Buddha-
hood over the ten thousand world systems. As it
went out, so has he passed away into that kind of
passing away in which no root remains. As the fire,
when gone out, accepted no supply of fuel, just so,
and for the good of the world, has his accepting of
gifts ceased and determined. As men, when the fire
is out, and has no further means of burning, then by
their own strength and effort, such as resides in
individual men, twirl the fire-stick and produce fire,
and do any work for which fire is required—so do
gods and men, though a Tathagata has passed
away and no longer accepts their gifts, yet put up a
house for the jewel treasure of his relics, and doing
homage to the attainment of supreme good under
the form of the jewel treasure of his wisdom, they
attain to one or other of the three glorious states.
[ 97 ] Therefore is it, great king, that acts done to
the Tathagata, notwithstanding his having passed
away and not accepting them, are nevertheless of
value and bear fruit.’
12. ‘ Now hear, too, another reason for the same
thing. Suppose, O king, there were to arise a
great and mighty wind, and that then it were to die
away. Would that wind acquiesce in being pro¬
duced again ?’
‘ A wind that has died away can have no thought
or idea of being reproduced. And why ? Because
the element wind is an unconscious thing.’
‘Or even, O king, would the word “wind” be
L 2
1 48 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 1, 12.
still applicable to that wind, when it had so died
away ? ’
‘ Certainly not, Sir. But fans and punkahs are
means for the production of wind. Any men who
are oppressed by heat, or tormented by fever, can
by means of fans and punkahs, and by the exertion of
their own strength and power, such as resides in
individual men, produce a breeze, and by that wind
allay their heat, or assuage their fever.’
‘ Then that saying of the sectarians that “ an act
done to him who accepts it not is empty and vain ”
turns out to be false. As the great and mighty wind
which blew, even so, great king, has the Blessed One
blown over the ten thousand world systems with the
wind of his love, so cool, so sweet, so calm, so
delicate. As it first blew, and then died away, so
has the Blessed One, who once blew with the wind
so cool, so sweet, so calm, so delicate, of his love,
now passed away with that kind of passing away in
which no root remains. As those men were op¬
pressed by heat and tormented with fever, even so
are gods and men tormented and oppressed with
threefold fire and heat \ As fans and punkahs are
means of producing wind, so the relics and the jewel
treasure of the wisdom of a Tathagata are means of
producing the threefold attainment. [98] And as
men oppressed by heat and tormented by fever can
by fans and punkahs produce a breeze, and thus
allay the heat and assuage the fever, so can gods
and men by offering reverence to the relics, and the
1 That is, the three fires of lust, ill-will, and delusion, the going
out of which is the state called, par excellence, ‘ the going out ’
(Nirvfi«a).
IV, i, 13.
HONOURS PAID TO THE BUDDHA.
jewel treasure of the wisdom of a Tathagata, though
he has died away and accepts it not, cause goodness
to arise within them, and by that goodness can
assuage and can allay the fever and the torment of
the threefold fire. Therefore is it, great king, that
acts done to the Tathagata, notwithstanding his
having passed away and not accepting them, are
nevertheless of value and bear fruit.’
13. ‘ Now hear another reason for the same thing.
Suppose, O king, a man were to make a drum sound,
and then that sound were to die away. Would that
sound acquiesce in being produced again ? ’
‘ Certainly not, Sir. The sound has vanished. It
can have no thought or idea of being reproduced.
The sound of a drum when it has once been pro¬
duced and died away, is altogether cut off. But, Sir,
a drum is a means of producing sound. And any
man, as need arises, can by the effort of power re¬
siding in himself, beat on that drum, and so produce
a sound.’
‘Just so, great king, has the Blessed One—except
the teacher and the instruction he has left in his
doctrine and discipline, and the jewel treasure of his
relics whose value is derived from his righteousness,
and contemplation, and wisdom, and emancipation, and
insight given by the knowledge of emancipation-—just
so has he passed away by that kind of passing away
in which no root remains. But the possibility of re¬
ceiving the three attainments is not cut off because the
Blessed One has passed away. Beings oppressed by
the sorrow of becoming can, when they desire the
attainments, still receive them by means of the jewel
treasure of his relics and of his doctrine and disci¬
pline and teaching. Therefore is it, great king, that
1 50 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 1, 14.
all acts done to the Tathigata, notwithstanding his
having passed away and not accepting, are never¬
theless of value and bear fruit. And this future
possibility, great king, has been foreseen by the
Blessed One, and spoken of, and declared, and made
known, when he said: “It may be, Ananda, that
in some of you the thought may arise: [99]
‘ The word of the Master is ended. We have no
Teacher more!’ But it is not thus, Ananda, that
you should regard it. The Truth which I have
preached to you, the Rules which I have laid down
for the Order, let them, when I am gone, be the
Teacher to you 1 .” So that because the Tathagata
has passed away and consents not thereto, that there¬
fore any act done to him is empty and vain—this
saying of the enemy is proved false. It is untrue,
unjust, not according to fact, wrong, and perverse.
It is the cause of sorrow, has sorrow as its fruit,
and leads down the road to perdition! ’
14. ‘ Now hear another reason for the same thing.
Does the broad earth acquiesce, O king, in all kinds
of seeds being planted all over it ?’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘ Then how is it those seeds, planted without
the earth’s consent, do yet stand fast and firmly
rooted, and expand into trees with great trunks
and sap and branches, and bearing fruits and
flowers ?’
‘ Though the earth, Sir, gives no consent, yet it
acts as a site for those seeds, as a means of their
development. Planted on that site they grow, by
1 Book of the Great Decease, VI, 1, translated in 1 Buddhist
Suttas,’ p. 112.
IV, I, Ig.
TREES.
I 5 t
its means, into such great trees with branches,
flowers, and fruit.’
‘ Then, great king, the sectaries are destroyed,
defeated, proved wrong by their own words when
they say that “ an act done to him who accepts it not
is empty and vain.” As the broad earth, O king, is
the Tathagata, the Arahat, the Buddha supreme.
Like it he accepts nothing. Like the seeds which
through it attain to such developments are the gods
and men who, through the jewel treasures of the
relics and the wisdom of the Tathagata—though he
have passed away and consent not to it—being
firmly rooted by the roots of merit, become like
unto trees casting a goodly shade by means of
the trunk of contemplation, the sap of true doctrine,
and the branches of righteousness, and bearing the
flowers of emancipation, and the fruits of Samara-
ship. [ 100 ] Therefore is it, great king, that acts
done to the Tathagata, notwithstanding his having
passed away and not accepting them, are still of
value and bear fruit.’
15. ‘Now hear another and further reason for the
same thing. Do camels, buffaloes, asses, goats,
oxen, or men acquiesce in the birth of worms in¬
side them ?’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘ Then how is it then, that without their consent
worms are so born, and spread by rapid reproduction
of sons and grandsons ? ’
‘ By the power of evil Karma, Sir.’
‘ J ust so, great king, is it by the power of the relics
and the wisdom of the Tathagata, who has passed
away and acquiesces in nothing, that an act done to
him is of value and bears fruit.’
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, i, 16 .
16. ‘Now hear another and further reason for
the same thing. Do men consent, O king, that the
ninety-eight diseases should be produced in their
bodies ?’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘ Then how is it the diseases come ?’
‘ By evil deeds done in former births/
‘ But, great king, if evil deeds done in a former
birth have to be suffered here and now, then both
good and evil done here or done before has weight
and bears fruit. Therefore is it that acts done to
the Tathagata, notwithstanding his having passed
away and not consenting, are nevertheless of value
and bear fruit.’
17. ‘Now hear another and further reason for
the same thing. Did you ever hear, O king, of
the ogre named Nandaka, who, having laid hands
upon the Elder Sariputta, was swallowed up by the
earth ?’
‘ Yes, Sir, that is matter of common talk among
men.’
‘Well, did Sdriputta acquiesce in that ?’
[ 101 ] ‘ Though the world of gods and men, Sir,
were to be destroyed, though the sun and moon
were to fall upon the earth, though Sineru the king
of mountains were to be dissolved, yet would not
Sdriputta the Elder have consented to any pain
being inflicted on a fellow creature. And why not ?
Because every condition of heart which could cause
him to be angry or offended has been in him destroyed
and rooted out. And as all cause thereof had thus
been removed, Sir, therefore could not Sariputta
be angered qven with those who sought to deprive
him of his life.’
IY, r, 18.
SARIPUTTA.
‘ But if Sariputta, O king, did not consent to it,
how was it that Nandaka was so swallowed up ?’
‘ By the power of his evil deeds.’
‘ Then if so, great king, an act done to him who
consents not is still of power and bears fruit. And
if this is so of an evil deed, how much more of a
good one ? Therefore is it, O king, that acts done
to the Tathagata, notwithstanding his having passed
away and not accepting them, are nevertheless of
value and bear fruit.’
18. ‘ Now how many, O king, are those men who,
in this life, have been swallowed up by the earth ?
Have you heard anything on that point ?’
‘ Yes, Sir, I have heard how many there are/
‘ Then tell me.’
‘ Kink a the Brahmin woman, and Suppabuddha
the Sakyan, and Devadatta the Elder, and Nandaka
the ogre, and Nanda the Brahman—these are the
five people who were swallowed up by the earth.’
‘ And whom, O king, had they wronged ?’
1 The Blessed One and his disciples.’
‘ Then did the Blessed One or his disciples consent
to their being so swallowed up ?’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘ Therefore is it, O king, that an act done to the
Tathagata, notwithstanding his having passed away
and not consenting thereto, is nevertheless of value
and bears fruit.’
‘ Well has this deep question been explained by
you, venerable Nagasena, and made clear. You have
made the secret thing [102] plain, you have loosed
the knot, you have made in the jungle an open space,
the adversaries are overthrown, the wrong opinion
has been proved false, the sectaries have been covered
I 54
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 1,19.
with darkness when they met you, O best of all the
leaders of schools ! ’
[Here ends the question as to not consenting to
honours paid k]
[the OMNISCIENCE OF THE BUDDHA.]
19. ‘ Venerable Nigasena, was the Buddha om¬
niscient ?’
‘Yes, O king, he was. But the insight of know¬
ledge was not always and continually (consciously)
present with him. The omniscience of the Blessed
One was dependent on reflection.’ But if he did
reflect he knew whatever he wanted to know 1 2 3 .
‘Then, Sir, the Buddha cannot have been omni¬
scient, if his all-embracing knowledge was reached
through investigation.’
‘ [If so, great king, our Buddha’s knowledge must
have been less in degree of fineness than that of the
other Buddhas. And that is a conclusion hard to
draw. But let me explain a little further.] Suppose,
O king, you had a hundred cart-loads of rice in the
husk, and each cart-load was of seven amma®as 8
and a half. Would a man without consideration be
able to tell you in a moment how many laks of grains
there were in the whole 4 * ?’
1 This title and the subsequent ones to the various questions are
added from the Sinhalese. They are probably the same titles
as those referred to by Mr. Trenckner in his preface as being in his
Burmese MS.
3 So again below, § 27.
3 An ammawa is about four bushels.
4 Mr. Trenckner has marked this passage as corrupt, and I do
not pretend to understand it either. The Sinhalese is also very
IY, I, 21.
THE GIANT BAMBU.
20. ‘ Now there are these seven classes of minds.
Those, great king, who are full of lust, ill-will, delu¬
sion, or wrong doing, who are untrained in the
management of their body, or in conduct, or in
thought, or in wisdom,—their thinking powers are
brought into play with difficulty, and act slowly.
And why is it so ? Because of the untrained con¬
dition of their minds. It is like the slow and heavy
movements of a giant bambu—when it is being
dragged along with its wide-spreading, extensive,
overgrown, and interlaced vegetation, and with its
branches intricately entangled one with the other.
So slow and heavy are the movements of the minds
of those men, O king. And why ? Because of the
intricate entanglements of wrong dispositions. This
is the first class of minds.’
21. ‘From it the second class is to be distinguished.
Those, O king, who have been converted, for whom
the gates of purgatory are closed, who have attained
to right views, who have grasped the doctrine of the
Master—their thinking powers, so far as the three
lower stages 1 are concerned, are brought quickly
involved and confused. I have added the words in brackets from
the Sinhalese, and translated the rest according to the general
sense of the Sinhalese and the figures of the Pali. Hardy gives his
‘version’ at p. 386 of the ‘Manual of Buddhism.’ It says, 1 In one
load of rice there are 63,660,000 grains. Each of these grains can
be separately considered by Buddha in a moment of time. In that
moment the seven-times gifted mind exercises this power.’ The
last sentence is a misunderstanding of the opening words of our
next section (IV, 1, 20).
1 That is, of the Excellent Way. They are the three Fetters—
Delusion of self, Doubt, and Dependence on rites and ceremonies
and outward morality—which the Sotapanno has conquered,
broken.
156 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 1,22.
into play, [ 103 ] and act with ease. But as regards
the higher regions they are brought into play with
difficulty, and act slowly. And why is this so ? Be¬
cause of their minds having been made clear as
regards those three stages, and because of the fail¬
ings (to be vanquished in the higher stages) still
existing within them. It is like the movement of
a giant bambft which has a clean trunk as far as the
third knot, but above that has its branches intricately
entangled. So far as regards the smooth trunk it
would travel easily when dragged along, but it would
stick obstinately as regards its upper branches. This
is the second class of minds.’
22. ‘ From these the third class is to be distin¬
guished. Those,O king,who are Sakad Agimins 1 ,
in whom lust, ill-will, and delusion are reduced to a
minimum,—their thinking powers, so far as the five
lower stages are concerned, are brought quickly into
play, and act with ease. But as regards the higher
regions they are brought into play with difficulty,
and act slowly. And why is this so ? Because of
their minds having been made clear as regards those
five stages, and because of the failings (to be van¬
quished in the higher stages) still existing within
them. It is like the movement of a giant bambfi
which has a clean trunk as far as the fifth knot, but
above that has its branches intricately entangled.
So far as regards the smooth trunk it would travel
easily when dragged along, but it would be moved
with difficulty as far as its upper branches are con¬
cerned. This is the third class of minds.’
1 Disciples who will return only once to this world, there attain
Arahatship, and therefore pass away.
IV, i, 24-
THINKING POWERS.
23. ‘From these the fourth class is to be distin¬
guished. Those, O king, who are An&gamins 1 ,
who have completely got rid of the five lower fetters,
—their thinking powers, so far as the ten stages 2 are
concerned, are brought quickly into play, and act
with ease. [ 104 ] But as regards the higher regions
they are brought into play with difficulty, and act
slowly. And why is this so ? Because of their
minds having been made clear as regards those ten
stages, and because of the failings (to be vanquished
in the higher stages) still existing within them. It is
like the movement of a giant bambfi which has a
smooth trunk as far as the tenth knot, but above
that has its branches intricately entangled. This is
the fourth class of minds.’
24. ‘From these the fifth class is to be distin¬
guished. Those, O king, who are Arahats, in
whom the four Great Evils 3 have ceased, whose
stains have been washed away, whose predispositions
to evil 4 have been put aside, who have lived the
life, and accomplished the task, and laid aside every
burden, and reached up to that which is good, for
whom the Fetter of the craving after any kind of
future life has been broken to pieces 5 , who have
reached the higher insight 6 , who are purified as
regards all those conditions of heart in which a
1 Who will not return even once to this world, but attain Arahat-
ship in heaven.
2 This is noteworthy, for their mind is not yet quite clear as
regards the higher five stages. But it is on all fours with the last
section.
8 Lust, becoming, delusion, and ignorance. 4 Kilesa.
6 Parikktwa-bhava-sawyo^ana.
6 Patta-pa/isambhida.
158 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 1,25.
hearer can be pure,—their thinking powers, as re¬
gards all that a disciple can be or do, are brought
quickly into play, and act with ease. But as to those
things which are within the reach of the Pa/§/£eka-
Buddhas (of those who are Buddhas, but for them¬
selves alone) they are brought into play with difficulty,
and act slowly. And why is this so ? Because of
their having been made pure as regards all within
the province of a hearer, but not as regards that
within the reach of those who are Buddhas (though
for themselves alone). It is like the movement of a
giant bambft which has been pruned of the branches
arising out of all its knots—and which, therefore,
when dragged along moves quickly and with ease,
because of its smoothness all along, and because of
its being unencumbered with the jungly growth of
vegetation. This is the fifth class of minds.’
25 - [ 105 ] ‘ From these the sixth class is to be
distinguished. Those, O king, who are Pa/§/£eka-
Buddhas, dependent on themselves alone, wanting
no teacher, dwellers alone like the solitary horn of
the rhinoceros, who so far as their own higher life is
concerned, have pure hearts free from stain,—their
thinking powers, so far as their own province is con¬
cerned, are brought quickly into play, and act with
ease. But as regards all that is specially within the
province of a perfect Buddha (one who is not only
Buddha, that is enlightened, himself, but can lead
others to the light) they are brought with difficulty
into play, and move slowly. And why is this so ?
Because of their purity as regards all within their
own province, and because of the immensity of the
province of the omniscient Buddhas. It is like a
man, O king, who would fearlessly cross, and at will,
IV, i, 26 .
THE BUDDHAS.
by day or night, a shallow brook on his own pro¬
perty. But when he comes in sight of the mighty
ocean, deep and wide and ever-moving, and sees no
further shore to it, then would he stand hesitating
and afraid, and make no effort even to get over it.
And why ? Because of his familiarity with his own,
and because of the immensity of the sea. This is
the sixth class of minds.’
26. ‘ From these the seventh class is to be distin¬
guished. Those, O king,who are complete Buddhas 1 ,
having all knowledge, bearing about in themselves
the tenfold power (of the ten kinds of insight), con¬
fident in the four modes of just self-confidence,
endowed with the eighteen characteristics of a Bud¬
dha, whose mastery knows no limit, from whose
grasp nothing is hid,—their thinking powers are on
every point brought quickly into play, and act with
ease. Suppose, O king, a dart well burnished, free
from rust, perfectly smooth, with a fine edge, straight,
without a crook or a flaw in it, were to be set on a
powerful crossbow. Would there be any clumsiness
in its action, any retarding in its movement, if it
were discharged by a powerful man against a
piece of fine linen, or cotton stuff, or delicate
woolwork ? ’
‘ Certainly not, Sir. And why ? Because the
stuff is so fine, and the dart so highly tempered,
and the discharge so powerful.’
[ 106 ] ‘ And just in the same way, great king,
are the thinking powers of the Buddhas I have de¬
scribed brought quickly into play, and act with ease.
1 That is as distinguished from the last—not only themselves
enlightened, but able to teach, leaders of men.
l6o THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 1,27.
And why ? Because of their being purified in every
respect. This is the seventh class of minds.’
27. ‘ Now of these, O king, the last — the
thinking powers of the omniscient Buddhas—alto¬
gether outclasses the other six, and is clear and
active in its high quality that is beyond our ken.
It is because the mind of the Blessed One is
so clear and active that the Blessed One, great
king, displays the double miracle. From that we
may get to know, O king, how clear and active
His mental powers are. And for those wonders
there is no further reason that can be alleged.
(Yet) those wonders, O king, [caused by means of
the mind (alone) of the omniscient Buddhas T ] cannot
be counted, or calculated, or divided, or separated,
(For) the knowledge of the Blessed One, O king,
is dependent upon reflection 2 , and it is on reflec¬
tion that he knows whatever he wishes to know.
(But) it is as when a man passes something he
already has in one hand to the other, or utters
a sound when his mouth is open, or swallows
some food that he has already in his mouth, or
opens his eyes when they are shut, or shuts them
when open, or stretches forth his arm when it is
bent in, or bends it in when stretched out—
more rapid than that, great king, and more easy
in its action, is the all-embracing knowledge of the
Blessed One, more rapid than that his reflection.
And although it is by reflection that they know
whatever they want to know, yet even when they
1 There is surely something wrong here; either in the Pali, or
in my interpretation of it, which follows the Sinhalese (p. 130).
* Here the opening argument of § 17 is again taken up.
IV, I, 27.
REFLECTION.
r6i
are not reflecting the Blessed Buddhas are not, even
then, anything other than omniscient.’
‘ But, venerable Nagasena, reflection is carried on
for the purpose of seeking (that which is not clear
when the reflection begins). Come now. Convince
me in this matter by some reason.’
‘Suppose, O king, there were a rich man, great
in wealth and property—one who had stores of
gold and silver and valuables, and stores of all
kinds of wheat, one who had rice, and paddy, and
barley, and dry grain, and oilseed, and beans, and peas,
and every other edible seed, who had ghee, and oil,
and butter, and milk, and curds, and honey, and sugar,
and molasses, [ 107 ] all put away in store-rooms
in jars, and pots, and pans, and every sort of vessel.
Now if a traveller were to arrive, one worthy of
hospitality, and expecting to be entertained; and all
the prepared food in the house had been finished,
and they were to get out of the jar some rice ready
for cooking, and prepare a meal for him. Would that
wealthy man merely by reason of the deficiency in
eatable stuff at that unusual time be rightly called
poor or needy ? ’
‘ Certainly not, Sir. Even in the palace of a
mighty king of kings there might be no food
ready out of time, how much less in the house of
an ordinary man.’
‘ Just so, great king, with the all-embracing know¬
ledge of a Tathagata when reflection only is
wanting; but which on reflection grasps whatever
he wants. Now suppose, O king, there were a tree
in full fruit, with its branches bending this way and
that by the weight of the burden of the bunches of
its fruit, but no single fruit had fallen from it.
i 62
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 1,28.
Could that tree rightly, under the circumstances
of the case, be called barren, merely because of
the want of a fallen fruit ? ’
‘ No, Sir. For though the falling of the fruit is
a condition precedent to its enjoyment, yet when
it has fallen one can take as much as one likes.’
‘Just so, great king, though reflection is a neces¬
sary condition of the knowledge of the Tathigata,
yet on reflection it perceives whatever he wants to
know.’
‘ Does that happen always, Nagasena, at the
moment of reflection ? ’
‘Yes, O king. Just as when the mighty king of
kings (the A'akkavatti) calling to mind his glorious
wheel of victory wishes it to appear, and no sooner
is it thought of than it appears—so does the know¬
ledge of the Tathagata follow continually on reflec¬
tion.’
‘ Strong is the reason you give, Nagasena, for the
omniscience of the Buddha. I am convinced that
that is so.’
[Here ends the question as to the omniscience of
the Buddha being dependent on reflection b]
[why devadatta was admitted to the order.]
28. ‘ Venerable N&gasena, who was it that ad¬
mitted Devadatta 1 2 to the Order ?’
1 At III, 6, 2 there is another problem raised as to the om¬
niscience of the Buddha.
2 He is the Judas of the Buddhist story, who tried to have the
Buddha killed, and to seduce his disciples from him.
IV, i, 28. DEVADATTA. 163
1 Those six young nobles, O king, Bhaddiya and
Anuruddha and Ananda and Bhagu and Kimbila
and Devadatta, [ 108 ] together with U pali the
barber as a seventh—they all, when the Master had
attained to Buddhahood, left the Sakya home out
of the delight they felt in him, and following the
Blessed One renounced the world \ So the Blessed
One admitted them all to the Order.’
‘ But was it not Devadatta who, after he had
entered the Order, raised up a schism within it ? ’
‘Yes. No layman can create a schism, nor a
sister of the Order, nor one under preparatory in¬
struction, nor a novice of either sex. It must be a
Bhikkhu, under no disability, who is in full com¬
munion, and a co-resident 2 .’
‘ And what Karma does a schismatical person
gain ? ’
‘ A Karma that continues to act for a Kalpa (a
very long period of time).’
‘ What then, Nagasena! Was the Buddha aware
that Devadatta after being admitted to the Order
would raise up a schism, and having done so would
suffer torment in purgatory for a Kalpa ? ’
‘ Yes, the Tathigata knew that.’
‘ But, N&gasena, if that be so, then the statement
that the Buddha was kind and pitiful, that he sought
after the good of others, that he was the remover of
that which works harm, the provider of that which
works well to all beings—that statement must be
wrong. If it be not so—if he knew not that Deva-
1 HJna/i-kumbure takes kula as an ablative.
2 These are all termini technici in Buddhist canon law.
The meaning 1 is that other divisions in the Order do not amount
technically to schism. See the Amllavagga VII, 1, 27, &c.
M 2
1 64 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, i, 29.
datta after he had been admitted to the Order would
stir up a schism—then he cannot have been omni¬
scient. This other double-pointed dilemma is put
to you. Unravel this tough skein, break up the
argument of the adversaries. In future times it will
be hard to find Bhikkhus like to you in wisdom.
Herein then show your skill! ’
29. ‘ The Blessed One, O king, was both full of
mercy and had all knowledge. It was when the
Blessed One in his mercy and wisdom considered
the life history of Devadatta that he perceived how,
having heaped up Karma on Karma, he would pass
for an endless series of Kalpas from torment to
torment, and from perdition to perdition. And the
Blessed One knew also that the infinite Karma of
that' man would, because he had entered the Order,
become finite, and the sorrow caused by the pre¬
vious Karma would also therefore become limited.
[ 109 ] But that if that foolish person were not to
enter the Order then he would continue to heap up
Karma which would endure for a Kalpa. And it
was because he knew that that, in his mercy, he
admitted him to the Order.’
‘ Then, Nagasena, the Buddha first wounds a man
and then pours oil on the wound, first throws a man
down a precipice and then reaches out to him an
assisting hand, first kills him and then seeks to give
him life, first gives pain and then adds a subsequent
joy to the pain he gave.’
‘The Tathigata, O king, wounds people but to
their good, he casts people down but to their profit,
he kills people but to their advantage. Just as
mothers and fathers, O king, hurt their children and
even knock them down, thinking the while of their
IV, I, 30 .
DEVADATTA.
good; so by whatsoever method an increase in the
virtue of living things can be brought about, by that
method does he contribute to their good. If Deva-
datta, O king, had not entered the Order, then as a
layman he would have laid up much Karma leading
to states of woe, and so passing for hundreds of thou¬
sands of Kalpas from torment to misery, and from
one state of perdition to another, he would have
suffered constant pain. It was knowing that, that in
his mercy, the Blessed One admitted Devadatta to
the Order. It was at the thought that by renounc¬
ing the world according to His doctrine Devadatta’s
sorrow would become finite that, in his mercy, he
adopted that means of making his heavy sorrow light.
30. ‘ As a man of influence, O king, by the power
of his wealth or reputation or prosperity or birth,
when a grievous penalty has been imposed by the
king on some friend or relative of his, would get
it made light by the ability arising from the trust
reposed in him; [ 110 ] just so did the Blessed One,
by admitting him to the Order, and by the efficacy
of the influence of righteousness and meditation and
wisdom and emancipation of heart, make light the
heavy sorrow of Devadatta, who would have had to
suffer many hundreds of thousands of Kalpas. As a
clever physician and surgeon, O king, would make
a grievous sickness light by the aid of a powerful
medicinal drug, just so did the Blessed One, in his
knowledge of the right means to an end, admit
Devadatta to the Order and thus make his grievous
pain light by the aid of the medicine of the Dhamma,
strong by the power of mercy k Was then, O king,
1 Karu««abalopatthaddha. Compare (Ataka, vol. i, verse
267, and Sutta Vibhanga I, 10, 7.
1 66 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, i, 31.
the Blessed One guilty of any wrong in that he
turned Devadatta from being a man of much sorrow
into being a man of less sorrow ? ’
‘ No indeed, Sir. He committed no wrong, not
even in the smallest degree 1 .’
‘ Then accept this, great king, to the full as the
reason for which the Blessed One admitted Deva¬
datta to the Order.’
31. ‘ Hear another and further reason, O king, for
the Blessed One’s having admitted Devadatta. Sup¬
pose men were to seize and hurry before the king
some wicked robber, saying: “ This is the wicked
robber, your Majesty. Inflict upon him such punish¬
ment as you think fit! ” And thereupon the king were
to say to them : “ Take this robber then, my men,
outside the town, and there on the place of execu¬
tion cut off his head.” And they in obedience to his
orders were to take that man accordingly towards the
place of execution. And some man who was high
in office near the king, and of great reputation and
wealth and property, whose word was held of weight 2 ,
and whose influence was great, should see him.
And he were to have pity on him, and were to say to
those men : “ Stay, good fellows. What good will
cutting off his head do to you ? Save him alive,
and cut off only a hand or a foot. I will speak on
his behalf to the king.” And they at the word of
that influential person were to do so. Now would
the officer who had acted so towards him have been
a benefactor to that robber ? ’
1 Gadd&hanam pi. It is the Sanskrit dadrfighna.
a Adeyya-va£ano. See my note, Aullavagga VI, 4, 8, and
also Puggala Pa«»atti III, 12, and V&nka. Gati Dipana, 98.
IV, x, 32 .
DEVADATTA.
‘ He would have saved his life, Sir. And having
done that, what would he not have done ? ’
‘ But would he have done no wrong on account of
the pain the man suffered [ 111 ] when his hand or foot
was cut off ? ’
‘ The pain the thief suffered, Sir, was his own
fault. But the man who saved his life did him no
harm.’
‘Just so, great king, was it in his mercy that the
Blessed One admitted Devadatta, with the know¬
ledge that by that his sorrow would be mitigated.’
32. ‘ And Devadatta’s sorrow, O king, was miti¬
gated. For Devadatta at the moment of his death
took refuge in Him for the rest of his existences
when he said:
“ In him, who of the best is far the best 1 2 3 ,
The god of gods, the guide of gods and men,
Who see’th all, and bears the hundred marks
Of goodness,—’tis in him I refuge take
Through all the lives that I may have to live.”
2 ‘ If you divide this Kalpa, O king, into six parts,
it was at the end of the first part that Devadatta
created schism in the Order. After he has suffered
the other five in purgatory he will be released, and
will become a Pa/b£eka-Buddha 8 under the name
of AA,£issara.’
‘ Great is the gift bestowed, Nagasena, by the
Blessed One on Devadatta. In that the Tathagata
1 Literally, ‘ is the best of these eight ’— the eight being those
walking in the Excellent Way, the four magga-samahgino and
the four phala-samangino. See Puggala PaiHatti VIII, 1.
2 The Sinhalese inserts a paragraph here not found in Mr.
Trenckner’s text.
3 See above, p. 158.
1 68 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, i, 33.
has caused him to attain to the state of a Pa^eka-
Buddha, what has he not done for him ? ’
‘ But inasmuch as Devadatta, O king, having
made a schism in the Order, suffers pain in purgatory,
has not therefore the Blessed One done him wrong?’
‘ No, Sir. That is Devadatta’s own fault; and
the Blessed One who mitigated his suffering has
done him no harm.’
‘ Then accept this, O king, to the full as the
reason for the Blessed One admitting Devadatta to
the Order.
33. ‘ Hear another and further reason, O king,
for his having done so. [ 112 ] Suppose in treating a
wound full of matter and blood, in whose grievous
hollow the weapon which caused it remained, which
stank of putrid flesh, and was made worse by the pain
that varied with constantly changing symptoms, by
variations in temperature, and by the union of the
three humours,—windy, bilious, and phlegmatic —
an able physician and surgeon were to anoint it with
a rough, sharp, bitter, stinging ointment, to the end
that the inflammation should be allayed. And when
the inflammation had gone down, and the wound
had become sweet, suppose he were then to cut into
it with a lancet, and burn it with caustic. And when
he had cauterised it, suppose he were to prescribe
an alkaline wash, and anoint it with some drug to
the end that the wound might heal up, and the sick
man recover his health—now tell me, O king, would
it be out of cruelty that the surgeon thus smeared
with ointment, and cut with the lancet, and cauterised
1 The interpretation of some of the medical terms in this para¬
graph is very uncertain. See pp. 134, 252, 304 of the text.
IV, 1,34. DEVADATTA. 1 69
with the stick of caustic, and administered a salty
wash ? ’
‘ Certainly not, Sir; it would be with kindness in
his heart, and intent on the man’s weal, that he
would do all those things.’
‘ And the feelings of pain produced by his efforts
to heal—would not the surgeon be guilty of any
wrong in respect of them ?’
‘ How so ? Acting with kind intent and for the
man’s weal, how could he therein incur a wrong ?
It is of heavenly bliss rather that that kindly surgeon
would be worthy.’
‘Just so, great king, was it in his mercy that the
Blessed One admitted Devadatta, to the end to
release him from pain.’
34. ‘ Hear another and further reason, O king,
why the Blessed One did so. Suppose a man had
been pierced by a thorn. And another man with
kindly intent and for his good were to cut round the
place with another sharp thorn or with a lancet, and
the blood flowing the while, were to extract that
thorn. Now would it be out of cruelty that he
acted so ? ’
‘ Certainly not, Sir. For he acted with kindly
intent, and for the man’s good. And if he had not
done so the man might have died, or might have
suffered such pain that he would have been nigh
to death.’
‘ Just even so, great king, was it of his mercy that
the Tathagata admitted Devadatta, to the end to
release him of his pain. If he had not done so
[ 113 ] Devadatta would have suffered torment in
purgatory through a succession of existences, through
hundreds of thousands of Kalpas.’
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 1, 35.
‘ Yes, Nagasena, the Tathagata turned Devadatta,
who was being carried down with the flood, with his
head against the stream ; he again pointed out the
road to Devadatta when he was lost in the jungle ;
he gave a firm foothold to Devadatta when he was
falling down the precipice: he restored Devadatta
to peace when he was swallowed up of desolation.
But the reason and the meaning of these things could
no one have pointed out, Nigasena, unless he were
wise as you ! ’
[Here ends the dilemma about Devadatta.]
[vessantara’s earthquake.]
35. ‘Venerable Nigasena, the Blessed One said
thus: “ There are these eight causes, O Bhikkhus,
proximate or remote, for a mighty earthquake 1 .”
This is an inclusive statement, a statement which
leaves no room for anything to be supplemented, a
statement to which no gloss can be added. There
can be no ninth reason for an earthquake. If there
were, the Blessed One would have mentioned it. It
is because there is no other, that he left it unnoticed.
But we find another, and a ninth reason, when we are
told that on Vessantara’s giving his mighty largesse
the earth shook seven times 2 . If, Nagasena, there
are eight causes for an earthquake, then what we hear
of the earthquake at Vessantara’s largesse is false.
And if that is true, then the statement as to the eight
1 From the Book of the Great Decease, III, 13, translated at p. 43
of my ‘ Buddhist Suttas,’ vol. xi in this series.
2 See the Vessantara Gi taka, and compare Gataka I, p. 74.
IV, I, 36.
VESSANTARA.
I 7 I
causes of earthquakes is false. This double-headed
question, too, is subtle, hard to unravel, dark, and
profound. It is now put to you. [ 114 ] No one of
less knowledge can solve it, only one wise as you.’
36. ‘ The Blessed One made the statement you
refer to, O king, and yet the earth shook seven
times at Vessantara’s largesse. But that was out of
season, it was an isolated occurrence, it was not
included in the eight usual causes, and was not
therefore reckoned as one of them. Just, O king,
as there are three kinds of well-known rains reckoned
in the world—that of the rainy season, that of the
winter months, and that of the two months Asi/^a
and Savana. If, besides these, any other rain falls,
that is not reckoned among the usual rains, but is
called “a rain out of season.” And again, O king,
just as there are five hundred rivers which flow down
from the Himalayas, but of these ten only are
reckoned in enumerations of rivers—the Ganges,
the Jumna, the A/&iravatl, the Sarabhfi, the Mahi,
the Indus, the Sarasvati, the Vetravati, the Vitawsa,
and the Aandabhaga—the others not being included
in the catalogue because of their intermittent flow
of water. And again, O king, just as there are a
hundred or two of officers under the king, but only
six of them are reckoned as officers of state—the
commander-in-chief, the prime minister, and the chief
judge, and the high treasurer, and the bearer of the
sunshade of state, and the state sword-bearer. And
why ? Because of their royal prerogatives. The
rest are not reckoned, they are all called simply
officers. [ 115 ] Just as in all these cases, great
king, the seven times repeated earthquake at the
largesse of Vessantara was, as an isolated and extra-
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 1, 37.
ordinary occurrence, and distinct from the eight usual
ones, not reckoned among those eight causes.’
37. ‘Now have you heard, O king, in the history
of our faith of any act of devotion being done so as
to receive its recompense even in this present life,
the fame of which has reached up to the gods ? ’
‘ Yes, Lord, I have heard of such. There are seven
cases of such actions.’
‘ Who were the people who did those things ?’
‘ Sumana the garland maker, and Eka-saiaka the
brahman, and Pu#/za the hired servant, and Malliki
the queen, and the queen known as the mother of
Gopala, and Suppiya the devoted woman, and Punna.
the slave-girl. It was these seven who did acts of
devotion which bare fruit even in this life, and the
fame of which reached even to the gods.’
‘ And have you heard of others, O king, who, even
in their human body, mounted up to the blessed
abode of the great Thirty-three ?’
‘Yes, I have heard, too, of them.’
‘ And who were they ?’
‘ Guttila the musician, and S&dhina the king, and
king Nimi, and king Mandhata—these four. Long
ago was it done, this glorious deed and difficult.’
‘ But have you ever heard, O king, of the earth
shaking, either now or in the past, and either once
or twice or thrice, when a gift had been given ?’
‘ No, Sir, that I have not heard of.’
‘ And I too, O king—though I have received the
traditions, and been devoted to study, and to hearing
the law, and to learning by heart, and to the acquire¬
ments of discipleship, and though I have been ready
to learn, and to ask and to answer questions, and to
sit at the feet of teachers—I too have never heard
IV, I, 37.
VESSANTARA.
of such a thing, except only in the case of the splendid
gift of Vessantara the glorious king. And between
the times of Kassapa the Blessed One, and of
the Blessed One the Sakya sage, there have rolled
by hundreds of thousands of years, but in all that
period I have heard of no such case. [ 116 ] It is at no
common effort, O king, at no ordinary struggle, that
the great earth is moved. It is when overborne by
the weight of righteousness, overpowered by the
burden of the goodness of acts which testify of
absolute purity, that, unable to support it, the broad
earth quakes and trembles and is moved. Then it
is as when a wagon is overladen with a too heavy
weight, and the nave and the spokes are split, and
the axletree is broken in twain. Then it is as when
the heavens, overspread with the waters of the
tempest driven by the wind, and overweighted with
the burden of the heaped-up rain-clouds, roar and
creak and rage at the onset of the whirlwind.
Thus was it, great king, that the broad earth, unable
to support the unwonted burden of the heaped-up
and wide-reaching force of king Vessantara’s lar¬
gesse, quaked and trembled and was moved. For
the heart of king Vessantara was not turned in the
way of lust, nor of ill-will, nor of dullness, nor of
pride, nor of delusion, nor of sin, nor of disputation,
nor of discontent, but it was turned mightily to
generosity. And thinking: “ Let all those who
want, and who have not yet come, now arrive ! Let
all who come receive whate’er they want, and be
filled with satisfaction! ” it was on giving, ever and
without end, that his mind was set. And on these
ten conditions of heart, O king, was his mind too
fixed—on self-control, and on inward calm, and on
i74
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, i, 38.
long-suffering, and on self-restraint, and on temper¬
ance, and on voluntary subjugation to meritorious
vows, and on freedom from all forms of wrath and
cruelty, and on truthfulness, and on purity of heart.
He had abandoned, O king, all seeking after the
satisfaction of his animal lusts, he had overcome all
craving after a future life, his strenuous effort was
set only towards the higher life. He had given up,
O king, the caring for himself, and devoted himself
thenceforth to caring for others alone. His mind
was fixed immovably on the thought: “ How can I
make all beings to be at peace, healthy, and wealthy,
and long lived ?” [ 117 ] And when, O king, he
was giving things away, he gave not for the sake of
rebirth in any glorious state, he gave not for the
sake of wealth, nor of receiving gifts in return, nor
of flattery, nor of long life for himself, nor of high
birth, nor of happiness, nor of power, nor of fame, nor
of offspring either of daughters or of sons'—but it was
for the sake of supreme wisdom and of the treasure
thereof that he gave gifts so immense, so immeasur¬
able, so unsurpassed. It was when he had attained
to that supreme wisdom that he uttered the verse :
“Gi Lli, my son, and the Black Antelope,
My daughter, and my queen, my wife, Maddf,
I gave them all away without a thought—
And ’twas for Buddhahood I did this thing 1 .”’
38. ‘ The angry man, O king, did the great king
Vessantara conquer by mildness, and the wicked
man by goodness, and the covetous by generosity,
1 From the Afariya Pi/aka I, ix, 52. See Dr. Morris’s edition
for the Pali Text Society, p. 81.
IV, I, 38.
VESSANTARA.
and the speaker of falsehood by truth, and all evil
did he overcome by righteousness 1 . When he was
thus giving away—he who was seeking after right¬
eousness, who had made righteousness his aim—
then were the great winds, on which the earth rests
below, agitated by the full force of the power of the
influence that resulted from his generosity, and little
by little, one by one, the great winds began to blow
confusedly, and up and down and towards each side
the earth swayed, and the mighty trees rooted in
the soil 2 began to totter, and masses of cloud were
heaped together in the sky, and terrible winds arose
laden with dust, and the heavens rushed together,
and hurricanes blew with violent blasts, and a great
and terrible mighty noise was given forth. And at
the raging of those winds, the waters little by little
began to move, and at the movement of the waters
the great fish and the scaly creatures were disturbed,
and the waves began to roll in double breakers, and
the beings that dwell in the waters were seized with
fear and as the breakers rushed together in pairs
the roar of the ocean grew loud, and the spray was
lashed into fury, and garlands of foam arose, and
the great ocean opened to its depths, and the waters
rushed hither and thither, the furious crests of their
waves meeting this way and that; and the Asuras,
and Garu/as, and Yakkhas, and Nagas 3 shook with
fear, and thought in their alarm : “ What now! How
now! is the great ocean being turned upside down ? ”
1 On this sentiment Mr. Trenckner calls attention to the
analogous phrases at Dhammapada, verse 223.
2 Slnapatta: which the Sinhalese renders po/o talehi kal
gewi patra wce/ima/a pceminiyawu wrz'kshayo.
3 Fabulous beings supposed to occupy these fabulous waters.
176 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 1, 39.
and sought, with terrified hearts, for a way of escape.
And as the water on which it rests 1 was troubled
and agitated, then the broad earth began to shake,
and with it the mountain ranges and the ocean
depths, [ 118 ] and Sineru began to revolve, and
its rocky mountain crest became twisted. And at
the trembling of the earth, the serpents, and mun-
gooses, and cats, and jackals, and boars, and deer,
and birds became greatly distressed, and the Yakkhas
of inferior power wept, while those of greater power
were merry.’
39. ‘Just, O king, as when a huge and mighty
cauldron 2 is placed in an oven full of water, and
crowded with grains of rice, then the fire burning
beneath heats first of all the cauldron, and when
that has become hot the water begins to boil, and
as the water boils the grains of rice are heated and
dive hither and thither in the water, and a mass of
bubbles arises, and a garland of foam is formed—
just so, O king, king Vessantara gave away what¬
soever is in the world considered most difficult to
bestow, and by reason of the nature of his generosity
the great winds beneath were unable to refrain from
being agitated throughout, and on the great winds
being thrown into confusion the waters were shaken,
and on the waters being disturbed the broad earth
trembled, and so then the winds and the waters
and the earth became all three, as it were, of one
accord by the immense and powerful influence that
1 This conception of the earth resting on water and the water on
air is Indian, and forms no part of distinctively Buddhist teaching.
2 Mahati-mahl-pariyogo; not in Childers nor in the San¬
skrit Petersburg Dictionary. Hina/i-kumbure renders it it a mahat
wu mahS bh&g-anayak.
IV, i, 40.
VESSANTARA.
resulted from that mighty giving. And there was
never another giving, O king, which had such
power as that generosity of the great king
Vessantara.
40. ‘And just, O king, as there are many gems of
value found in the earth—the sapphire, and the great
sapphire, and the wish-conferring gem, and the cat’s
eye, and the flax gem 1 , and the Acacia gem 2 , and
the entrancing gem, and the favourite of the sun 3 ,
and the favourite of the moon 4 , and the crystal, and
the kaj^opakkamaka 5 , and the topaz, and the
ruby, and the Masara stone 6 —but the glorious gem
of the king of kings is acknowledged to be the chief
of all these and surpassing all, for the sheen of that
jewel, O king, spreads round about for a league on
every side 7 —just so, O king, of all the gifts that
1 Umma-puppha; rendered diya-me»rfiri-pushpa in the
Sinhalese. Clough gives diyameneri as a plant ‘ commelina
cucullata.’
2 Sirisa-puppha; rendered marl-pushpa in the Sinhalese,
mar a being the seed of the ‘ adenanthera pavonia.’
3 Suriya-kanto, which the Sinhalese merely repeats.
4 K11 n d a - k a n t a; and so also in the Sinhalese. These are mythic
gems, supposed to be formed out of the rays of the sun and moon
respectively, and visible only when they shine.
5 The Sinhalese has ka^opakramaya, which is not in
Clough.
6 Mas&ra-galla, which the Sinhalese renders by masdra-
galya, which Bohtlingk-Roth think is sapphire or smaragd, and
Clough renders ‘ emerald,’ and the commentary on the Abhidhana
Padipika, quoted by Childers, says is a stone produced in the hill
of Mas&ra (otherwise unknown).
On similar lists of gems elsewhere see the Afullavagga IX, 1, 3,
and my note at pp. 249, 250 of the 1 Buddhist Suttas ’ (vol. xi of
the ‘ Sacred Books of the East ’).
7 So also in the Maht-Sudassana Sutta I, 32, translated in the
‘ Buddhist Suttas,’ p. 256. Compare above, p. 35 of the text.
178 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, x, 41.
have ever been given upon earth, even the greatest
and the most unsurpassed, that giving of the good
king Vessantara is acknowledged to surpass them
all. And it was on the giving of that gift, O king,
that the broad earth shook seven times V
41. ‘A marvellous thing is it, Ndgasena, of the
Buddhas, and a most wonderful, that the Tathigata
even when a Bodisat (in the course of becoming a
Buddha) [ 119 ] was so unequalled in the world, so
mild, so kind, and held before him aims so high,
and endeavours so grand. You have made evident,
Nagasena, the might of the Bodisats, a most clear
light have you cast upon the perfection of the Con¬
querors, you have shown how, in the whole world of
gods and men, a Tath&gata, as he continues the
practice of his noble life, is the highest and the best.
Well spoken, venerable Ndgasena. The doctrine of
the Conqueror has been exalted, the perfection of
the Conqueror has been glorified, the knot of the
arguments of the adversaries has been unravelled,
the jar of the theories of the opponents has been
broken in pieces, the dilemma so profound has been
made clear, the jungle has been turned into open
country, the children of the Conqueror have received
the desire of their hearts 1 2 , It is so, as you say, O
best of the leaders of schools, and I accept that
which you have said 1 ’
[Here ends the dilemma as to the earthquake at
Vessantara’s gift.]
1 There is here a long paragraph in the Sinhalese omitted in
the Pali.
2 Nibbdhana; rendered abhiwarddhiya in the Sinhalese.
IV, t, 42.
KING SIVI.
[king SIVI 1 .]
42. ‘Venerable Nagasena, your people say thus:
“ King Sivi gave his eyes to the man who begged
them of him, and when he had thus become blind,
new eyes were given to him from heaven 2 3 .” This
statement is unpalatable 8 , it lays its speaker open
to rebuke, it is faulty. For it is said in the Sutta :
“ When the cause has been utterly destroyed, when
there is no longer any cause, any basis left, then the
divine eye cannot arise 4 ,” So if he gave his eyes
away, the statement that he received new (divine)
ones must be false : and if divine eyes arose to him,
then the statement that he gave his eyes away must
be false. This dilemma too is a double-pointed
one, more knotty than a knot, more piercing than an
arrow, more confusing than a jungle. It is now put
to you. Rouse up in yourself the desire to accom¬
plish the task that is set to you, to the refutation of
the adversaries! ’
1 The story is given at length in the Sivi (Pataka, No. 499 (vol.
iv, pp. 401-412 of Professor Fausbdll’s edition).
2 There is nothing in the text of the (Pataka (p. 410) of the new
eyes being ‘divine’ or ‘from heaven,’ There new, ordinary eyes
arose to him as the result of his virtue.
3 Sa-kasa(a»r. Kasa/a cannot mean simply ‘insipid’ as
Dr. Edward Muller suggests at p. 43 of his ‘ Pali Grammar,’ for it
is opposed to dullness, insipidity (manda) at Anguttara II, g, 5.
It must mean there ‘wrong, not only by omission, but by com¬
mission.’ Compare its use in the Dhammapada Commentary,
p. 275; (Pataka I, 108, II, 97; and in the commentary on the
Puggala IV, 24. Mr. Trenckner points out in his note that it is
often written saka(a, and is no doubt the same as the Sanskrit
word so spelt, and given by Wilson. (It is not in Bohtlingk-Roth.)
4 I don’t know which Sutta is referred to.
N 2
i8o
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, i, 43.
‘ King Sivi gave his eyes away, O king. Harbour
no doubt on that point. And in stead thereof divine
eyes were produced for him. Neither on that point
should you harbour doubt.’
‘ But then, Nigasena, can the divine eye arise
when the cause of it has been utterly destroyed,
when no cause for it, no basis, remains ? ’
‘ Certainly not, O king.’
‘ What then is the reason [ 120 ] by which in this
case it arose, notwithstanding that its cause had been
utterly destroyed, and no cause for it, no basis, re¬
mained. Come now. Convince me of the reason of
this thing.’
43. ‘ What then, O king ? Is there in the
world such a thing as Truth, by the asseveration
of which true believers can perform the Act of
Truth 1 ?’
‘Yes, Lord, there is. And by it true believers
make the rain to fall, and fire to go out 2 , and ward
off the effects of poison, and accomplish many other
things they want to do.’
‘ Then, great king, that fits the case, that meets
it on all fours. It was by the power of Truth that
those divine eyes were produced for Sivi the king.
By the power of the Truth the divine eye arose
when no other cause was present, for the Truth itself
was, in that case, the cause of its production. Sup-
1 This paragraph is very different in the Si;»halese, and much
longer than the Pali.
2 See the beautiful story of the Holy Quail (translated in my
‘Buddhist Birth Stories,’ p. 302), where even so weak a creature as a
baby quail is able, by such a mystic Act of Truth, to drive back the
great and powerful Agni, the god of fire, whom the Brahmans so
much feared and worshipped.
IY, i, 45.
KING SIVI.
I8l
pose, O king, any Siddha (accomplished one 1 ) on
intoning a charm 2 , and saying : “ Let a mighty rain
now fall! ” were to bring about a heavy rainfall by
the intoning of his charm—would there in that case
be any cause for rain accumulated in the sky by
which the rain could be brought about ?’
‘ No, Sir. The charm itself would be the cause.’
‘Just so, great king, in the case put. There would
be no ordinary cause. The Truth itself would be
sufficient reason for the growth of the divine eye ! ’
44. ‘ Now suppose, O king, a Siddha were to
intone a charm, and say: “Now let the mighty
blazing, raging mass of fire go back! ” and the
moment the charm were repeated it were to retreat
—would there be any cause laid by which would
work that result ?’
‘ No, Sir. The charm itself would be the cause.’
‘Just so, great king, would there in our case be no
ordinary cause. The power of the Truth would be
sufficient cause in itself!’
45. ‘ Now suppose, O king, one of those Siddhas
were to intone a charm, [121] and were then to say:
“ Let this malignant poison become as a healing
drug! ” and the moment the charm were repeated
that would be so—-would there be any cause in
reserve for that effect to be produced ? ’
‘ Certainly not, Sir. The charm itself would cause
the warding off of that malignant poison.’
‘Just so, great king, without any ordinary cause
the Truth itself was, in king Sivi’s case, a sufficient
reason for the reproduction of his eyes.’
] ‘ One who knows a powerful charm (or perhaps Vedic verse,
mantra),’ says Ilma/i-kumbure.
2 Sa££a, literally truth. (Satya-gayana in the Sinhalese.)
i82
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, I, 4 6.
46. ‘ Now there is no other cause, O king, for the
attainment of the four Noble Truths. It is only by
means of an Act of Truth that they are attained. In
the land of China, O king, there is a king of China,
who when he wants to charm the great ocean, per¬
forms at intervals of four months a solemn Act of
Truth, and then on his royal chariot drawn by lions,
he enters a league’s distance into the great ocean.
Then in front of the head of his chariot the mighty
waves roll back, and when he returns they flow once
more over the spot. But could the ocean be so
drawn back by the ordinary bodily power of all gods
and men combined ? ’
‘ Sir, even the water in a small tank could not be
so made to retire, how much less the waters of the
great ocean! ’
‘ By this know then the force of Truth. There is
no place to which it does not reach.’
47. ‘ When Asoka the righteous ruler, O king, as
he stood one day at the city of Pa/aliputta in the
midst of the townsfolk and the country people, of his
officers and his servants, and his ministers of state,
beheld the Ganges river as it rolled along filled up
by freshets from the hills, full to the brim and over¬
flowing—that mighty stream five hundred leagues
in length, and a league in breadth—he said to his
officers : “ Is there any one, my good friends, who
is able to make this great Ganges flow backwards
and up stream ? ”
‘ “ Nay, Sire, impossible,” said they.
‘ Now a certain courtesan, Bindumati by name, was
in the crowd there at the river side, [122] and she
heard people repeat the question that the king had
asked. Then she said to herself: “ Here am I, a
IY, i, 47-
KING SIVI.
harlot, in this city of Paialiputta, by the sale of my
body do I gain my livelihood, I follow the meanest
of vocations. Let the king behold the power of an
Act of Truth performed even by such as I,” And she
performed an Act of Truth 1 . And that moment
the mighty Ganges, roaring and raging, rolled back,
up stream, in the sight of all the people !
‘ Then when the king heard the din and the noise
of the movement of the waves of the whirlpools of
the mighty Ganges, amazed, and struck with awe
and wonder, he said to his officers: “ How is this,
that the great Ganges is flowing backwards ? ”
‘ And they told him what had happened. Then
filled with emotion the king went himself in haste
and asked the courtesan : “ Is it true what they say,
that it is by your Act of Truth that this Ganges has
been forced to flow backwards ? ”
‘ “ Yes, Sire,” said she.
‘And the king asked: “How have you such
power in the matter ? Or who is it who takes
your words to heart (and carries them out) ? By
what authority is it that you, insignificant as you
are 2 , have been able to make this mighty river
flow backwards ? ”
‘ And she replied : “ It is by the power of Truth,
great king.”
‘ But the king said : “ How can that power be
in you—you, a woman of wicked and loose life,
1 That is to say, in the words of the Quail story (loc. cit. p. 305),
she 1 called to mind the attributes of the Buddhas who had passed
away, and made a solemn asseveration of the faith’ that she had in
the truth they had taught.
2 Anummatto, which the Sinhalese translates as a feminine.
1 84 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 1, 48.
devoid of virtue, under no restraint *, sinful, who
have overstepped all limits, and are full of transgres¬
sion, and live on the plunder of fools ?”
‘ “ It is true, O king, what you say. That is just
the kind of creature I am. But even in such a one
as I so great is the power of the Act of Truth that I
could turn the whole world of gods and men upside
down by it.”
‘ Then the king said : “ What is this Act of Truth ?
Come now, let me hear about it.”
‘ “ Whosoever, O king, gives me gold—be he a
noble or a brahman or a tradesman or a servant—I
regard them all alike. When I see he is a noble
I make no distinction in his favour. If I know him
to be a slave I despise him not. Free alike from
fawning and from dislike do I do service to him who
has bought me. This, your Majesty, is the basis of
the Act of Truth by the force of which I turned the
Ganges back.” ’
48. ‘ Thus, O king, is it that there is nothing
which those who are stedfast to the truth may not
enjoy. And so king Sivi gave his eyes away to
him who begged them of him, [ 123 ] and he received
eyes from heaven, and that happened by his Act of
Truth. But what is said in the Sutta that when the
eye of flesh is destroyed, and the cause of it, the
basis of it, is removed, then can no divine eye arise,
that is only said of the eye, the insight, that arises
out of contemplation. And thus, O king, should
you take it.’
‘Well said, Nagasena! You have admirably
1 .Oinniktiya. Compare (Pataka II, 114, and the Sutta
Vibhanga on Pa/Jittiya 26.
55 *
DURATION OF THE FAITH.
solved the dilemma I put to you; you have rightly
explained the point in which I tried to prove you
wrong; you have thoroughly overcome the adver¬
sary. The thing is so, and I accept it thus V
[Here ends the dilemma as to king Sivi’s Act
of Truth.]
[the dilemma as to conception.
49. This dilemma goes into details which can he
best consulted in the Pali.]
[the duration of the faith.]
55. ‘ Venerable Nagasena, it has been said by the
Blessed One : “ But now the good law, Ananda, will
only stand fast for five hundred years 2 .” But on
the other hand the Blessed One declared, just before
1 This idea of the power of an Act of Truth which Nagasena
here relies on is most interesting and curious. The exact time at
which it was introduced into Buddhism is as yet unknown. It has
not been found in the Pi/akas themselves, and is probably an incor¬
poration of an older, pre-Buddhistic, belief. The person carrying
it out is supposed to have some goodness, to call that virtue (and
perhaps, as in the case of the quail, the goodness of the Buddhas
also) to mind, and then to wish something, and that thing, however
difficult, and provided there is nothing cruel in it, then comes to
pass. It is analogous to the mystic power supposed to reside in
names. Childers very properly points out that we have a very
remarkable instance of an Act of Truth (though a very un-Buddhistic
one) in the Hebrew book of the Kings II. i. 10 : ‘And Elijah
answered and said to the captain of fifty: “ If I be a man of God,
then let fire come .down from heaven, and consume thee and thy
fifty! ” And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed
him and his fifty.’ A great point, both in this legend and in the
story of the quail, is that the power of nature to be overcome is one
looked upon by the Brahmans as divine.
2 Aullavagga X, 1,6, translated in ‘ Vinaya Texts,’ vol. iii, p. 325.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, i, 56,
his death, in response to the question put by Su-
bhadda the recluse : “ But if in this system the
brethren live the perfect life, then the world would
not be bereft of Arahats V’ This last phrase is
absolute, inclusive; it cannot be explained away.
If the first of these statements be correct, the second
is misleading, if the second be right the first must be
false. [ 131 ] This too is a double-pointed question,
more confused than the jungle, more powerful than
a strong man, more knotty than a knot. It is now
put to you. Show the extent of the power of your
knowledge, like a leviathan in the midst of the sea.’
56. ‘ The Blessed One, O king,. did make both
those statements you have quoted. But they are
different one from the other both in the spirit and
in the letter. The one deals with the limit of the
duration of the doctrine 1 2 , the other with the prac¬
tice of a religious life—two things widely distinct, as
far removed one from the other as the zenith is from
the surface of the earth, as heaven is from purga¬
tory, as good is from evil, and as pleasure is from
pain. But though that be so, yet lest your enquiry
should be vain, I will expound the matter further in
its essential connection.’
57. ‘When the Blessed One said that the good
law 3 would only endure for five hundred years, he
said so declaring the time of its destruction, limiting
the remainder of its existence. For he said : “The
good law, Ananda, would endure for a thousand
years if no women had been admitted to the
1 Book of the Great Decease, V, 62, translated in ‘Buddhist
Suttas,’ p. 108.
2 S&sana. 3 Saddhammo.
IV, i, 58. DURATION OF THE FAITH. 187
Order. But now, Ananda, it will only last five
hundred years.” But in so saying, O king, did the
Blessed One either foretell the disappearance of
the good law, or throw blame on the clear under¬
standing thereof?’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘Just so. It was a declaration of injury done, an
announcement of the limit of what remained. As
when a man whose income had been diminished
might announce publicly, making sure of what re¬
mained : “ So much property have I lost; so much
is still left”— [ 132 ] so did the Blessed One make
known to gods and men what remained when he
announced what had been lost by saying: “The
good law will now, Ananda, endure for five hun¬
dred years.” In so saying he was fixing a limit
to religion. But when in speaking to Subhadda,
and by way of proclaiming who were the true
Samaras, he said: “But if, in this system, the
brethren live the perfect life, then the world would
not be bereft of Arahats -in so saying he was
declaring in what religion consisted. You have
confounded the limitation of a thing with the state¬
ment of what it is. But if you like I will tell you
what the real connection between the two is. Listen
carefully, and attend trustfully to what I say.’
58. ‘ Suppose, O king, there were a reservoir quite
full of fresh cool water, overflowing at the brim, but
limited in size and with an embankment running all
round it. Now if, when the water had not abated
in that tank, a mighty cloud were to rain down rain
continually, and in addition, on to the water already
in it, would the amount of water in the tank decrease
or come to an end ?’
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, i, 59.
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘ But why not, O king ?’
‘ Because of the continual downpour of the rain.’
‘Just so, O king, is the glorious reservoir of the
good law of the teaching of the Conqueror ever full
of the clear fresh cool water of the practice of duty
and virtue and morality and purity of life, and con¬
tinues overflowing all limits even to the very highest
heaven of heavens. And if the children of the
Buddha rain down into it continuously, and in
addition, the rainfall of still further practice of duty
and virtue and morality and purity of life, then will
it endure for long, and the world will not be bereft
of Arahats. This was the meaning of the Master’s
words when he said: “ But if, Subhadda, in this
system the brethren continue in perfectness of life,
then will the world not be bereft of Arahats.” ’
59. ‘ Now suppose again, O king, that people were
to continually supply a mighty fiery furnace with
dried cow-dung, and dry sticks, and dry leaves—
would that fire go out ?’
[ 133 ] • No indeed, Sir. Rather would it blaze
more fiercely, and burn more brightly.’
‘Just so, O king, does the glorious teaching of
the Conqueror blaze and shine over the ten thousand
world systems by the practice of duty and virtue and
morality and purity of life. And if, O king, in addi¬
tion to that, the children of the Buddha, devoting
themselves to the five 1 kinds of spiritual exertion, con¬
tinue zealous in effort—if cultivating a longing for the
threefold discipline, they train themselves therein—
1 Paȣa-padhSnangani. This is curious. In the Pi/akas
there are four kinds only.
IV, i, 60 .
DURATION OF THE FAITH.
if without ceasing they carry out to the full the
conduct that is right, and absolutely avoid all that
is wrong, and practise righteousness of life—then
will this glorious doctrine of the Conqueror stand
more and more stedfast as the years roll on, and
the world will not be bereft of Arahats. It was
in reference to this, O king, that the Master spake
when he said : “ But if, Subhadda, in this system the
brethren continue in perfectness of life, then will the
world not be bereft of Arahats.” ’
60. 1 Again, O king, suppose people were to con¬
tinually polish with fine soft red powder a stainless
mirror that was already bright and shining, well
polished, smooth, and glossy, would dirt and dust
and mud arise on its surface ?’
‘No indeed, Sir. Rather would it become to a
certainty even more stainless than before.’
‘Just so, O king, is the glorious doctrine of the
Conqueror stainless by nature, and altogether free
from the dust and dirt of evil. And if the children
of the Buddha cleanse it by the virtue arising from
the shaking off, the eradication of evil, from the
practice of duty and virtue and morality and purity
of life, then will this glorious doctrine endure for
long, and the world will not be bereft of Arahats. It
was in reference to this that the Blessed One spake
when he said : “ But if, Subhadda, in this system
the brethren continue in righteousness of life, then
will not the world be bereft of Arahats.” For the
teaching of the Master, O king, has its root in con¬
duct, has conduct as its essence, and stands fast so
long as conduct does not decline V
1 There is a paragraph here in the Sinhalese not found in the
Pali.
190 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, I, 61.
61. ‘ Venerable Nagasena, when you speak of the
disappearance of the good law, what do you mean
by its disappearance ?’
‘ There are three modes of the disappearance, O
king, of a system of doctrine. And what are the
three ? The decline of attainment to an intellectual
grasp of it, the decline of conduct in accordance with
it, and the decline of its outward form 1 . [ 134 ] When
the attainment of it ceases, then even the man who
conducts himself aright in it has no clear under¬
standing of it. By the decline of conduct the promul¬
gation of the rules of discipline ceases, only the out¬
ward form of the religion remains. When the outward
form has ceased, the succession of the tradition is
cut off. These are the three forms of the disap¬
pearance of a system of doctrine.’
‘You have well explained, venerable Nagasena,
this dilemma so profound, and have made it plain.
You have loosed the knot; you have destroyed the
arguments of the adversary, broken them in pieces,
proved them wrong—you, O best of the leaders of
schools! ’
[Here ends the dilemma as to the duration of
the faith.]
[the buddha’s sinlessness.]
62. ‘Venerable N&gasena, had the Blessed One,
when he became a Buddha, burnt out all evil in
himself, or was there still some evil remaining in
him ? ’
1 Linga, possibly ‘uniform.’ Either the Order or the yellow
robe, for instance, if The system were Buddhism. See below, IV,
3, 2-
IV, I, 63.
KARMA.
‘ He had burnt out all evil. There was none left.’
‘ But how, Sir ? Did not the Tathigata get hurt
in his body ? ’
‘Yes, O king. At Ri^agaha a splinter of rock
pierced his foot 1 , and once he suffered from dysen¬
tery 2 , and once when the humours of his body were
disturbed a purge was administered to him 3 , and once
when he was troubled with wind the Elder who waited
on him (that is Ananda) gave him hot water 4 .’
‘Then, Sir, if the Tathigata, on his becoming a
Buddha, has destroyed all evil in himself—this other
statement that his foot was pierced by a splinter,
that he had dysentery, and so on, must be false.
But if they are true, then he cannot have been free
from evil, for there is no pain without Karma. All
pain has its root in Karma, it is on account of
Karma that, suffering arises 5 . This double-headed
dilemma is put to you, and you have to solve it.’
63. ‘ No, O king. It is not all suffering that has
its root in Karma. There are eight causes by which
sufferings arise, by which many beings suffer pain.
And what are the eight ? Superabundance of wind,
[ 135 ] and of bile, and of phlegm, the union of these
humours, variations in temperature, the avoiding of
1 See iVullavagga VII, 3, 9.
2 See Mahaparinibbana Sutta IV, 21.
3 Mahavagga VIII, 1, 30-33.
4 This is, no doubt, the occurrence recounted in the Mahavagga
VI, 17, 1-4. Childers translates vatabadha by ‘rheumatism,’
but I adhere here to the translation adopted there. It is said in
the Mahavagga that Ananda gave him, not hot water, but gruel,
But the two are very similar, and in the Theri Gatha 185, referring
to the same event, it is hot water that is mentioned.
5 That is, there can be no suffering without sin. Compare the
discussion in St. John’s Gospel, ch. ix.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, i, 63.
dissimilarities, external agency, and Karma. From
each of these there are some sufferings that arise,
and these are the eight causes by which many beings
suffer pain. And therein whosoever maintains that
it is Karma that injures beings, and besides it there
is no other reason for pain, his proposition is false.’
‘ But, Sir, all the other seven kinds of pain have
each of them also Karma as its origin, for they are
all produced by Karma.’
‘ If, O king, all diseases were really derived from
Karma then there would be no characteristic marks
by which they could be distinguished one from the
other. When the wind is disturbed, it is so in one
or other of ten ways—by cold, or by heat, or by
hunger, or by thirst, or by over eating, or by standing
too long, or by over exertion, or by walking too fast,
or by medical treatment, or as the result of Karma.
Of these ten, nine do not act in a past life or in a
future life, but in one’s present existence. There¬
fore it is not right to say that all pain is due to
Karma. When the bile, O king, is deranged it is
so in one or other of three ways—by cold, or by heat;
or by improper food. When the phlegm is dis¬
turbed it is so by cold, or by heat, or by food and
drink. When either of these three humours are
disturbed or mixed, it brings about its own special,
distinctive pain. Then there are the special pains
arising from variations in temperature, avoidance of
dissimilarities, and external agency 1 . And there is
the act that has Karma as its fruit, and the pain so
brought about arising from the act done. So what
1 As was pointed out above, IV, 1,33, many of these medical
terms are very doubtful.
IV, X, 6g.
KARMA.
arises as the fruit of Karma is much less than that
which arises from other causes. And the ignorant
go too far [ 136 ] when they say that every pain is
produced as the fruit of Karma. No one without a
Buddha’s insight can fix the extent of the action of
Karma.’
64. ‘ Now when the Blessed One’s foot was torn
by a splinter of rock, the pain that followed was not
produced by any other of the eight causes I have
mentioned, but only by external agency. For De-
vadatta, O king, had harboured hatred against the
Tathagata during a succession of hundreds of thou¬
sands of births 1 . It was in his hatred that he
seized hold of a mighty mass of rock, and pushed
it over with the hope that it would fall upon his
head. But two other rocks came together, and
intercepted it before it had reached the Tathagata;
and by the force of their impact a splinter was torn
off, and fell upon the Blessed One’s foot, and made
it bleed. Now this pain must have been produced
in the Blessed One either as the result of his own
Karma, or of some one else’s act. For beyond
these two there can be no other kind of pain. It is
as when a seed does not germinate—that must be
due either to the badness of the soil, or to a defect
in the seed. Or it is as when food is not digested—-
that must be due either to a defect in the stomach,
or to the badness of the food.’
65. ‘But although the Blessed One never suffered
pain which was the result of his own Karma, or
brought about the avoidance of dissimilarity 2 , yet
1 So below, IV, 3, 28,
2 Visama-parihS.ra-g'a both in the Sinhalese and the Pali.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, i, 66 .
he suffered pain from each of the other six causes.
And by the pain he could suffer it was not possible
to deprive him of life. There come to this body of
ours, O king, compounded of the four elements 1 ,
sensations desirable and the reverse, pleasant and
unpleasant. Suppose, O king, a clod of earth were
to be thrown into the air, and to fall again on to the
ground. Would it be in consequence of any act
it had previously .done that it would so fall ?’
‘ No, Sir. There is no reason in the broad earth
by which it could experience the result of an act
either good or evil. It would be by reason of a
present cause [ 137 ] independent of Karma that the
clod would fall to earth again.’
‘ Well, O king, the Tathagata should be regarded
as the broad earth. And as the clod would fall on
it irrespective of any act done by it, so also was
it irrespective of any act done by him that that
splinter of rock fell upon his foot.’
66 . ‘ Again, O king, men tear up and plough the
earth. But is that a result of any act previously
done ? ’
‘ Certainly not. Sir.’
‘ J ust so with the falling of that splinter. And
the dysentery which attacked him was in the same
way the result of no previous act, it arose from the
union of the three humours. And whatsoever
bodily disease fell upon him, that had its origin,
not in Karma, but in one or other of the six causes
referred to. For it has been said, O king, by the
Blessed One, by him who is above all gods, in the
glorious collection called the Sawyutta N ikaya in
1 Water, fire, air, and earth (fipo, te^o, vayo, paAavi).
IV, I, 66.
KARMA.
the prose Sutta, called after Moliya Sivaka : “ There
are certain pains which arise in the world, Sivaka,
from bilious humour. And you ought to know
for a certainty which those are, for it is a matter of
common knowledge in the world which they are.
But those Samaras and Brahmans, Sivaka, who are
of the opinion and proclaim the view that what¬
soever pleasure, or pain, or indifferent sensation,
any man experiences, is always due to a previous
act—they go beyond certainty, they go beyond
knowledge, and therein do I say they are wrong.
And so also of those pains which arise from the
phlegmatic humour, or from the windy humour, or
from the union of the three, or from variation in
temperature, or from avoidance of dissimilarity, [ 138 ]
or from external action, or as the result of Karma. In
each case you should know for a certainty which those
are, for it is a matter of common knowledge which
they are. But those Samaras or Brahmans who are
of the opinion or the view that whatsoever pleasure,
or pain, or indifferent sensation, any man may expe¬
rience, that is always due to a previous act—they
go beyond certainty, they go beyond common know¬
ledge. And therein do I say they are wrong.” So,
O king, it is not all pain that is the result of Karma.
And you should accept as a fact that when the
Blessed One became a Buddha he had burnt out all
evil from within him.’
‘Very good, Nagasena ! It is so ; and I accept it
as you say.’
[Here ends the dilemma as to the Buddha’s
sinlessness.]
196 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 1, 67.
[ON THE ADVANTAGES OF MEDITATION 1 .]
67 . ‘Venerable Nagasena, your people say that
everything which a Tathagata has to accomplish
that had the Blessed One already carried out when
he sat at the foot of the Tree of Wisdom 2 3 * * * * . There
was then nothing that he had yet to do, nothing
that he had to add to what he had already done.
But then there is also talk of his having immediately
afterwards remained plunged for three months in
ecstatic contemplation 8 . If the first statement be
correct, then the second must be false. And if the
second be right, then the first must be wrong.
There is no need of any contemplation to him who
has already accomplished his task. It is the man
who still has something left to do, who has to think
about it. [139] It is the sick man who has need
of medicine, not the healthy ; the hungry man who
has need of food, not the man whose hunger is
quenched. This too is a double-headed dilemma,
and you have to solve it! ’
68 . ‘ Both statements, O king, are true. Con-
1 Pa/isalla«a (not samadhi), rendered throughout in the
Sinhalese by wiweka.
2 I have not been able to find this statement in any of the
Pi/aka texts.
3 Here again our author seems to be referring to a tradition
later than the Pi/akas. In the MaMvagga (see our version in the
1 Vinaya Texts,’ vol. i, pp. 74-81) there is mention only of four
periods of seven days, and even during these not of pa/isallibza,
but of sa mild hi. The former of these two terms only occurs at
the conclusion of the twenty-eight days (Mahavagga I, 5, 2). Even
in the later orthodox literature the period of meditation is still not
three months, but only seven times seven days. See the passages
quoted in Professor Oldenberg’s note at p. 75 of the 1 Vinaya
Texts,’ vol. i.
IV, I, 69.
MEDITATION.
templation has many virtues. All the Tathdgatas
attained, in contemplation, to Buddhahood, and
practised it in the recollection of its good qualities.
And they did so in the same way as a man who
had received high office from a king would, in the
recollection of its advantages, of the prosperity he
enjoyed by means of it, remain constantly in attend¬
ance on that king—in the same way as a man who,
having been afflicted and pained with a dire disease,
and having recovered his health by the use of
medicine, would use the same medicine again and
again, calling to mind its virtue.’
69 . ‘ And there are, O king, these twenty and
eight good qualities of meditation in the perception
of which the Tathagatas devoted themselves to it.
And which are they ? Meditation preserves him
who meditates, it gives him long life, and endows
him with power, it cleanses him from faults, it re¬
moves from him any bad reputation giving him a
good name, it destroys discontent in him filling him
with content, it releases him from all fear endowing
him with confidence, it removes sloth far from him
filling him with zeal, it takes away lust and ill-will
and dullness, it puts an end to pride, it breaks down
all doubt, it makes his heart to be at peace, it
softens his mind, [140] it makes him glad, it makes
him grave, it gains him much advantage, it makes
him worthy of reverence, it fills him with joy, it fills
him with delight, it shows him the transitory nature
of all compounded things, it puts an end to rebirth,
it obtains for him all the benefits of renunciation.
These, O king, are the twenty and eight virtues of
meditation on the perception of which the Tatha¬
gatas devote themselves to it. But it is because
198 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 1,70.
the Tath&gatas, O king, long for the enjoyment of
the bliss of attainment, of the joy of the tranquil state
of Nirvana, that they devote themselves to medita¬
tion, with their minds fixed on the end they aim at.
70. ‘ And there are four reasons for which the
Tathigatas, O king, devote themselves to medi¬
tation. And what are the four ? That they may
dwell at ease, O king—and on account of the abun¬
dance of the advantages of meditation, advantages
without drawback—and on account of its being the
road to all noble things without exception—and
because it has been praised and lauded and exalted
and magnified by all the Buddhas. These are the
reasons for which the Tathigatas devote themselves
to it. So it is not, great king, because they have
anything left to do, or anything to add to what they
have already accomplished, but because they have
perceived how diversified are the advantages it pos¬
sesses, that they devote themselves to meditation.’
‘Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the dilemma as to meditation.]
[the limit of three months.]
71. ‘Venerable Nagasena, it has been said by the
Blessed One: “ The Tathagata, Ananda, has thought
out and thoroughly practised, developed, accumulated,
and ascended to the very height of the four paths to
saintship 1 , and so mastered them as to be able to
use them as a means of mental advancement, and as
a basis for edification—and he therefore, Ananda,
1 ^attdro iddhi-p&di.
IV, 1,72.
THE THREE MONTHS.
should he desire it, might remain alive for a Kalpa,
or for that portion of a Kalpa which has yet to run 1 .”
And again he said: “ At the end of three months
from this time the Tathdgata will die 2 .” If the first
of these statements were true, then the limit of three
months must have been false. If the second were
true, [ 141 ] then the first must have been false. For
the Tathagatas boast not without an occasion, the
Blessed Buddhas speak no misleading words, but
they utter truth, and speak sincerely. This too is a
double-headed dilemma, profound, subtle, hard to
expound. It is now put to you. Tear in sunder
this net of heresy, put it on one side, break in pieces
the arguments of the adversary ! ’
72. ‘ Both these statements, O king, were made
by the Blessed One. But Kalpa in that connection
means the duration of a man’s life. And the Blessed
One, O king, was not exalting his own power when
he said so, but he was exalting the power of saint-
ship. It was as if a king were possessed of a horse
most swift of foot, who could run like the wind. And
in order to exalt the power of his speed the king were
to say in the presence of all his court—townsfolk and
country folk, hired servants and men of war, brah¬
mins, nobles, and officers: “ If he wished it this noble
steed of mine could cross the earth to its ocean
boundary, and be back here again, in a moment 3 ! ”
1 Mahaparinibbana Sutta III, 60, translated in my ‘ Buddhist
Suttas,’ pp. 57, 58.
2 Ibid. Ill, 63, translated loc. cit. p. 59.
s So it is said of the ‘ Horse-treasure ’ of the Great King of
Glory in the Mahasudassana Sutta I, 29 (translated in my ‘ Buddhist
Suttas,’ p. 256), that ‘it passed over along the broad earth to its
very ocean boundary, and then returned again, in time for the
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, r, p.
Now though he did not try to test the horse’s speed
in the presence of the court, yet it had that speed,
and was really able to go along over the earth to
its ocean boundary in a moment. Just so, O king,
the Blessed One spake as he did in praise of the
power of saintship, and so spake seated in the midst
of gods and men, and of the men of the threefold
wisdom and the sixfold insight—the Arahats pure
and free from stain—when he said: “ The Tathd-
gata, Ananda, has thought out and practised, deve¬
loped, accumulated, and ascended to the very height
of the four powers of saintship, and so mastered
them as to be able to use them as a means of
mental advancement, as a basis for edification. And
he therefore, Ananda, should he desire it, might
remain alive for a Kalpa, or the part of a Kalpa
that has yet to run.” And there was that power,
O king, in the Tathigata, he could have remained
alive for that time : and yet he did not show that
power in the midst [142] of that assembly. The
Blessed One, O king, is free from desire as respects
all conditions of future life, and has condemned them
all. For it has been said, O king, by the Blessed
One : “ Just, O Bhikkhus, as a very small quantity
of excrement is of evil smell, so do I find no beauty
in the very smallest degree of future life, not even
in such for the time of the snapping of the fingers 1 .”
Now would the Blessed One, O king, who thus
looked upon all sorts and conditions of future life
morning meal, to the royal city of Kusavati.’ It is, of course, the
sun horse which is meant.
1 I have not traced this quotation in the Pi/akas, but it is prob¬
ably there.
■IV, I, 72.
THE THREE MONTHS.
as dung have nevertheless, simply because of his
power of Iddhi, harboured a craving desire for
future life ? ’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘ Then it must have been to exalt the power of
Iddhi that he gave utterance to such a boast.’
‘Very good, Nagasena! It is so, and I accept it
as you say.’
[Here ends the dilemma as to the three months.]
Here ends the First Chapter.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 1.
Book IV. Chapter 2 .
[the abolition of regulations.]
1. ‘Venerable N&gasena, it has been said by the
Blessed One: “ It is by insight, O Bhikkhus, that
I preach the law, not without insight 1 .” On the
other hand he said of the regulations of the Vinaya :
“ When I am gone, Ananda, let the Order, if it
should so wish, abolish all the lesser and minor
precepts 2 .” Were then these lesser and minor pre¬
cepts wrongly laid down, or established in ignorance
and without due cause, that the Blessed One
allowed them to be revoked after his death ? If the
first statement had been true, the second would
have been wrong. If the second statement were
really made, [143] then the first was false. This
too is a double-headed problem, fine, subtle, abstruse,
deep, profound, and hard to expound. It is now
put to you, and you have to solve it.’
2 . ‘In both cases, O king, the Blessed One said
as you have declared. But in the second case it
was to test the Bhikkhus that he said it, to try
whether, if leave were granted them, they would,
after his death, revoke the lesser and minor regu¬
lations, or still adhere to them. It runs as if a
1 Not traced as yet.
2 Mahaparinibbana Sutta VI, 3 (translated in my ‘Buddhist
Suttas,’ p. 112). The incident is referred to in the Afullavagga
XI, 1, 9, 10, and in his commentary on that passage Buddhaghosa
mentions the discussion between Milinda and Nagasena, and quotes
it as an authority in support of his interpretation.
IV, 2, 3 .
ABOLITION OF REGULATIONS.
king of kings were to say to his sons : “ This great
country, my children, reaches to the sea on every
side. It is a hard thing to maintain it with the
forces we have at our disposal. So when I am gone
you had better, my children, abandon the outlying
districts along the border.” Now would the princes,
O king, on the death of their father, give up those
outlying districts, provinces already in their power ? ’
‘ No indeed, Sir. Kings are grasping. The
princes might, in the lust of power, subjugate an
extent of country twice or thrice the size of what
they had, but they would never give up what they
already possessed.’
‘Just so was it, O king, that the Tathagata to
test the Bhikkhus said : “ When I am gone, Ananda,
let the Order, if it should so wish, abolish all the
lesser and minor precepts.” But the sons of the
Buddha, O king, in their lust after the law, and for
emancipation from sorrow, might keep two hundred
and fifty regulations 1 , but would never give up any
one that had been laid down in ordinary course/
3 . ‘ Venerable Nagasena, when the Blessed One
referred to “ lesser and minor precepts,” this people
might therein [144] be bewildered, and fall into
doubt, and find matter for discussion, and be lost in
hesitation, as to which were the lesser, and which
the minor precepts.’
‘ The lesser errors in conduct 3 , O king, are the
lesser precepts, and the lesser errors in speech 3 are
the minor precepts: and these two together make
up therefore “ the lesser and minor precepts.” The
1 The regulations in the Patimokkha, which include all the most
important ones, are only 220 in number.
2 Dukka/aflz. 3 Dubbhdsitaw.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 4.
leading Elders too of old, O king, were in doubt
about this matter, and they were not unanimous on
the point at the Council held for the fixing of the
text of the Scriptures 1 . And the Blessed One fore¬
saw that this problem would arise.’
‘ Then this dark saying of the Conquerors, Naga-
sena, which has lain hid so long, has been now
to-day uncovered in the face of the world, and made
clear to all.’
[Here ends the problem as to the revocation
of rules.]
[esoteric teaching.]
4 . ‘ Venerable N&gasena, it was said by the
Blessed One: “ In respect of the truths, Ananda,
the Tathagata has no such thing as the closed fist
of a teacher who keeps something back 2 .” But
on the other hand he made no reply to the question
put by the son of the Malunkya woman 3 . This
problem, Nagasena, will be one of two ends, on one
of which it must rest, for he must have refrained
from answering either out of ignorance, or out of
wish to conceal something. If the first statement
be true it must have been out of ignorance. But
1 In the Wullavagga XI, 1, 10, it is one of the faults laid to
Ananda’s charge, at the Council of Rigagaha, that he had not
asked for a definition of these terms.
2 Mahaparinibbana Sutta II, 32 (another passage from the same
speech is quoted below, IV, 2, 29).
3 See the two Malunkya Suttantas in the Magg/dma Nikaya
(vol. i, pp. 426-437 of Mr. Trenckner’s edition for the Pali Text
Society). With regard to the spelling of the name, which is
doubtful, it may be noticed that Hinad-kumbure has Malunka
throughout
IV, 2, 5 -
ESOTERIC TEACHING.
if he knew, and still did not reply, then the first
statement must be false. This too is a double-
pointed dilemma. It is now put to you, and you
have to solve it.’
5 . ‘ The Blessed One, O king, made that first
statement to Ananda, and he did not reply to
Maluhkya-putta’s question. But that was neither
out of ignorance, nor for the sake of concealing
anything. There are four kinds of ways in which
a problem may be explained. And which are the
four ? There is the problem to which an explan¬
ation can be given that shall be direct and final.
There is the problem which can be answered by
going into details. There is the problem which can
be answered by asking another. And there is the
problem which can be put on one side.
‘ And which, O king, is the problem to which a
direct and final solution can be given ? It is such
as this—“ Is form impermanent ? ” [145] “ Is sen¬
sation impermanent?” “Is idea impermanent?”
“ Are the Confections impermanent ? ” “ Is con¬
sciousness impermanent ? ”
‘ And which is the problem which can be answered
by going into details ? It is such as this—“ Is form
thus impermanent ? ” and so on.
‘ And which is the problem which can be an¬
swered by asking another ? It is such as this—
“What then? Can the eye perceive all things?”
‘ And which is the problem which can be put on
one side ? It is such as this—“ Is the universe
everlasting?” “Is it not everlasting?” “Has it
an end ? ” “ Has it no end ? ” “ Is it both endless
and unending?” “Is it neither the one nor the
other ? ” “ Are the soul and the body the same
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 6 .
thing?” “Is the soul distinct from the body?”
“ Does a Tathagata exist after death ? ” “ Does he
not exist after death ? ” “ Does he both exist and
not exist after death ? ” “ Does he neither exist
nor not exist after death ? ”
‘ Now it was to such a question, one that ought
to be put on one side, that the Blessed One gave
no reply to Malunkyi-putta. And why ought such
a question to be put on one side ? Because there is
no reason or object for answering it. That is why
it should be put aside. For the Blessed Buddhas
lift not up their voice without a reason and without
an object.’
‘ Very good, N&gasena ! Thus it is, and I accept
it as you say ? ’ _
[ Here ends the dilemma as to keeping some
things back h]
[death.]
6. ‘ Venerable Nigasena, this too was said by the
Blessed One : “ All men tremble at punishment, all
are afraid of death 2 .” But again he said: “ The
Arahat has passed beyond all fear 3 .” How then,
Nagasena ? does the Arahat tremble with the fear of
punishment ? [146] Or are the beings in purgatory,
when they are being burnt and boiled and scorched
and tormented, afraid of that death which would
release them from the burning fiery pit of that awful
place of woe 4 ? If the Blessed One, Ndgasena,
1 See my note below on IV, 4, 8. 2 Dhammapada 129.
3 Not traced in these words, but identical in meaning with
Dhammapada 39.
4 Maha-nirayfl lavamana, ‘when they are on the point of
passing away from it.’ For in Buddhism the time comes to each
IV, 2, 7 -
THE FEAR OF DEATH.
really said that all men tremble at punishment, and
all are afraid of death, then the statement that the
Arahat has passed beyond fear must be false. But
if that last statement is really by him, then the other
must be false. This double-headed problem is now
put to you, and you have to solve it.’
7 . ‘ It was not with regard to Arahats, O king,
that the Blessed One spake when he said : “ All men
tremble at punishment, all are afraid of death.” The
Arahat is an exception to that statement, for all
cause for fear has been removed from the Arahat h
He spoke of those beings in whom evil still existed,
who are still infatuated with the delusion of self, who
are still lifted up and cast down by pleasures and
pains. To the Arahat, O king, rebirth in every
state has been cut off, all the four kinds of future
existence have been destroyed, every re-incarnation
has been put an end to, the rafters 2 of the house of
life have broken, and the whole house completely
pulled down, the Confections have altogether lost
their roots, good and evil have ceased, ignorance has
been demolished, consciousness has no longer any
seed (from which it could be renewed), all sin has
been burnt away 3 , and all worldly conditions have
been overcome 4 . Therefore is it that the Arahat is
not made to tremble by any fear.’
being in Niraya (often translated ‘hell’) when he will pass away
from it.
1 That is from him who attained Nirvana in this life. Compare
r John iv. 18.
2 Phlsb for Phasuka. Compare Dhammapada 154, Manu
VI, 79-81, and Sumangala, p. 16.
3 Hina/i-kumbure adds ‘ by the fire of tapas.’
4 Eight are meant—gain, loss, fame, dishonour, praise, blame,
pleasures, pains.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 8.
8 . ‘ Suppose, O king, a king had four chief
ministers, faithful, famous, trustworthy, placed in
high positions of authority. And the king, on some
emergency arising, were to issue to them an order
touching all the people in his realm, saying: “ Let
all now pay up a tax, and do you, as my four
officers, carry out what is necessary in this emer¬
gency.” Now tell me, O king, would the tremor
which comes from fear of taxation arise in the
hearts of those ministers ? ’
‘ No, Sir, it would not.’
‘ But why not ? ’
‘ They have been appointed by the king to high
office. Taxation does not affect them, they are be¬
yond taxation. It was the rest that the king referred
to when he gave the order : [147] “ Let all pay tax.” ’
‘Just so, O king, is it with the statement that all
men tremble at punishment, all are afraid of death.
In that way is it that the Arahat is removed from
every fear.’
9 . ‘ But, N&gasena, the word “ all ” is inclusive,
none are left out when it is used. Give me a
further reason to establish the point.’
‘ Suppose, O king, that in some village the lord of
the village were to order the crier, saying: “ Go,
crier, bring all the villagers quickly together before
me.” And he in obedience to that order were to
stand in the midst of the village and were thrice to
call out: “ Let all the villagers assemble at once in
the presence of the lord !” And they should assemble
in haste, and have an announcement made to the
lord, saying : “ All the villagers, Sire, have assembled.
Do now whatsoever you require.” Now when the
lord, O king, is thus summoning all the heads of
iy, 2, io.
THE FEAR OF DEATH.
houses, he issues his order to all the villagers, but it
is not they who assemble in obedience to the order ;
it is the heads of houses. And the lord is satisfied
therewith, knowing that such is the number of his
villagers. There are many others who do not
come—women and men, slave girls and slaves,
hired workmen, servants, peasantry, sick people,
oxen, buffaloes, sheep, and goats, and dogs—but all
those do not count. It was with reference to the
heads of houses that the order was issued in the
words : “ Let all assemble.” J ust so, O king, it is
not of Arahats that it was said that all are afraid of
death. [148] The Arahat is not included in that
statement, for the Arahat is one in whom there
is no longer any cause that could give rise to fear.’
io. * There is the non-inclusive expression, O king,
whose meaning is non-inclusive, and the non-inclusive
expression whose meaning is inclusive; there is the
inclusive expression whose meaning is non-inclusive,
and the inclusive expression whose meaning is
inclusive. And the meaning, in each case, should
be accepted accordingly. And there are five ways
in which the meaning should be ascertained—by the
connection, and by taste, and by the tradition of the
teachers, and by the meaning, and by abundance
of reasons. And herein “ connection ” means the
meaning as seen in the Sutta itself, “ taste ” means
that it is in accordance with other Suttas, “ the
tradition of the teachers” means what they hold,
“ the meaning ” means what they think, and “ abun¬
dance of reasons ” means all these four combined 1 .’
1 This is much more obscure in Pali than in English. In the
Pfili the names of each of the five methods are ambiguous. ‘ Con¬
nection,’ for instance, is in Pfili aha^^a-pada, which is only
[ 35 ] *
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2,1 r.
11 . ‘Very well, Nagasena! I accept it as you
say. The Arahat is an exception in this phrase, and
it is the rest of beings who are full of fear. But
those beings in purgatory, of whom I spoke, who are
suffering painful, sharp, and severe agonies, who are
tormented with burnings all over their bodies and
limbs, whose mouths are full of lamentation, and
cries for pity, and cries of weeping and wailing and
woe, who are overcome with pains too sharp to be
borne, who find no refuge nor protection nor help,
who are afflicted beyond measure, who in the worst
and lowest of conditions are still destined to a cer¬
tainty to further pain, who are being burnt with
hot, sharp, fierce, and cruel flames, who are giving
utterance to mighty shouts and groans born of horror
and fear, who are embraced by the garlands of flame
which intertwine around them from all the six direc¬
tions, and flash in fiery speed through a hundred
leagues on every side—can those poor burning
wretches be afraid of death ?’
‘ Yes, they can.’
‘ But, venerable Nagasena, is not purgatory a
place of certain pain ? And, if so, why should the
beings in it be afraid of death, which would release
them from that certain pain ? What! Are they fond
of purgatory ? ’
‘ No, indeed. They like it not. They long to be
released from it. It is the power of death of which
they are afraid.’
‘ Now this, Nagasena, I cannot believe, that they,
who want to be released, should be afraid of rebirth.
found elsewhere (see ATullavagga VI, 4, 3, and my note there) as
the name of a kind of chair. And there is similar ambiguity in the
other words.
IV, 2 , 13.
THE FEAR OF DEATH.
21 I
prospect of the very condition that they long for.
Convince me by some further reason V
12 . ‘ Death, great king, is a condition which those
who have not seen the truth 1 2 are afraid of. About
it this people is anxious and full of dread. Whoso¬
ever is afraid of a black snake, or an elephant or
lion or tiger or leopard or bear or hyena or wild
buffalo or gayal, or of fire or water, or of thorns or
spikes or arrows, it is in each case of death that he
is really in dread, and therefore afraid of them.
This, O king, is the majesty of the essential nature
of death. And all being not free from sin are in
dread and quake before its majesty. In this sense
it is that even the beings in purgatory, who long to
be released from it, are afraid of death.’
13 . ‘ Suppose, O king, a boil were to arise, full of
matter, on a man’s body, and he, in pain from that
disease, and wanting to escape from the danger of
it, were to call in a physician and surgeon. And the
surgeon, accepting the call, were to make ready some
means or other for the removal of his disease—were
to have a lancet sharpened, or to have sticks put
into the fire to be used as cauterisers, or to have
something ground on a grindstone to be mixed in a
salt lotion. Now would the patient begin to be in
dread of the cutting of the sharp lancet, or of the
burning of the pair of caustic sticks, or of the
application of the stinging lotion ? ’
‘ Y es, he would.’
1 Ka rawena, perhaps he means ‘by an example.’
2 Adi//^a-sa/£Mna»?. It may also mean ‘who have not per¬
ceived the (Four Noble) Truths.’
2 1-2
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 2, 14.
‘ But if the sick man, who wants to be free from
his ailment, can fall into dread by the fear of pain,
just so can the beings in purgatory, though they long
to be released from it, fall into dread by the fear of
death.’
14 . ‘And suppose, O king, a man who had com¬
mitted an offence against the crown, when bound
with a chain, and cast into a dungeon, were to long
for release. And the ruler, wishing to release him,
were to send for him. Now would not that man,
who had thus offended, and knew it, be in dread
‘ Yes, Sir.’
‘ But if so, then can also the beings in purgatory,
though they long to be released from it, yet be afraid
of death.’.
‘ Give me another illustration by which I may be
able to harmonise 1 (this apparent discrepancy).’
‘ Suppose, O king, a man bitten by a poisonous
snake should be afraid, and by the action of the
poison should fall and struggle, and roll this way and
that. And then that another man, by the repetition
of a powerful charm, should compel that poisonous
snake to approach to suck the poison back again 2 .
Now when the bitten man saw the poisonous snake
coming to him, though for the object of curing him,
would he not still be in dread of it ?’
‘ Yes, Sir.’
‘Well, it is just so with the beings in purgatory.
1 Okappeyya m. See the Old Commentary at Pa/tittiya I, 2, 6.
s On this belief the 69th Gataka is founded. See Fausboll,
vol. i, pp. 310, 311 (where, as Mr. Trenckner points out, we
must read in the verse the same word pa^M/fam as we have
here).
TV, 2, 15.
PIRIT.
Death is a thing disliked by all beings. And there¬
fore are they in dread of it though they want to be
released from purgatory.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the dilemma as to the fear of death.]
[pirit.]
15 . ‘Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the
Blessed One :
“ Not in the sky, not in the ocean’s midst,
Not in the most secluded mountain cleft,
Not in the whole wide world is found the spot
Where standing one could ’scape the snare of
death 1 .”
But on the other hand the Pirit service was promul¬
gated by the Blessed One 2 —that is to say, the
Ratana Sutta and the Khanda-paritta and the Mora-
paritta and the Dha^agga-paritta [151] and the
A/ana/iya-paritta and the Anguli-mala-paritta. If,
Nagasena, a man can escape death’s snare neither
by going to heaven, nor by going into the midst of
the sea, nor by going to the summits of lofty palaces,
1 Either Dhammapada 127, which is the same except the last
word (there ‘ an evil deed’), or Dhammapada 128, except the last
line (which is there ‘ where standing death would not overtake one ’).
2 This ia a service used for the sick. Its use so far as the
Pi/akas are known has been nowhere laid down by the Buddha, or
by words placed in his mouth. This is the oldest text in which
the use of the service is referred to. But the word Paritta (Pirit) is
used in ifullavagga V, 6, of an asseveration of love for snakes, to
be used as what is practically a charm against snake bite, and that
is attributed to the Buddha. The particular Suttas and passages
here referred to are all in the Pi/akas.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 16.
nor to the caves or grottoes or declivities or clefts
or holes in the mountains, then is the Pirit ceremony
useless. But if by it there is a way of escape from
death, then the statement in the verse I quoted is
false. This too is a double-headed problem, more
knotty than a knot. It is now put to you, and you
have to solve it.’
16 . ‘ The Blessed One, O king, said the verse you
have quoted, and he sanctioned Pirit 1 . But that is only
meant for those who have some portion of their life
yet to run, who are of full age, and restrain themselves
from the evils of Karma. And there is no ceremony
or artificial means 2 forprolonging the life of one whose
allotted span of existence has come to an end. Just,
O king, as with a dry and dead log of wood, dull 3 ,
and sapless, out of which all life has departed, which
has reached the end of its allotted period of life,—
you might have thousands of pots of water poured
over it, but it would never become fresh again or
put forth sprouts or leaves. Just so there is no
ceremony or artificial means, no medicine and no
Pirit, which can prolong the life of one whose allotted
period has come to an end. All the medicines in
the world are useless, O king, to such a one, but
Pirit is a protection and assistance to those who
have a period yet to live, who are full of life, and
restrain themselves from the evil of Karma. And
it is for that use that Pirit was appointed by the
1 See last note. Hina/i-kumbure renders ‘ preached Pirit,’ which
is quite in accordance with the Pi/akas, as the Suttas of which it is
composed are placed in his mouth.
2 Upakkamo. Compare the use of the word at JTullavagga
VII, 3, io; Sumangala 69, 71. U tpatti-kramayek says the
Sinhalese.
3 Ko/apa. See Gataka III, 495, and the commentary there.
IV, 2, I 7 .
PIRIT.
Blessed One. Just, O king, as a husbandman guards
the grain when it is ripe and dead and ready for
harvesting from the influx of water, but makes it
grow by giving it water when it is young, and dark
in colour like a cloud, and full of life—just so,
O king, should the Pirit ceremony be put aside and
neglected in the case of one who has reached his
allotted term of life, [152] but for those who have a
period yet to run and are full of vigour, for them
the medicine of Pirit may be repeated, and they will
profit by its use.’
17 . ‘ But, N&gasena, if he who has a term of life
yet to run will live, and he who has none will die,
then medicine and Pirit are alike useless.’
‘ Have you ever seen, O king, a case of a disease
being turned back by medicine ? ’
‘ Yes, several hundred times.’
‘ Then, O king, your statement as to the ineffi¬
ciency of Pirit and medicine must be wrong.’
* I have seen, Nagasena, doctors administer medi¬
cines by way of draughts or outward applications,
and by that means the disease has been assuaged.’
‘And when, O king, the voice of those who are
repeating Pirit is heard, the tongue may be dried
up, and the heart beat but faintly, and the throat be
hoarse, but by that repetition all diseases are allayed,
all calamities depart. Again, have you ever seen, O
king, a man who has been bitten by a snake having
the poison resorbed under a spell (by the snake who
gave the bite 1 ) or destroyed (by an antidote) or
having a lotion applied above or below the spot 2 ?’
1 See above, IV, 2, 14.
2 All this sentence is doubtful. Dr. Morris has a learned note
on the difficult words used (which only occur here) in the ‘ Journal
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 18.
‘Yes, that is common custom to this day in the
world.’
‘ Then what you said that Pirit and medicine are
alike useless is wrong. And when Pirit has been
said over a man, a snake, ready to bite, will not bite
him, but close his jaws—the club which robbers hold
aloft to strike him with will never strike ; they will
let it drop, and treat him kindly—the enraged
elephant rushing at him will suddenly stop—the
burning fiery conflagration surging towards him will
die out—the malignant poison he has eaten will
become harmless, and turn to food—assassins who
have come to slay him will become as the slaves
who wait upon him—‘and the trap into which he
has trodden will hold him not.
18 . ‘ Again, have you never heard, O king, of that
hunter who during seven hundred years failed to
throw his net over the peacock who had taken Pirit,
but snared him the very day [153] he omitted to
do so 1 ? ’
‘Yes, I have heard of it. The fame of it has gone
through all the world.’
‘ Then what you said about Pirit and medicine
being alike useless must be wrong. And have you
never heard of the Dinava 2 who, to guard his wife,
of the Pali Text Society’ for 1884, p. 87. Hina/i-kumbure,
p. 191, translates as follows: Maha ra^aneni, wisha winasa
karannawfi mantra padayakin wishaya baswana laddawh,
wisha sanhinduwana laddawfl, hrddhtdho bh&gayehi
awushadha ^alayen temana laddtwh, nayaku wisin
dash/a karana laddawfi kisiwek topa wisin dakna ladde
d ceyi wiMla seka.
1 This is the Mora-Gataka, Nos. 159, 491, or (which is the same
thing) the Mora-Paritta.
2 An Asura, enemy of the gods, a Titan. Rakshasa says the
Sinhalese.
IY, 2, 19.
PIRIT.
put her into a box, and swallowing it, carried her
about in his stomach. And how a Vidyadhara 1
entered his mouth, and played games with his wife.
And how the Danava when he became aware of it,
vomited up the box, and opened it, and the moment he
did so the Vidyadhara escaped whither he would 2 ? ’
‘Yes, I have heard that. The fame of it too has
gone throughout the world/
‘Well, did not the Vidyddhara escape capture by
the power of Pirit ?’
‘ Yes, that was so.’
‘ Then there must be power in Pirit. And have
you heard of that other Vidyadhara who got into
the harem of the king of Benares, and committed
adultery with the chief queen, and was caught, and
then became invisible, and got away 3 ?’
‘Yes, I heard that story.’
‘ Well, did not he too escape capture by the power
of Pirit?’
‘ Yes, Sir.’
‘ Then, O king, there must be power in Pirit.’
19 . ‘Venerable Nagasena, is Pirit a protection to
everybody ? ’
1 They are a kind of genii, with magical powers, who are
attendants on the god £iva (and therefore, of course, enemies of
the Danavas). They are not mentioned in the Pi/akas.
2 I don’t know where this story comes from. It is not in the
Pi/akas anywhere. But Hinad-kumbure gives the fairy tale at full
length, and in the course of it calls the Vidyadharas by name
Wayassa-putra, ‘ Son of the Wind.’ He quotes also a gatha which
he places, not in the mouth of the Bodisat, but of Buddha himself.
I cannot find the tale either in the Crataka book, as far as published
by Professor Fausboll, or in the Katha Sarit Sagara, though I have
looked all through both.
3 See last note.
2l8
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 19.
‘ To some, not to others.’
‘ Then it is not always of use ? ’
‘ Does food keep all people alive ? ’
‘ Only some, not others.’
‘ But why not ? ’
‘ Inasmuch as some, eating too much of that same
food, die of cholera.’
‘ So it does not keep all men alive ? ’
‘ There are two reasons which make it destroy
life—over-indulgence in it, and weakness of diges¬
tion. And even life-giving food may be made
poisonous by an evil spell.’
‘Just so, O king, is Pirit a protection to some and
not to others. And there are three reasons [154]
for its failure—the obstruction of Karma, and of
sin, and of unbelief. That PiHt which is a protec¬
tion to beings loses its protecting power by acts
done by those beings themselves. Just, O king, as
a mother lovingly nourishes the son who has entered
her womb, and brings him forth with care \ And
after his birth she keeps him clean from dirt and
stains and mucus, and anoints him with the best and
most costly perfumes, and when others abuse or
strike him she seizes them and, full of excitement,
drags them before the lord of the place. But when
her son is naughty, or comes in late, she strikes him
with rods or clubs on her knee or with her hands.
Now, that being so, would she get seized and dragged
along, and have to appear before the lord ? ’
‘ No, Sir.’
‘ But why not ? ’
1 UpaMrena, which the Sinhalese repeats and construes with
poseti.
IV, 2, at.
mAra.
‘ Because the boy was in fault.’
‘ J ust in the same way, O king, will Pirit which is
a protection to beings, yet, by their own fault, turn
against them.’
‘Very good, Nagasena! The problem has been
solved, the jungle made clear, the darkness made
light, the net of heresy unravelled—and by you, O
best of the leaders of schools ! ’
[Here ends the dilemma as to Pirit]
[mAra, the evil one.]
20 . ‘Venerable NAgasena, your people say thus :
“ The TathAgata was in the constant receipt of the
things necessary for a recluse—robes, food, lodging,
and the requisites for the sick.” And again they
say: “When the TathAgata entered the Brahman
village called the Five Sala trees he received nothing,
and had to return with his bowl as clean as before.”
If the first passage is true the second is false, and if
the second passage is true [155] the first is false.
This too is a double-headed problem, a mighty crux
hard to unravel. It is now put to you. It is for
you to solve it.’
21 . ‘Both statements are true, but when he re¬
ceived nothing that day, that was the work of MAra,
the evil one.’
‘ Then, NAgasena, how was it that the merit laid
up by the Blessed One through countless aeons of
time came to end that day ? How was it that MAra,
who had only just been produced, could overcome
the strength and influence of that merit ? In that
case, NAgasena, the blame must fall in one of two
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 22.
ways—either demerit must be more powerful than
merit, or the power of Mira be greater than that of
the Buddha. The root of the tree must be heavier
than the top of it, or the sinner stronger than he who
has heaped up virtue.’
22 . ‘Great king, that is not enough to prove
either the one or the other of your alternatives.
Still a reason is certainly desirable in this matter.
Suppose, O king, a man were to bring a compli¬
mentary present to a king of kings—honey or honey¬
comb or something of that kind. And the king’s
doorkeeper were to say to him : “ This is the wrong
time for visiting the king. So, my good fellow, take
your present as quickly as ever you can, and go back
before the king inflicts a fine upon you.” And then
that man, in dread and awe, should pick up his
present, and return in great haste. Now would the
king of kings, merely from the fact that the man
brought his gift at the wrong time, be less powerful
than the doorkeeper, or never receive a compli¬
mentary present any more ? ’
‘ No, Sir. The doorkeeper turned back the giver
of that present out of the surliness of his nature, and
one a hundred thousand times as valuable [156]
might be brought in by some other device.’
‘Just so, O king, it was out of the jealousy of his
nature that Mara, the evil one, possessed the Brah¬
mans and householders at the Five Sala trees. And
hundreds of thousands of other deities came up to
offer the Buddha the strength-giving ambrosia from
heaven, and stood reverencing him with clasped
hands and thinking to themselves that they would
thus imbue him with vigour.’
23 . ‘ That may be so, Nagasena. The Blessed
IV, 2, 2!}.
MARA.
One found it easy to get the four requisites of a
recluse—he, the best in the world—and at the
request of gods and men he enjoyed all the re¬
quisites. But still Mara’s intention to stop the
supply of food to the Blessed One was so far car¬
ried out. Herein, Sir, my doubt is not removed.
I am still in perplexity and hesitation about this.
My mind is not clear how the Tathagata, the
Arahat, the supreme Buddha, the best of all the
best in the world of gods and men, he who had so
glorious a treasure of the merit of virtue, the un¬
equalled one, unrivalled and peerless,—how so vile,
mean, insignificant, sinful, and ignoble a being as
Mara could put any obstacle in the way of gifts to
Him.’
24. ‘ There are four kinds, O king, of obstacles—
the obstacle to a gift not intended for any par¬
ticular person, to a gift set apart for some one, to
the gift got ready, and to the enjoyment of a gift.
And the first is when any one puts an obstacle in
the way of the actual gift of a thing put ready to be
given away, but not with a view to or having seen
any particular donee,—an obstacle raised, for in¬
stance, by saying : “ What is the good of giving
it away to any one else ? ” The second is when any
one puts an obstacle in the way of the actual gift of
food intended to be prepared to be given to a
person specified. The third is when any one puts an
obstacle in the way when such a gift has been got
ready, but not yet accepted. And the fourth is
when any one puts an obstacle in the way of the
enjoyment of a gift already given (and so the
property of the donee).’
25. ‘ Now when Mira, the evil one, possessed the
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 26.
Brahmans and householders at the Five Sala trees,
the food in that case was neither the property of, nor
got ready for, nor intended to be prepared specially
for the Blessed One. [ 157 ] The obstacle was put
in the way of some one who was yet to come, who
had not arrived, and for whom no gift was intended.
That was not against the Blessed One alone. But
all who had gone out that day, and were coming to
the village, failed to receive an alms. I know no
one, O king, in the world of men and gods, no one
among Maras or Brahmas, no one of the class of
Brahmans or recluses, who could put any obstacle in
the way of an alms intended for, or got ready for,
or already given to the Blessed One. And if any
one, out of jealousy, were to raise up any obstacle
in that case, then would his head split into a
hundred or into a thousand pieces.’
26. ‘ There are four things, O king, connected
with the Tathigatas, to which no one can do any
harm. And what are the four ? To the alms
intended for, and got ready for the Blessed One—
to the halo of a fathom’s length when it has once
spread out from him—to the treasure of the know¬
ledge of his omniscience—and to his life. All these
things, O king, are one in essence—they are free
from defect, immovable, unassailable by other beings,
unchangeable by other circumstances 1 . And Mdra,
the evil one, lay in ambush, out of sight, when he
possessed the Brahmans and householders at the
Five Sala trees. It was as when robbers, O king,
1 Aphusani kiriyani, which I do not pretend to understand,
and Mr. Trenckner says is unintelligible to him. Iiina/i-kumbur6
has: Anya kriy&wak no wcedagannS boewin apusana (sic)
kriy&yo ya.
IV, 2, 26.
MARA.
hiding out of sight in the inaccessible country over
the border, beset the highways. But if the king
caught sight of them, do you think those robbers
would be safe ? ’
‘ No, Sir, he might have them cut into a hundred
or a thousand pieces with an axe.’
‘Well, just so it was, hiding out of sight, that
Mira possessed them. It was as when a married
woman, in ambush, and out of sight, frequents the
company of her paramour. [158] But if, O king,
she were to carry on her intrigues in her husband’s
presence, do you think she would be safe ? ’
‘ No, Sir, he might slay her, or wound her, or put
her in bonds, or reduce her to slavery.’.
1 Well. It was like that, hiding out of sight, that
Mira possessed them. But if, O king, he had
raised any obstacle in the case of an alms intended
for, got ready for, or in possession of the Blessed
One, then his head would have split into a hundred
or a thousand pieces.’
‘ That is so, Nigasena. Mira, the evil one,
acted after the manner of robbers, he lay in ambush,
possessing the Brahmans and householders of the
Five Sila trees. But if the same Mira, the evil
one, had interfered with any alms intended for, or
made ready for the Blessed One, or with his par¬
taking thereof, then would his head have been split
into a hundred or a thousand pieces, or his bodily
frame have been dissipated like a handful of chaff.’
‘ Very good, Nigasena! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[ Here ends the dilemma as to Mira’s interference
with alms.]
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 27.
2 24
[unconscious CRIME.]
27. ‘Venerable Nagasena, your people say: “Who¬
soever deprives a living being of life, without
knowing that he does so, he accumulates very
serious demerit 1 .” But on the other hand it was
laid down by the Blessed One in the Vinaya:
“ There is no offence to him who acts in igno¬
rance 2 .” If the first passage is correct, the other
must be false; and if the second is right, the first
must be wrong. This too is a double-pointed
problem, hard to master, hard to overcome. It is
now put to you, and you have to solve it.’
28. ‘ Both the passages you quote, O king, were
spoken by the Blessed One. But there is a differ¬
ence between the sense of the two. And what
is that difference ? [ 159 ] There is a kind of offence
which is committed without the co-operation of the
mind 3 , and there is another kind which has that
co-operation. It was with respect to the first of the
1 Not traced as yet, in so many words. And though there are
several injunctions in the Vinaya against acts which might haply,
though unknown to the doer, destroy life (such, for instance, as
drinking water without the use of a strainer), when these are all
subjects of special rule, and in each case there is an exception in
favour of the Bhikkhu who acts in ignorance of there being living
things which could be killed. (See, for instance, PsWittiya 62, on
the drinking of water.)
2 A^anantassa napatti. Pa/tittiya LXI, 2, 3 (in the Old
Commentary, not ascribed to the Buddha).
3 SaTzM-vimokkhtl. I am not sure of the exact meaning of
this difficult compound, which has only been found in this passage.
Hina/i-kumbure (p. 199) has: Maha ra^aneni, /C’ittangayen
abhSwayen midena boewin sa»«&-wimoksha-namwfi
dpattit atteya, &c. (mid == mui),
IV, 2 , 30.
BUDDHA AND HIS FOLLOWERS.
two that the Blessed One said: “ There is no
offence to him who acts in ignorance 1 .” ’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the dilemma as to sins in ignorance.]
[the BUDDHA AND HIS FOLLOWERS.]
29. ‘Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the
Blessed One: “ Now the Tath&gata thinks not,
Ananda, that is he who should lead the brother¬
hood, or that the Order is dependent upon him 2 .”
But on the other hand when describing the virtues
and the nature of Metteyya, the Blessed One, he
said thus : “He will be the leader of a brother¬
hood several thousands in- number, as I am now
the leader of a brotherhood several hundreds in
number 3 .” If the first statement be right, then
the second is wrong. If the second passage is right,
the first must be false. This too is a double-pointed
problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.’
30. ‘You quote both passages correctly, O king.
But in the dilemma that you put the sense in the
one passage is inclusive, in the other it is not. It
is not the Tathagata, O king, who seeks after a
following, but the followers who seek after him.
1 The Sinhalese has here a further page, giving examples of the
two kinds of offences referred to, and drawing the conclusion for
each.
3 Book of the Great Decease, II, 32 (translated in my 1 Buddhist
Suttas,’ p. 37), just after the passage quoted above, IV, 2, 4.
3 Not in any of the published texts. Metteyya is, of course, the
Buddha to come, the expected messiah.
[ 35 ] Q
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 2, 30.
king, that “ This is I,” or “ This is mine,” it is not a
transcendental truth 1 . Attachment is a frame of
mind put away by the Tathagata, he has put away
clinging, he is free from the delusion that “ This is
mine,” he lives only to be a help to others 2 . Just
as the earth, O king, is a support to the beings in
the world, and an asylum to them, and they depend
upon it, but the broad earth has no longing after
them in the idea that “ These belong to me ”—just
so is the Tathigata a support and an asylum to all
beings, but has no longing after them in the idea
that “ These belong to me.” And just as a mighty
rain cloud, O king, pours out its rain, and gives
nourishment to grass and trees, to cattle and to men,
and maintains the lineage thereof, and all these
creatures depend for their livelihood upon its rain,
but the cloud has no feelings of longing in the
idea that “ These are mine ’’—just so does the
Tathagata give all beings to know what are good
qualities and maintains them in goodness, and all
beings have their life in him, but the Tathagata has
no feelings of longing in the idea that “ These are
mine.” And why is it so ? Because of his having
abandoned all self-regard 3 .’
‘Very good, Nlgasena ! The problem has been
well solved by variety of examples. The jungle
has been made open, the darkness has been turned
I Sammuti.. . . na paramattho.
II Up&daya avassayo hoti.
3 Att&nudi/Miya pahinatta. See the passages quoted by
Dr. Morris in the ‘Journal of the Pali Text Society,’ 1886, pp.
1x3, X14.
IV, 2, 32*
SCHISM.
to light, the arguments of the adversaries have
been broken down, insight has been awakened in
the sons of the Conqueror.’
[Here ends the dilemma as to the Buddha and
his following.]
[schism.]
31. ‘ Venerable Nagasena, your people say: “ The
Tathagata is a person whose following can never be
broken up.” And again they say: “ At one stroke
Devadatta seduced five hundred of the brethren V’
If the first be true the second is false, but if the
second be correct then the first is wrong. [ 161 ]
This too is a double-pointed problem, profound,
hard to unravel, more knotty than a knot. By it
these people are veiled, obstructed, hindered, shut
in, and enveloped. Herein show your skill as
against the arguments of the adversaries.’
32. ‘ Both statements, O king, are correct. But
the latter is owing to the power of the breach maker.
Where there is one to make the breach, a mother
will be separated from her son, and the son will
break with the mother, or the father with the son
and the son with the father, or the brother from the
sister and the sister from the brother, or friend from
friend. A ship pieced together with timber of all
sorts is broken up by the force of the violence of
the waves, and a tree in full bearing and full of sap
is broken down by the force of the violence of the
wind, and gold of the finest sort is divided by
1 Neither of these phrases is to be found in the published
texts in these words. But the latter sums up the episode related in
the A'ullavagga VII, 4, x.
Q 2
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 32.
bronze. But it is not the intention of the wise, it is
not the will of the Buddhas, it is not the desire of
those who are learned that the following of the
Tath&gata should be broken up. And there is a
special sense in which it is said that that cannot be.
It is an unheard-of thing, so far as I know, that his
following could be broken up by anything done or
taken, any unkindly word, any wrong action, any
injustice, in all the conduct, wheresoever or what¬
soever, of the Tathagata himself. In that sense
his following is invulnerable. And you yourself,
do you know of any instance in all the ninefold
word of the Buddha of anything done by a Bodisat
which broke up the following of the Tathagata ?’
* No, Sir. Such a thing has never been seen or
heard in the world. It is very good, Nagasena,
what you say : and I accept it so.’
[Here ends the dilemma as to schism.]
Here ends the Second Chapter.
IV, 3 , I.
THE DHARMA.
Book IV. Chapter 3 .
[PRECEDENCE OF THE DHARMA.]
1. ‘Venerable N&gasena, it was said by the
Blessed One : “ For it is the Dhamma, O Vasettha,
which is ‘ the best in the world V as regards both
what we now see, and what is yet to come 1 2 .” But
again (according to your people) the devout layman
who has entered the Excellent Way, for whom the
possibility of rebirth in any place of woe has passed
away, who has attained to insight, and to whom the
doctrine is known, even such a one ought to salute
and to rise from his seat in token of respect for, and to
revere, any member of the Order, though a novice, and
though he be unconverted 3 . Now if the Dhamma
be the best that rule of conduct is wrong, but if
that be right then the first statement must be wrong.
1 This is a quotation from a celebrated verse, which is, as it were,
the national anthem of those who, in the struggle for religious and
ceremonial supremacy between the Brahmans and the nobles, took
the side of the nobles (the Khattiyas). As might be expected it
is not seldom found in the Buddhist Suttas, and is often put in the
mouth of the Buddha, the most distinguished of these Khattiyas
who were transcendental rather than military. It runs: ‘ The
Khattiya is the best in the world of those who observe the rules of
exogamous marriage, but of the whole race of men and gods he
who has wisdom and righteousness is the best.’ See, for instance,
the Amb&ttha Sutta, in the Digha Nikaya, and the Sumangala
Vilasini on that passage. By ‘best in the world’ is meant ‘entitled
to take precedence before all others,’ not best in the moral sense.
2 From the Aggaftna, Sutta in the Digha Nikaya.
3 I cannot give any authority for this, but it is no doubt correct
Buddhism according to the spirit of the Pi/akas.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 2.
This too is a double-pointed problem. It is now
put to you, and you have to solve it.’ [ 162 ]
2. ‘ The Blessed One said what you have quoted,
and you have rightly described the rule of conduct.
But there is a reason for that rule, and that is this.
There are these twenty personal qualities, making up
the Sama^aship of a Samara, and these two outward
signs 1 , by reason of which the Samara is worthy of
salutation, and of respect, and of reverence. And
what are they ? The best form of self-restraint, the
highest kind of self-control 2 , right conduct, calm
manners 3 , mastery over (his deeds and words 4 ), sub¬
jugation (of his senses 6 ), long-suffering 6 , sympathy 7 ,
1 Lingani. See above, IV, 1, 61.
2 Aggo niyamo. Hina/i-kumbure takes agga in the sense of
Arahatship: ‘Niwan dena pratipattiyen yukta bawa.’
Niyama is a self-imposed vow.
3 Vihara, which the Sinhalese glosses by: ‘Sansun iriyd-
patha wiharawayen yukta bawa/ (‘because he continues in
the practice of tranquil deportment.’)
4 Sawyama. ‘ K&ya wak sawzyamayen yukta bawa.’
6 Sawvaro. ‘ Indriya sawvarayen yukta bawa.’
6 Khanti, which the Sinhalese repeats.
7 Soxa.kka.rn. ‘Because he is docile and pleasant of speech,’
says the Sinhalese: ‘Suwa^a ktkaru bhawayen yukta bawa.’
It is an abstract noun formed from surata, and does not occur in
Sanskrit, though Bohtlingk-Roth give one authority for it (under
sauratya) from a Buddhist work, the Vyutpatti. It is one of the
many instances in which the Buddhist ethics has put new and
higher meaning into current phrases, for in Sanskrit literature
surata (literally ‘high pleasure’) is used frequently enough, but
almost without exception in an obscene sense. The commentary
on G’ataka III, 442 only repeats the word. It is there, as here,
and in the Vyutpatti, and at Anguttara II, 15, 3, always allied with
khanti. My translation follows Childers (who probably follows
Bohtlingk-Roth); but the Sinhalese gloss here makes me very
doubtful as to the exact connotation which the early Buddhists
associated with ‘ high pleasure.’
IV, 3 , 2 .
THE DHARMA.
the practice of solitude \ love of solitude 2 , medita¬
tion 3 , modesty and fear of doing wrong 4 , zeal 5 ,
earnestness 6 , the taking upon himself of the pre¬
cepts 7 , recitation (of the Scriptures) 8 , asking ques¬
tions (of those wise in the Dhamma and Vinaya),
rejoicing in the Silas and other (rules of morality),
freedom from attachment (to the things of the world),
fulfilment of the precepts—and the wearing of the
yellow robe, and the being shaven. [163] In the
practice of all these things does the member of the
Order live. By being deficient in none of them, by
being perfect in all, accomplished in all, endowed
with all of them does he reach forward to the con¬
dition of Arahatship, to the condition of those who
have nothing left to learn; he is marching towards
the highest of all lands 9 . Thus it is because he sees
him to be in the company of the Worthy Ones (the
Arahats) that the layman who has already entered
on the Excellent Way thinks it worthy in him 10 to
1 Ekatta-^ariyS=‘Ekaldwa hoesirimen yukta bawa.’
2 Ekatt&bhirati.
8 Pa/isallaraan, not samadhi. ATttekigrati says the Sin¬
halese.
4 Hiri-otappan.
6 Viriyan, ‘the zeal of the fourfold effort (pradhina) towards
the making of Arahatship,’ is the Sinhalese gloss.
6 Appamado, ‘in the search for Arahatship,’ says Hina/i-
kumbure.
7 Sikkha-samsidanan. ‘Learning them, investigating their
meaning, love of the virtuous law laid down in them/ expands
Hma/i-kumburS.
8 Uddero. There is a lacuna here in the Sinhalese. It has
nothing more till we come to the shaven head.
9 Amrfta mahi avakfUa bhumiya/a says the Sinhalese
(p. 205).
30 Arahati. I have endeavoured to imitate the play upon the
words.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 3.
reverence and to show respect to the Bhikkhu, though
be may be, as yet, unconverted. It is because he
sees him to be in the company of those in whom all
evil has been destroyed, because he feels that he is
not in such society 1 , that the converted layman
thinks it worthy of him to do reverence and to show
respect to the unconverted Bhikkhu. It is because
he knows that he has joined the noblest brotherhood,
and that he himself has reached no such state, that
the converted layman holds it right to do reverence
and to show respect to the unconverted Bhikkhu—
because he knows that he listens to the recitation of
the Patimokkha, while he himself can not—because
he knows that he receives men into the Order, and
thus extends the teaching of the Conqueror, which
he himself is incapable of doing—because he knows
that he carries out innumerable precepts, which he
himself cannot observe—because he knows that he
wears the outward signs of Sama#aship, and carries out
the intention of the Buddha, while he himself is gone
away far from that—because he knows that he, though
he has given up his hair and beard, and is unanointed
and wears no ornaments, yet is anointed with the
perfume of righteousness, while he is himself addicted
to jewelry and fine apparel—that the converted lay¬
man thinks it right to do reverence, and to show
respect to the unconverted Bhikkhu.’
3 . ‘ And moreover, O king, it is because he knows
that not only are all these twenty personal qualities
which go to make a Samara, and the two outward
signs, found in the Bhikkhu, but that he carries them
1 N’atthi me so samayo ti: E sam&grt l&bhaya ma/a
noetoeyi sitd.
IV, 3 , 4 -
THE DHARMA.
on, and trains others in them, that the converted
layman, realising that he has no part in that tra¬
dition 1 , in that maintenance of the faith, thinks it
right to reverence and to show respect to the con¬
verted Bhikkhu. [164] Just, O king, as a royal
prince who learns his knowledge, and is taught the
duties of a Khattiya, at the feet of the Brahman who
acts as family chaplain 2 , when after a time he is
anointed king, pays reverence and respect to his
master in the thought of his being the teacher, and
the carrier on of the traditions of the family, so is it
right for the converted Bhikkhu to do reverence and
to pay respect to the unconverted Bhikkhu.’
4 . ‘ And moreover, O king, you may know by
this fact the greatness and the peerless glory of the
condition of the Bhikkhus—that if a layman, a dis¬
ciple of the faith, who has entered upon the Excellent
Way, should attain to the realisation of Arahatship,
one of two results must happen to him, and there is
no other—he must either die away on that very day,
or take upon himself the condition of a Bhikkhu.
For immovable, O king, is that state of renuncia¬
tion, glorious, and most exalted—I mean the con¬
dition of being a member of the Order! ’
‘Venerable Nagasena, this subtle problem has
been thoroughly unravelled by your powerful and
great wisdom. No one else could solve it so unless
he were wise as you.’
[Here ends the problem as to the precedence of the
Dharma.]
1 Agamo, which the Sinhalese repeats.
2 Purohita, which the Sinhalese repeats.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 5.
[the HARM OF PREACHING.]
5 . ‘Venerable Ndgasena, you Bhikkhus say that
the Tathagata averts harm from all beings, and does
them good 1 . And again you say that when he was
preaching the discourse based on the simile of the
burning fire 2 hot blood was ejected from the mouths
of about sixty Bhikkhus. By his delivery of that
discourse he did those Bhikkhus harm and not good.
So if the first statement is correct, the second is false ;
and if the second is correct, the first [165] is false.
This too is a double-pointed problem put to you,
which you have to solve.’
6 . ‘ Both are true. What happened to them was
not the Tathdgata’s doing, but their own.’
‘ But, Nagasena, if the Tathagata had not delivered
that discourse, then would they have vomited up hot
blood V
‘ No. When they took wrongly what he said, then
was there a burning kindled within them, and hot
blood was ejected from their mouths.’
‘ Then that must have happened, Nigasena,
through the act of the Tathagata, it must have been
the Tathagata who was the chief cause 3 to destroy
them. Suppose a serpent, Nagasena, had crept into
an anthill, and a man in want of earth were to break
into the anthill, and take the earth of it away. And
by his doing so the entrance-hole to the anthill
1 I cannot give chapter and verse for the words, but the senti¬
ment is common enough.
2 This is not the Aditta-pariy&ya given in the Mahavagga I,
21, and the Aggikkhandupama Sutta in the 7th Book of the
Anguttara.
8 Adhikara. Pradhana is the Sinhalese translation.
IV, 3 , 8.
PREACHING.
were closed up, and the snake were to die in conse¬
quence from want of air. Would not the serpent
have been killed by that man’s action ?’
‘Yes, O king.’
‘ Just so, Nagasena, was the Tathagata the prime
cause of their destruction.’
7 . ‘ When the Tathagata delivered a discourse, O
king, he never did so either in flattery or in malice.
In freedom both from the one and from the other
did he speak. And they who received it aright were
made wise 1 , but they who received it wrongly, fell.
J ust, O king, as when a man shakes a mango tree or
a jambu tree or a mee tree 2 , such of the fruits on it
as are full of sap and strongly fastened to it remain
undisturbed, but such as have rotten stalks, and are
loosely attached, fall to the ground—[166] so was it
with his preaching. It was, O king, as when a hus¬
bandman, wanting to grow a crop of wheat, ploughs
the field, but by that ploughing many hundreds and
thousands of blades of grass are killed—or it was as
when men, for the sake of sweetness, crush sugar¬
cane in a mill, and by their doing so such small
creatures as pass into the mouth of the mill are
crushed also—so was it that the Tathagata making
wise those whose minds were prepared, preached the
Dhamma without flattery and without malice. And
they who received it aright were made wise, but they
who received it wrongly, fell.’
8 . ‘Then did not those Bhikkhus fall, Nagasena,
just because of that discourse ? ’
1 Buf^anti: unto Arahatship adds Hina/i-kumbure.
2 Madhuka. See < 7 ataka IV, 434. The Sinhalese (p. 208)
has migahak (Bassia Latifolia).
2 36
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 9.
‘ How, then, could a carpenter by doing nothing to
a piece of timber, and simply laying it by \ make it
straight and fit for use ? ’
‘ No, Sir. He would have to get rid of the bends
out of it, if he wanted it straight and ready for use.’
‘Just so, O king, the Tath&gata could not, by
merely watching over his disciples, have opened the
eyes of those who were ready to see. But by getting
rid of those who took the word wrongly he saved
those prepared to be saved. And it was by their
own act and deed, O king, that the evil-minded fell;
just as a plantain tree, or a bambu, or a she-mule are
destroyed by that to which they themselves give
birth 1 2 . And just, O king, as it is by their own
acts that robbers come to have their eyes plucked
out, or to impalement, or to the scaffold, just so
were the evil-minded destroyed by their own act,
and fell from the teaching of the Conqueror.’
9 . ‘ And so [167] with those sixty Bhikkhus, they
fell neither by the act of the Tathagata nor of any
one else, but solely by their own deed 3 . Suppose, O
king, a man were to give ambrosia 4 to all the people,
and they, eating of it, were to become healthy and
long-lived and free from every bodily ill. But one
man, on eating it, were by his own bad digestion, to
1 Rakkhanto, which Hma/i-kumbure expands in the sense
adopted above.
2 Plantains and bambfis die when they flower. And it was
popular belief in India that she-mules always died if they foaled.
See Afullavagga VI, 4, 3; VII, 2, 5; Vimana Vatthu 43, 8;
Sawzyutta Nikaya VI, 2, 2.
3 Hina/i-kumbuib here inserts a translation of the whole of the
Sutta referred to.
4 Amatam, with reference, no doubt, to Arahatship, of which
this is also an epithet.
IV, 3> 15*
THE FOOLISH FELLOW.
2 37
die. Would then, O king, the man who gave away
the ambrosia be guilty therein of any offence ? ’
‘ No, Sir;’
‘Just so, O king, does the TathAgata present the
gift of his ambrosia to the men and gods in the ten
thousand world systems ; and those beings who are
capable of doing so are made wise by the nectar of
his law, while they who are not are destroyed and
fall. Food, O king, preserves the lives of all beings.
But some who eat of it die of cholera 1 . Is the man
who feeds the hungry guilty therein of any offence ? ’
‘No, Sir.’
‘ Just so, O king, does the Tathagata present the
gift of his ambrosia to the men and gods in the ten
thousand world systems ; and those beings who are
capable of doing so are made wise by the nectar of his
law, while they who are not are destroyed and fall.’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’ _
[Here ends the dilemma on the harm resulting
from preaching.]
[the secrets of a tathAgata.]
11 . [This dilemma treats of one of the thirty
bodily signs of a ‘great man’ (Mahapurusha) sup¬
posed to be possessed by every Tathagata, but as it
deals with matters not usually spoken of in this
century, it is best read in the original.]
[the foolish fellow.]
15 . [170] ‘ Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the
Elder SAriputta, the commander of the faith : “ The
1 VisMikaya, which Hina/i-kumburS renders: Agirna wa
wiwek&badhayen. So above, IV, 2, 18.
2 38 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 16.
Tathagata, brethren, is perfect in courtesy of speech.
There is no fault of speech in the Tathagata con¬
cerning which he should have to take care that no
one else should know it k” And on the other hand
the Tathagata, when promulgating the first Pardfika
on the occasion of the offence of Sudinna the
Kalanda 1 2 , addressed him with harsh words, calling
him a useless fellow 3 . And that Elder, on being so
called, terrified with the fear of his teacher 4 * , and
overcome with remorse, was unable to comprehend
the Excellent Wayk Now if the first statement be
correct, the allegation that the Tathagata called
Sudinna the Kalanda a useless fellow must be false.
But if that be true, then the first statement must be
false. [171] This too is a double-pointed problem
now put to you, and you have to solve it.’
16 . ‘What S&riputta the Elder said is true, O
king. And the Blessed One called Sudinna a useless
fellow on that occasion. But that was not out of
rudeness of disposition 6 7 , it was merely pointing out
the real nature (of his conduct) in a way that would
do him no harmk And what herein is meant by
1 I don’t know where such a phrase is put into Sariputta’s mouth:
but a similar one, as Mr. Trenckner points out, is ascribed to the
Buddha at Anguttara VII, 6, 5.
2 Kalanda-putto, where Kalanda (or Kalandaka as some
MSS. of the Vinaya spell it) is the name of the clan (see Parag-ika
I, 5, 1), not of the father.
3 See the whole speech at Paragika I, g, n.
4 Garuttasena. Taso is not in Childers, but occurs G’ataka
III, 177, 202.
6 There is nothing in the Vinaya account of this result.
6 Du/Ma-/i’ittena, which Hina/i-kumbur£ repeats.
7 Asarambhena yathava-lakkha«ena. For yathava, which
is not in Childers, see Buddhaghosa in the Sumangala Vilasini,
p. 65, and Dhammapala on Theri Gatha, 387. plina/'i-kumbure
IV, 3 , If-
THE FOOLISH FELLOW.
“ pointing out the real nature.” If any man, O king,
in this birth does not attain to the perception of the
Four Truths, then is his manhood (his being born as
a man) in vain 1 , but if he acts differently he will
become different. Therefore is it that he is called
a useless fellow 2 . And so the Blessed One addressed
Sudinna the Kalanda with words of truth, and not
with words apart from the facts.’
17 . ‘But, N&gasena, though a man in abusing
another speaks the truth, still we should inflict a
small 3 fine upon him. For he is guilty of an offence,
inasmuch as he, although for something real, abused
him by the use of words that might lead to a breach
(of the peace) 4 .’
‘ Have you ever heard, O king, of a people bowing
down before, or rising up from their seats in respect
for, or showing honour to, or bringing the compli¬
mentary presents (usually given to officials) to a
criminal ?’
‘ No, if a man have committed a crime of whatever
sort or kind, if he be really worthy of reproof and
punishment, they would rather behead him, or tor-
translates: Upadra karawa sitakin ut no wanneya, swabhawa
laksharaayen maya ehi wadiila kisiwek oet nam, 6 swabhawa
lakshawaya maya,
1 Mogham. So at Gataka III, 24.
2 Mogha-puriso, the same word as I have translated elsewhere
‘foolish fellow,’ following Childers. But I never think that the
word means always and only ‘ in vain, useless.’ See < 7 ataka I,
14; III, 24, 25 ; Sutta Nipata III, 7, 20; Mahavagga VIII, 1, 5;
Aullavagga ¥,11,3; Anguttara II, 5,10; Sumangala Vilasini, p. 55.
8 Literally, ‘a fine of a kahapawa,’ a copper coin worth in our
money about a penny. See my ‘ Ancient Coins and Measures,’ p. 3.
4 Visuw voharaw a^aranto. The Sinhalese (p. 224) has
Wen wu wa/^ana wu wyawaharayekin hcesiremin.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 18.
ture him \ or bind him with bonds, or put him to
death, or deprive him of his goods V
* Did then the Blessed One, O king, act with
justice or not ? ’
‘ With justice, Sir, and in a most fit and proper
way. And when, Nagasena, they hear of it the
world of men and gods will be made tender of con¬
science, and afraid of falling into sin, struck with awe
at the sight of it, and still more so when they them¬
selves associate with wrong-doers, or do wrong.’
18 . [172] ' Now would a physician, O king, admin¬
ister pleasant things as a medicine in a case where
all the humours of the body were affected, and the
whole frame was disorganised and full of disease ?’
‘ No. Wishing to put an end to the disease he
would give sharp and scarifying drugs.’
‘ In the same way, O king, the Tathagata bestows
admonition for the sake of suppressing all the
diseases of sin. And the words of the Tathagata,
even when stern, soften men and make them tender.
Just as hot water, O king, softens and makes tender
anything capable of being softened, so are the words
of the Tathagata, even when stern, yet as full of bene¬
fit, and as full of pity as the words of a father would
be to his children. Just, O king, as the drinking of
evil-smelling decoctions, the swallowing of nasty
drugs, destroys the weaknesses of men’s bodies, so
are the words of the Tathagata, even when stern,
bringers of advantage and laden with pity. And
1 Hananti. But hiwzs&t kereti says the Sinhalese.
2 Gapenti. Dr. Edward Muller thinks this a misprint for
^Mpenti (Pali Grammar, p. 37). Dhanaya hanayen nird-
dhanika kereti is the Sinhalese version.
IV, 3 , 2 °.
THE TALKING TREE.
just, O king, as a ball of cotton falling on a man
raises no bruise, so do the words of the Tathagata,
even when stern, do no harm.’
‘ Well have you made this problem clear by many
a simile. Very good, N&gasena ! That is so, and I
accept it as you say.’
[End of the dilemma as to the Buddha’s harsh words
to Sudinna.]
[the tree talking.]
19 . ‘ Venerable Nagasena, the Tath&gata said :
“ Brahman ! why do you ask an unconscious thing,
Which cannot hear you, how it does to-day ?
Active, intelligent, and full of life,
How can you speak to this so senseless thing—
This wild PaMsa tree 1 2 ? ”
“ And thus the Aspen tree then made reply :
‘ I, Bharadvafa, can speak too. Listen to me V ”
‘ Now if, Nagasena, a tree is an unconscious thing,
it must be false that the Aspen tree spoke to Bharad-
va^a. But if that is true, it must be false to say that
a tree is unconscious. This too is a double-edged
problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.’
20 . ‘ The Master said, Ndgasena, that a tree is
unconscious. And the Aspen tree conversed with
Bhiradva^a. But that last is said, O king, by a
common form of speech. For though a tree being
unconscious cannot talk, yet the word “ tree ” is used
1 G'ataka III, 24. It is not the Tathagata, but the Bodisat,
who speaks.
2 G'ataka IV, 210, where the verses are ascribed to the Buddha.
[ 35 ] *
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 21.
as a designation of the dryad who dwells therein,
and in that sense that “ the tree talks ” is a well-
known expression. Just, O king, as a waggon laden
with corn is called a corn-waggon. But it is not
made of corn, it is made of wood, yet because of the
corn being heaped up in it the people use the ex¬
pression “corn-waggon.” Or just, O king, as when a
man is churning sour milk the common expression is
that he is churning butter. But it is not butter that
he is churning, but milk. Or just, O king, as when
a man is making something that does not exist the
common expression is that he is making that thing
which all the while as yet is not, [174] but people
talk of the work as accomplished before it is done.
And the Tathagata, when expounding the Dhamma,
does so by means of the phraseology which fs in
common use among the people.’
‘Very good, Ndgasena! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’ _
[Here ends the dilemma as to the talking tree.]
[the buddha’s last illness.]
21 , ‘Venerable N&gasena, it was said by the
Elders who held the Recitation 1 ;
“ When he had eaten Afunda’s alms,
The coppersmith’s,—thus have I heard,—
The Buddha felt that sickness dire,
That sharp pain even unto death 2 .”
1 The Council of Ragagaha is meant, at which the Pi/akas were
recited. All the so-called Councils are exclusively ‘ Recitations'
(Sazwgttiyo) in Buddhist phraseology. But ‘ Council ’ is the best
rendering of the word, as Recitation implies so much that would
be unintelligible to the ordinary reader.
2 Book of the Great Decease, IV, 23.
IV, 3 , 22.
the buddha’s last illness.
And afterwards the Blessed One said: “ These
two offerings of food, Ananda, equal, of equal fruit,
and of equal result, are of much greater fruit and
much greater result than any others 1 .” Now if
sharp sickness fell upon the Blessed One, Nagasena,
after he had partaken of Aunda’s alms, and sharp
pains arose within him even unto death, then that
other statement must be wrong. But if that is
right then the first must be wrong. How could
that alms, Nagasena, be of great fruit when it turned
to poison, gave rise to disease, [175] put an end to
the period of his then existence, took away his life ?
Explain this to me to the refutation of the adver¬
saries. The people are in bewilderment about this,
thinking that the dysentery must have been caused
by his eating too much, out of greediness.’
22 . ‘The Blessed One said, O king, that there
were two almsgivings equal, of equal fruit, and equal
result, and of much greater fruit, and much greater
result than any others,—that which, when a Tatha-
gata has partaken of it, he attains to supreme and
perfect Buddhahood (Enlightenment), and that when
he has partaken of which, he passes away by that
utter passing away in which nothing whatever re¬
mains behind 2 . For that alms is full of virtue, full
of advantage. The gods, O king, shouted in joy
and gladness at the thought: “This is the last
meal the Tathagata will take,” and communicated
a divine power of nourishment to that tender
1 Book of the Great Decease, IV, 57, but with a slightly different
reading.
2 Book of the Great Decease, loc. cit. The Sinhalese gives the
whole context in full.
R 2
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 22.
pork x . And that was itself in good condition, light,
pleasant, full of flavour, and good for digestion 2 .
It was not because of it that any sickness fell upon
the Blessed One, but it was because of the extreme
weakness of his body, and because of the period of
life he had to live having been exhausted, that the
disease arose, and grew worse and worse—just as
when, O king, an ordinary fire is burning, if fresh
fuel be supplied, it will burn up still more—or [176]
as when a stream is flowing along as usual, if a
1 Sftkara-maddava. There is great doubt as to the exact
meaning of this name of the last dish the Buddha partook of.
Maddati is ‘to rub,’ or ‘to press,’ or ‘to trample,’- and just as
‘ pressed beef’ is ambiguous, so is ‘ boar-pressed ’ or ‘ pork-tender’
capable of various interpretations. The exegetical gloss as handed
down in the Maha Vihara in Anuradhapure, Ceylon, in the now
lost body of tradition called the Maha A/ 7 AakatM, has been pre¬
served by Dhammapala in his comment on Udana VIII, 5 (p. 81
of Dr. Steinthal’s edition for the P&li Text Society). It means, I
think, ‘ Meat pervaded by the tenderness and niceness of boar’s
(flesh).’ But that is itself ambiguous, and DhammapSJa adds that
others say the word means not pork or meat at all, but ‘ the tender
top sprout of the bambu plant after it has been trampled upon
by swine’—others again that it means a kind of mushroom that
grows in ground trodden under foot by swine—others again that
it means only a particular kind of flavouring, or sauce. As
Maddana is rendered by Childers ‘withered,’ I have translated it
in my ‘Buddhist Suttas’ (pp. 71-73) ‘ dried boar’s flesh.’ But the
fact is that the exact sense is not known. (Maddavani
pupphani at Dhammapada 377 is ‘withered flowers,’ according
to Fausboll. But it may be just as well* tender flowers,’ especially
as M&rdava in Sanskrit always means ‘tender, pitiful,’ &c. This
is the only passage where the word is known to occur in Pali apart
from those in which sfikara-maddava is mentioned.) The
Sinhalese here (p. 230) repeats the word and adds the gloss : E
taruwu wu ftru mawzsayehi.
2 Gatharaggi-te^-assa hitam. On this curious old belief in
an internal fire see my ‘ Buddhist Suttas,’ p. 260.
IV, 3 , 23 -
the budbha’s last illness.
2 45
heavy rain falls, it will become a mighty river with
a great rush of water—or as when the body is of its
ordinary girth, if more food be eaten, it becomes
broader than before. So this was not, O king, the
fault of the food that was presented, and you can
not impute any harm to it.’
23 . ‘But, venerable N&gasena, why is it that those
two gifts of food are so specially meritorious ? ’
‘ Because of the attainment of the exalted con¬
ditions which resulted from them 1 .’
' Of what conditions, Nagasena, are you speaking? ’
‘ Of the attainment of the nine successive states
which were passed through at first in one order,
and then in the reverse order 2 .’
‘ It was on two days, was it not, Nagasena, that
the TatMgata attained to those conditions in the
highest degree ? ’
‘Yes, O king 3 .’
‘ It is a most wonderful thing, Nagasena, and a
most strange, that of all the great and glorious
gifts which were bestowed upon our Blessed One 4
not one can be compared with these two alms¬
givings. Most marvellous is it, that even as those
1 Dhamm&numa^ana-sam&patti-varena: which the Sin¬
halese merely repeats. For Anuma^ani see the text above,
p. 62, and Sumangala Vilasini, p. 65.
2 See the full description in the Book of the Great Decease, VI,
n-13. (‘Buddhist Suttas,’ pp. 115, 116.) The Sinhalese is here
greatly expanded (pp. 230-233).
3 So our author must have thought that the nine Anupubba-
viharas occurred also after the alms given to Gotama before he
sat under the Bo Tree, but I know of no passage in the Pi/akas
which would support this belief. Compare the note 2 in vol. i,
p. 74 of the ‘ Vinaya Texts,’ and the passages there quoted.
* Buddha-khette dan am, ‘gifts which had the Buddha as
the field in which they were bestowed, or sown.’
246 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 24.
nine successive conditions are glorious, even so are
those gifts made, by their glory, [ 177 ] of greater
fruit, and of greater advantage than any others.
Very good, N&gasena! That is so, and I accept it
as you say.’
[Here ends the dilemma as to the Buddha’s
last illness.]
[adoration of relics.]
24. ‘Venerable N&gasena, the Tath&gata said:
“ Hinder not yourselves, Ananda, by honouring the
remains of the Tathigata V’ And on the other
hand he said:
“ Honour that relic of him who is worthy of honour,
Acting in that way you go from this world to
heaven 1 2 .”
‘ Now if the first injunction was right the second
must be wrong, and if the second is right the first
must be wrong. This too is a double-edged pro¬
blem now put to you, and you have to solve it.’
25. ‘ Both the passages you quote were spoken
by the Blessed One. But it was not to all men, it
was to the sons of the Conqueror 3 that it was said :
“ Hinder not yourselves, Ananda, by honouring the
remains of the Tathigata 4 .” Paying reverence is
not the work of the sons of the Conqueror, [ 178 ]
but rather the grasping of the true nature of all
1 Book of the Great Decease, V, 24.
2 Not found in any of the Pi/aka texts as yet published.
3 Gina-pu ttanawz. That is, the members of the Order.
4 Here again Hina/i-kumbure goes into a long account of the
attendant circumstances (pp. 233, 234).
IV,*3, 2 6 . ADORATION OF RELICS- 247
compounded things, the practice of thought, con¬
templation in accordance with the rules of Satipa-
/^ana, the seizing of the real essence of all objects
of thought, the struggle against evil, and devotion
to their own (spiritual) good. These are things
which the sons of the Conqueror ought to do, leaving
to others, whether gods or men, the paying of
reverence V
26. ‘ And that is so, O king, just as it is the business
of the princes of the earth to learn all about
elephants, and horses, and chariots, and bows, and
rapiers, and documents, and the law of property 1 2 ,
to carry on the traditions of the Khattiya clans, and
to fight themselves and to lead others in war, while
husbandry, merchandise, and the care of cattle are
the business of other folk, ordinary Vessas and
Suddas.—Or just as the business of Brahmins and
their sons is concerned with the Rig-veda, the
Ya^ur-veda, the S&ma-veda, the Atharva-veda,
with the knowledge of lucky marks (on the body),
of legends 3 , Pura;«as, lexicography 4 , prosody, phono¬
logy, verses, grammar, etymology, astrology, inter¬
pretation of omens, and of dreams, and of signs,
study of the six Vedangas, of eclipses of the sun
and moon, of the prognostications to be drawn
from the flight of comets, the thunderings of the
gods, the junctions of planets, the fall of meteors,
earthquakes, conflagrations, and signs in the heavens
and on the earth, the study of arithmetic, of cas-
1 This is really only an expansion and a modernisation of the
context of the passage quoted.
2 Lekha-mudda. See the note above on I, 1, 10.
3 Itihasa, ‘the Bh&rata and the Ramayawa,’ says the Sinhalese.
4 ‘ Of names of trees and so on,’ says Hinad-kurnbure.
248 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 3,- 27.
uistry, of the interpretation of the omens to be
drawn from dogs, and deer, and rats, and mixtures
of liquids, and the sounds and cries of birds—while
husbandry, merchandise, and the care of cattle are
the business of other folk, ordinary Vessas and
Suddas. So it was, O king, in the sense of
“Devote not yourselves to such things as are not
your business, but to such things as are so” that
the Tathagata was speaking [ 179 ] when he said:
“ Hinder not yourselves, Ananda, by honouring
the remains of the Tathigata.” And if, O king,
he had not said so, then would the Bhikkhus have
taken his bowl and his robe, and occupied them¬
selves with paying reverence to the Buddha through
them 1 ! ’
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the dilemma as to reverence to relics.]
[the splinter of rock.]
27. ‘Venerable Nagasena, you Bhikkhus say
that: “ When the Blessed One walked along,
the earth, unconscious though it is, filled up its
deep places, and made its steep places plain 2 .”
And on the other hand you say that a splinter of
1 This certainly looks as if our author did not know anything of
the worship paid to the supposed bowl of the Buddha, or of the
feast, the Patta-maha, held in its honour. The passage may
therefore be used as an argument for the date of the book. Fa-
Hien saw this bowl-worship in full force at Peshawar about 400
a. d. See Chapter xii of his travels (Dr. Legge’s translation, pp.
35 - 37 )-
2 Not found as yet in the Pi/akas.
IV, 3, 2p.
THE SPLINTER OF ROCK.
rock grazed his foot 1 . When that splinter was
falling on his foot why_ did it not, then, turn aside ?
If it be true that the unconscious earth makes its
deep places full and its steep places plain for him,
then it must be untrue that the splinter of rock
hurt his foot. But if the latter statement be true,
then the first must be false. This too is a double-
edged problem now put to you, and you have to
solve it.’
28. ‘ Both statements, O king, are true. But
that splinter of rock did not fall of itself 2 , it was
cast down through the act of Devadatta. Through
hundreds of thousands of existences, O king, had
Devadatta borne a grudge against the Blessed
One 3 . It was through that hatred that he seized
hold of a mighty mass of rock, and pushed it over
with the hope that it would fall upon the Buddha’s
head. But two other rocks came together, and
intercepted it before it reached the Tathagata, and
by the force of their impact a splinter was torn off,
and fell in such a direction that it struck [ 180 ] the
Blessed One’s foot.’
29. ‘ But, N&gasena, just as two rocks intercepted
that mighty mass, so could the splinter have been
intercepted.’
‘ But a thing intercepted, O king, can escape, slip
through, or be lost—as water does, through the
fingers, when it is taken into the hand—or milk, or
buttermilk, or honey, or ghee, or oil, or fish curry,
1 Aullavagga VII, 3, 9. Compare the Sazwyutta NMya I, 4,
8 ; IV, 2, 3 (pp. 27 and no of M. L<fon Feer’s edition for the Pali
Text Society).
2 Attaro dhammat&ya.
3 So above, IV, 2, 64, and below, IV, 4, 41.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 3, 30.
or gravy—or as fine, subtle, minute, dusty grains of
sand do, through the fingers, if you close your fist
on them—or as rice will escape sometimes when you
have taken it into your fingers, and are putting it
into your mouth.’
30. ‘ Well, let that be so, N&gasena. I admit that
the rock was intercepted. But the splinter ought at
least to have paid as much respect to the Buddha as
the earth did.’
‘ There are these twelve kinds of persons, O king,
who pay no respect—the lustful man in his lust, and
the angry man in his malice, and the dull man in
his stupidity, and the puffed-up man in his pride, and
the bad man in his want of discrimination, and the
obstinate man in his want of docility, and the mean
man in his littleness, and the talkative man in his
vanity, and the wicked man in his cruelty, and the
wretched man in his misery, and the gambler [ 181 ]
because he is overpowered by greed, and the busy
man in his search after gain. But that splinter, just
as it was broken off by the impact of the rocks, fell
by chance 1 in such a direction that it struck against
the foot of the Blessed One—just as fine, subtle, and
minute grains of sand, when carried away by the
force of the wind, are sprinkled down by chance in
any direction they may happen to take. If the
splinter, O king, had not been separated from the
rock of which it formed a part, it too would have
been intercepted by their meeting together. But,
as it was, it was neither fixed on the earth, nor did
it remain stationary in the air, but fell whithersoever
1 Animitta-kata-dis^, which the Sinhalese (p. 238) merely
repeats.
IV, 3, 3 1 *
THE SAMAJVA.
chance directed it, and happened to strike against
the Blessed One’s foot—just as dried leaves might
fall if caught up in a whirlwind. And the real cause
of its so striking against his foot was the sorrow¬
working deed 1 of that ungrateful, wicked, Devadatta.’
‘Very good, Nagasena! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the dilemma as to the splinter grazing
the Buddha’s foot.]
[THE SAMAiVA.]
31. ‘Venerable Nagasena, the Blessed One said :
“ A man becomes a Samara by the destruction of
the Asavas 2 .” But on the other hand he said :
“ The man who has these dispositions four
Is he whom the world knows as Samara 3 .”
And in that passage these are the four dispositions
referred to—long-suffering, temperance in food,
renunciation 4 , and the being without the attach¬
ments 5 (arising from lust, ill-will, and dulness).
Now these four dispositions are equally found in
those who are still defective, in whom [ 182 ] the
1 Dukkhanubhavana—the sorrow being Devadatta’s subse¬
quent existence in purgatory.
2 That is ‘ of sensuality, individuality, delusion, and ignorance.’
I don’t know which is the passage referred to.
3 Also not traced as yet in the texts.
4 Vippah&nS, not in Childers, but see Sutta NipataV, 14, 4, 5.
Hina/i-kumbure (p. 239) renders it alaya hcerima.
5 Akinka«»a, not having the three kira/eanas mentioned.
Hina/i-kumbure (p. 239) takes it to mean the practice of the
Aki/ziayatana meditation. But if so that would surely have
been the word used.
252 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 32.
Asavas have not yet been completely destroyed.
So that if the first statement be correct, the second
is wrong, and if the second be right the first must
be wrong. This too is a double-edged problem
now put to you, and you have to solve it.’
32. ‘ Both statements, O king, were made by the
Blessed One. But the second was said of the
characteristics of such and such men ; the first is an
inclusive statement—that all in whom the Asavas
are destroyed are Samaras. And moreover, of all
those who are made perfect by the suppression of
evil, if you take them in regular order one after the
other, then the Samara in whom the Asavas are
destroyed is acknowledged to be the chief—just, O
king, as of all flowers produced in the water or on
the land, the double jasmine 1 is ackowledged to be
the chief, all other kinds of flowers of whatever
sort are merely flowers, and taking them in order
it is the double jasmine that people most desire and
like. Or just, O king, as of all kinds of grain, rice
is acknowledged to be the chief, all other kinds of
grain, of whatever sort, [ 183 ] are useful for food and
for the support of the body, but if you take them in
order, rice is acknowledged as the best.’
‘Very good, Ndgasena! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the dilemma as to what constitutes
a Samawa.]
] Varsika (Dofesaman mal, jasminum zambac).
IV, 3 , 34 -
EXULTATION.
[the buddiia’s exultation.]
33. ‘Venerable Nigasena, the Blessed One said :
“ If, O Bhikkhus, any one should speak in praise of
me, or of our religion (Dhamma), or of the Order,
you should not thereupon indulge in joy, or delight,
or exultation of mind 1 ”. And on the other hand
the Tathagata was so delighted, and pleased, and
exultant at the deserved praise bestowed on him by
Sela the Brahman, that he still further magnified
his own goodness in that he said :
“ A king am I, Sela, the king supreme
Of righteousness. The royal chariot wheel
In righteousness do I set rolling on—
That wheel that no one can turn back again 2 ! ”
Now if the passage first quoted be right then must
the second be wrong, but if that be right then must
the first be wrong. This too is a double-edged
problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.’
34. [ 184 ] ‘ Both your quotations, O king, are
correct. But the first passage was spoken by the
Blessed One with the intention of setting forth truth¬
fully, exactly, in accordance with reality, and fact, and
1 From the Brahma-^ala Sutta in the Digha Nikaya (I, 1, g).
2 From the Sela Sutta in the Sutta Nipata (III, 7, 7). Professor
Fausboll in his translation of this stanza (at vol. x, p. 102 of the
‘ Sacred Books of the East ’) draws attention to the parallel at
John xviii. 37. ‘ Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was
I born. And for this cause came I into the world that I should
bear witness unto the truth ’—where ‘ truth,’ if one translated the
verse into Pali, would be correctly rendered by Dhamma, ‘right¬
eousness, religion, truth, essential quality.’ Professor Fausboll’s
version of the stanza runs : ‘ I am a king, O Sela, an incomparable
religious (Dhamma-ra^a) king, with justice (Dhamma). I turn the
wheel, a wheel that is irresistible.’
2 54
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 3, 35,
sense, the real nature, and essence, and characteristic
marks of the Dhamma, And the second passage
was not spoken for the sake of gain or fame, nor out
of party spirit, nor in the lust of winning over men
to become his followers. But it was in mercy and
love, and with the welfare of others in view, conscious
that thereby three hundred young Brahmans would
attain to the knowledge of the truth, that he said:
“ A king am I, Sela, the king supreme of righteous-
ff f
ness.
‘ Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the problem as to exultation of mind.]
[kindness and punishment.]
35. ‘Venerable Nagasena, the Blessed One said;
“ Doing no injury to any one
Dwell full of love and kindness in the world 1 .”
And on the other hand he said; “ Punish him who
deserves punishment 2 , favour him who is worthy of
favour.” [ 185 ] Now punishment, Nagasena, means
the cutting off of hands or feet, flogging 3 , casting
into bonds, torture 4 , execution, degradation in rank 5 .
1 From the 521st Cr&taka.
2 The crux lies in the ambiguity of this phrase as will be seen
below.
3 Vadha, which is ambiguous, and means also ‘killing.’ The
Sinhalese repeats the word.
4 Kara«i, w'hich Hinad-kumbur6 renders tcelimaya, ‘ Hogging.’
5 Santati-vikopanaw, literally ‘breach of continuity.’ Hinad-
kumburli explains it to mean ‘ injury to the duration of life,’ and
this may be the author’s meaning, as he is fond of heaping together
a string of words, some of which mean the same thing. But as
IV, 3, 36-
KINDNESS AND PUNISHMENT.
Such a saying is therefore not worthy of the Blessed
One, and he ought not to have made use of it. For
if the first injunction be right then this must be
wrong, and if this be right then the injunction to do
no injury to any one, but to dwell full of love and
kindness in the world, must be wrong. This too
is a double-edged problem now put to you, and you
have to solve it.’
36. ‘ The Blessed One, great king, gave both the
commands you quote. As to the first, to do no
injury to any one, but to live full of love and kind¬
ness in the world—that is a doctrine approved by
all the Buddhas. And that verse is an injunction,
an unfolding of the Dhamma, for the Dhamma has
as its characteristic that it works no ill. And the
saying is thus in thorough accord with it. But as
to the second command you quote that is a special
use of terms [which you have misunderstood. The
real meaning of them is : “ Subdue that which ought
to be subdued, strive after, cultivate, favour what is
worthy of effort, cultivation, and approval ”]. The
proud heart, great king, is to be subdued, and the
lowly heart cultivated—the wicked heart to be sub¬
dued, and the good heart to be cultivated—careless¬
ness of thought is to be subdued, and exactness of
thought to be cultivated—[ 186 ] he who is given over
to wrong views is to be subdued, and he who has
attained to right views is to be cultivated—he who
is not noble 1 is to be subdued, and the noble one is
santati means also ‘lineage, descent,’ the phrase may equally well
refer to the sort of punishment I have ventured to put into the text.
1 Ariyo and anariyo used technically in the sense of one
who has not, and one who has, entered upon the Noble Eightfold
Path.
2 56 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 37.
to be cultivated—the robber 1 is to be subdued, and
the honest brother is to be cultivated.’
37. ‘ Let that be so, Nfigasena. But now, in that
last word of yours, you have put yourself into my
power, you have come round to the sense in which
I put my question. For how, venerable Nagasena,
is the robber to be subdued by him who sets to work
to subdue him ? ’
‘ Thus, great king—if deserving of rebuke let him
be rebuked, if of a fine let him be fined, if of banish¬
ment let him be banished, if of death let him be put
to death.’
‘ Is then, Nagasena, the execution of robbers part
of the doctrine laid down by the Tathagatas ?’
‘ Certainly not, O king.’
‘ Then why have the Tathagatas laid down that
the robber is to be taught better ?’
‘ Whosoever, great king, may be put to death, he
does not suffer execution by reason of the opinion
put forth by the Tathagatas. He suffers by reason
of what he himself has done. But notwithstanding
that the doctrine of the Dhamma has been taught
(by the Buddhas) 2 , would it be possible, great king,
for a man who had done nothing wrong, and was
walking innocently along the streets, to be seized
and put to death by any wise person ?’
‘ Certainly not.’
1 Coro probably here used figuratively of a member of the
Order who is unworthy of it, and injures believing laymen. So the
word is used, for instance, in the introductory story (in the Sutta
Vibhanga) to the fourth Para^ika—where four sorts of such
religious ‘ robbers ’ are distinguished (compare our 1 wolf in sheep’s
clothing ’). But the king takes it literally.
2 The three words in brackets are Hina/i-kumbure s gloss.
IV, 3 . 3 8 *
DISMISSAL.
‘ But why ? ’
‘ Because of his innocence.’
‘Just so, great king, since the thief is not put to
death through the word of the Tathagata, but only
through his own act, how can any fault be rightly
found on that account with the Teacher ? ’
‘ It could not be, Sir.’
‘So you see the teaching of the Tathagatas is
a righteous teaching.’
‘Very good, Nagasena! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the problem as to kindness and
punishment.]
[the dismissal of the elders.]
38. ‘Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the
Blessed One:
“ Anger I harbour not, nor sulkiness 1 .”
But on the other hand the Tathigata dismissed the
Elders Sariputta and Moggallana, together with the
brethren who formed their company of disciples 2 .
1 From the Dhaniya Sutta in the Sutta Nipata (I, 2, 2).
2 The episode here referred to will be found in the Mag^/hma
Nikaya, No. 67. Hinah-kumbure gives it in full. The Buddha was
staying at the Amalaki garden near the Sakya town called A'atuma.
There the two elders with their attendant 500 disciples came to
call upon him. The resident Bhikkhus received them with applause,
and a great hubbub arose. The Buddha enquired what that noise
was, like the chattering of fishermen when a net full of fishes was
drawn to shore. Ananda told him. Thereupon the Buddha
called the brethren together, made a discourse to them on the advan¬
tages of quiet, and ‘ sent away ’ the visitors. They went to the
public rest-house in the town. The town’s folk enquired why, and
258 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. 17,3,39,
How now, Nagasena, [ 187 ] was it in anger that the
Tathagata sent away 1 the disciples, or was it in
pleasure ? Be so good as to explain to me how
this was 2 . For if, Nagasena, he dismissed them in
anger, then had the Tathdgata not subdued all
liability to anger in himself. But if it was in plea¬
sure, then he did so ignorantly, and without due
cause. This too is a double-edged problem now
put to you, and you have to solve it.’
39. ‘ The Blessed One did say, O king:
“ Anger I harbour not, nor sulkiness.”
And he did dismiss the Elders with their disciples.
But that was not in anger. Suppose, O king, that
a man were to stumble against some root, or stake,
or stone, or potsherd, or on uneven ground, and fall
upon the broad earth. Would it be that the broad
earth, angry with him, had made him fall ? ’
‘ No, indeed, Sir. The broad earth feels neither
anger against any man nor delight. It is altogether
when they heard the reason, went to the Buddha, and obtained his
forgiveness for the offending brethren. The incident is the basis
of another question below, IV, 4, 41.
1 Pawamesi means, in the technical legal phraseology of the
Buddhist canon law, ‘ formally dismissed, sent away, did not allow
them any more to be his disciples.’ On this technical meaning of
the term, compare Maltavagga I, 2, 27, and Aullavagga XII, 2, 3.
(Childers does not give this use of the word.) But it is difficult to
imagine the circumstances under which the Buddha could so have
dismissed his two principal disciples. So I think we must take the
word in a less formal sense—such, for instance, as we find in Thera
G&tha 5x1, 557. .
2 Eta»r tava^ffnahi ima m nfimSti. I follow Hinafi-kum-
bure’s rendering (p. 244) of this difficult phrase, according to
which there ought to be a full stop in the text after pawamesi,
and these words are supposed to be addressed to Nagasena by
Milinda. But I am not at all satisfied that he is right, and the text
may be corrupt.
IV, 3, 39 -
DISMISSAL.
free from ill-will, neither needs it to fawn on any one.
It would be by reason of his own carelessness that
that man stumbled and fell.’
‘Just so, great king, do the Tathagatas experience
neither anger against, nor pride in any man. Alto¬
gether free are the Tathagatas, the Arahat-Buddhas,
alike from ill-will, and from the need to fawn on any
one. And those disciples were sent away by reason
of what they themselves had done. So also the
great ocean endures not association with any corpse.
Any dead body there may be in it that does it
promptly cast up, and leave high and dry on the
shore 1 . But is it in anger that it casts it up ? ’
‘ Certainly not, Sir. The broad ocean feels neither
anger against any, nor does it take delight in any.
It seeks not in the least to please any, and is alto¬
gether free from the desire to harm.’
‘Just so, great king, do the Tath&gatas feel neither
anger against any man, nor do they place their faith
in any man. The Tathagatas, the Arahat-Buddhas,
are quite set free from the desire either to gain the
goodwill of any man, or to do him harm. And it
was by reason of what they themselves had done
that those disciples were sent away. Just as a man,
great king, who stumbles against the ground is made
to fall, so is he who stumbles in the excellent teach¬
ing of the Conqueror made to go away. Just as a
corpse in the great ocean is cast up, [ 188 ] so is he
who stumbles in the excellent teaching of the Con¬
queror sent away. And when the Tathagata sent
those disciples away it was for their good, and their
1 This supposed fact is already the ground of a comparison in
the ifullavagga IX, 1, 3, 4 (‘Vinaya Texts,’ III, 303).
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 39.
gain, their happiness, and their purification, and in
order that in that way they should be delivered from
birth, old age, disease, and death.’
‘Very good, Nftgasena! That is so,and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the problem as to the dismissal of
the Elders.]
Here ends the Third Chapter.
IV, 4, 2.
MURDER OF MOGGALLANA.
26 l
Book IV. Chapter 4 .
[THE MURDER OF MOGGALLANA.]
1. ‘Venerable Nagasena, it has been said by the
Blessed One: “ This is the chief, O Bhikkhus, of
those of my disciples in the Order who are possessed
of the power of Iddhi, I mean Moggallana 1 .” But
on the other hand they say his death took place by
his being beaten to death with clubs, so that his
skull was broken, and his bones ground to powder,
and all his flesh and nerves bruised and pounded
together 2 . Now, Nagasena, if the Elder, the great
Moggallana, had really attained to supremacy in
the magical power of Iddhi, then it cannot be true
that he was beaten to death with clubs 3 . But if his
death was on that wise, then the saying that he was
chief of those possessed of Iddhi must be wrong.
How could he who was not even able, by his power
of Iddhi, to prevent his own murder, be worthy
nevertheless to stand as succour to the world of
gods and men ? This too is a double-edged pro¬
blem now put to you, and you have to solve it.’
2. ‘ The Blessed One did declare, O king, that
Moggallana was chief among the disciples in power
1 From the Anguttara Nikaya I, xiv, 1 (page 23 of Dr. Morris’s
edition for the Pdli Text Society).
2 Parikatto, which the Sinhalese version renders garha
wemin.
3 ‘ By robbers,’ adds Hina/i-kumbure, so there is no question of
martyrdom.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 3.
of Iddhi. And he was nevertheless beaten to death
by clubs. But that was through his being then
possessed by the still greater power of Karma V
3. ‘But, venerable Nagasena, [ 189 ] are not both
of these things appurtenant to him who has the
power of Iddhi—that is the extent of his power, and
the result of his Karma—both alike unthinkable ?
And cannot the unthinkable be held back by the
unthinkable ? Just, Sir, as those who want the fruits
will knock a wood apple 2 down with a wood apple,
or a mango with a mango, so ought not the unthink¬
able in like manner to be subject to restraint by the
unthinkable ? ’
‘ Even among things beyond the reach of the
imagination, great king, still one is in excess above
the other, one more powerful than the other. Just,
O king, as the monarchs of the world are alike in
kind, but among them, so alike in kind, one may
overcome the rest, and bring them under his com¬
mand—just so among things beyond the grasp of
the imagination is the productive effect of Karma
by far the most powerful. It is precisely the effect
of Karma which overcomes all the rest, and has
them under its rule; and no other influence is of
any avail to the man in whom Karma is working
out its inevitable end 3 . It is as when, O king,
any man has committed an offence against the law 4 .
1 Kammadhigahitenapi, which the Sinhalese merely repeats.
Compare the use of adhiga«hati at Anguttara Nik ay a Y, 31
(adhigarahati turn tena, ‘ surpasses him in that’), and see below.
2 Kapittham (Feronia Elephantum), which the Sinhalese
renders Diwul gedi.
3 ‘ No good action has an opportunity at the time when evil
Karma is in possession of a man,’ says Hinad-kumbure (p. 250).
4 Pakararae apara^Aati, literally ‘ against the book,’the book
iv, 4 , 3-
MURDER OF MOGGALLANA.
Neither his mother nor his father, neither his sisters
nor his brother, neither his friends nor his intimate
associates can protect him then. He has fallen
therein under the power of the king who will issue
his command respecting him. And why is that so ?
Because of the wrong that he has done. So is it
precisely the effect of Karma which overcomes all
other influences, and has them under its command,
and no other influence can avail the man in whom
Karma is working out its inevitable end. It is as
when a jungle fire has arisen on the earth, then can
not even a thousand pots of water avail to put it
out, but the conflagration overpowers all, and brings
it under its control. And why is that so ? Because
of the fierceness of its heat. So is it precisely the
effect of Karma which overcomes all other influences,
and has them under its command; and no other
influence can avail the man in whom Karma is
working out its inevitable end. That is why the
venerable one, great king, the great Moggallana,
when, at a time when he was possessed by Karma,
he was being beaten to death with clubs, was yet
unable to make use of his power of Iddhi V
‘ Very good, Nigasena ! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the problem as to the murder of
Moggallana.]
of the law being, no doubt, understood. But the Sinhalese has
‘ against any one.’
1 Iddhiyd samann&h&ro naho si. See the use of this word,
which is not in Childers, at p. 123 of the Sumangala (on Digha
I, 3, 24). The Sinhalese goes on to much greater length than
the Pali, giving the full religious life history of the famous disciple
(pp. 250, 251).
IV, 4 , 4 -
[on secret doctrine.]
4. [ 190 ] ‘ Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the
Blessed One: “ The Dhamma and the Vinaya
(Doctrine and Canon Law) proclaimed by the
Tathagata shine forth when they are displayed, and
not when they are concealed 1 .” But on the other
hand the recitation of the Patimokkha and the
whole of the Vinaya Pi/aka are closed and kept
secret 2 . So that if, Nagasena, you (members of the
Order) carried out what is just, and right, and held
of faith in the teaching of the Conqueror then would
the Vinaya shine forth as an open thing. And why
would that be so ? Because all the instruction
therein, the discipline, the self-control, the regulations
as to moral and virtuous conduct, are in their essence
full of truth and righteousness, and redounding to
emancipation of heart. But if the Blessed One
really said that the Dhamma and Vinaya proclaimed
by the Tathigata shine forth when displayed and
not when kept secret, then the saying that the reci¬
tation of the Pitimokkha and the whole of the
Vinaya must be kept secret must be wrong. And
if that be right, then the saying of the Blessed One
must be wrong. This too is a double-edged pro¬
blem now put to you, and you have to solve it.’
5. ‘It was said, O king, by the Blessed One that
the Dhamma and Vinaya proclaimed by the Tatha-
1 From the Ahguttara Nikaya III, 124 (vol. i, p. 283 of
Dr. Morris’s edition for the Pali Text Society).
2 In the Vinaya (Mahavagga II, 16, 8) it is laid down that the
Pitimokkha (the rules of the Order) is not to be recited before
laymen. I know of no passage in the Pi/akas which says that it,
or the Vinaya, is to be kept secret.
IV, 4 , < 5 . ESOTERIC DOCTRINE. 265
gata shine forth when displayed, and not when kept
secret. And on the other hand the recitation of the
Pcltimokkha and the whole of the Vinaya Pi/aka are
kept close and secret ’. But this last is not the case
as regards all men. They are only kept secret up
to a certain limit. And the recitation of the Pati-
mokkha is kept secret up to that certain limit on
three grounds—firstly because that is the traditional
custom 1 2 3 of previous Tathagatas, secondly out of
respect for the Truth (Dhamma), and thirdly out of
respect for the position of a member of the Order V
6 . ‘ And as to the first it was the universal custom,
O king, of previous Tathhgatas for the recitation of
the Pdtimokkha to take place in the midst of the
members of'the Order only, to the exclusion of all
others. Just, O king, as the Kshatriya secret for¬
mulas (of the nobles) are handed down among the
nobles alone, and that this or that is so is common
tradition among the nobles 4 of the world and kept
secret from all others—[ 191 ] so was this the universal
custom of previous Tathagatas, that the recitation
of the Patimokkha should take place among the
1 This is, so far as I know, the earliest mention of this being the
case. There is nothing in the Patimokkha itself (see my transla¬
tion of this list of offences against the rules of the Order in vol. i
of the ‘Vinaya Texts’ in the S.B.E.) as to its recitation taking
place in secret, and nothing in the Vinaya as to its being kept
secret. But the regulations in the Vinaya as to the recitation of
the Patimokkha forbade the actual presence of any one not a
member of the Order, and as a matter of fact any one not such a
member is excluded in practice during its recitation now in
Ceylon. But it would be no offence in a layman to read the
Vinaya, and learned laymen who have left the Order still do so.
a Vawzsa (repeated in the Sinhalese).
3 Bhikkhu-bhumiya (also repeated in the Sinhalese, p. 252).
4 Kha//iy&naOT (but the Sinhalese has Sakyayange).
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 7.
members of the Order only, and be kept secret from
all others. And again, just as there are several
classes of people, O king, known as distinct in the
world—such as wrestlers, tumblers, jugglers, actors,
ballet-dancers, and followers of the mystic cult of the
sun and moon, of the goddess of fortune and other
gods 1 . And the secrets of each of these sects are
handed on in the sect itself, and kept hidden from
all others. Just so with the universal custom of all
the Tathigatas that the recitation of the Piti-
mokkha should take place before the members of
the Order only, and be kept secret from all others.
This is why the recitation of the Pdtimokkha is, up
to that extent, kept secret in accordance with the
habit of previous Tathagatas.’
7. ‘ And how is it that the Pitimokkha is kept
secret, up to that extent, out of reverence for the
Dhamma ? The Dhamma, great king, is venerable
and weighty. He who has attained to proficiency
in it may exhort another in this wise : “ Let not this
Dhamma so full of truth, so excellent, fall into the
hands of those unversed in it, where it would be
despised and contemned, treated shamefully, made
a game of, and found fault with. Nor let it fall into
the hands of the wicked who would deal with it in
all respects as badly as they.” It is thus, O king,
that the recitation of the P&timokkha is, up to that
1 There are twenty classes of these people mentioned in the
text, and the meaning of most of the names is obscure. The
Sinhalese simply repeats them all, adding only the word
bhaktiyo, ‘believers in,’ to the names of the various divinities.
The classing together of jugglers, ballet-dancers, and followers of
the numerous mystic cults, so numerous in India, is thoroughly
Buddhistic, and quite in the vein of Gotama himself—as, for
instance, in the MaM Sila (see my ‘ Buddhist Suttas,’ p. 196).
IV, 4, 8.
ESOTERIC DOCTRINE.
extent, kept secret out of reverence for the Dhamma.
For if not, then it would be like the best, most
costly, and most rare red sandal wood of the finest
kind, which when brought to Savara (that city of
the outcast KandaXas l ) is despised and contemned,
treated shamefully, made game of, and found fault
with.’
8 . [ 192 ] ‘ And how is it that the Pitimokkha is
kept secret, up to that extent, out of reverence for
the position of a member of the Order ? The con¬
dition of a Bhikkhu, great king, is in glory beyond
the reach of calculation by weight, or measure, or
price. None can value it, weigh it, measure it. And
the recitation of the Pitimokkha is carried on before
the Bhikkhus alone, lest any one who has occupied
that position should be brought down to a level with
the men of the world. Just, O king, as if there be
any priceless thing, in vesture or floor covering, in
elephants, chargers, or chariots, in gold or silver or
jewels or pearls or women, or in unsurpassable strong
drink 2 3 , all such things are the appanage of kings—
just so, O king, whatever is most priceless in the
way of training, of the traditions of the Blessed One,
of learning, of conduct, and of the virtues of right¬
eousness and self-control—all these are the appa¬
nages of the Order of Bhikkhus. This is why the
recitation of the Pdtimokkha is, to that extent,
kept secret V
1 Added from the Sinhalese.
2 Ni^ita-kamma-surd, rendered in the Sinhalese (p. 254),
^aya-grz'hita-krz'tya-suri-panayen.
3 It will be noticed that there is no mention here (in a con¬
nection where, if it had then existed, it would almost certainly
have been referred to) of any Esoteric Buddhism. So above, at
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 4, 9.
‘ Very good, Ndgasena! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the problem as to the secrecy in which
the Vinaya is kept.]
[the two kinds of falsehood.]
9. ‘Venerable Nigasena, it has been said by the
Blessed One that a deliberate lie is an offence of the
greatest kind (involving exclusion from the Order x ).
IV, 1, 8, it is stated that a good Buddhist teacher should keep
nothing secret from his pupil. And even in so old a text as the
1 Book of the Great Decease’ (Chap. II, § 32, p. 36 of my transla-
lation in the ‘ Buddhist Suttas ’), it is said of the Buddha himself
that he had ‘ no such thing as the closed fist of a teacher who
keeps some things back.’ This passage is itself quoted above
at IV, 2, 4, as the basis of one of Milinda’s questions; and is
entirely accepted by Nagasena, that is, by our author. The fact is
that there has never been any such thing as esoteric teaching in
Buddhism, and that the modern so called esoteric Buddhism is
neither esoteric nor Buddhism. Its tenets, so far as they are
Indian at all, are perfectly accessible, are well known to all those
who choose to study the books of Indian mysticism, and are Hindu,
not Buddhist. They are, indeed, quite contradictory to Buddhism,
of which the authors of what they ignorantly call Esoteric Buddhism
know but very little—that little being only a portion of those
beliefs which have been common ground to all religious teachers
in India. If one doctrine—more than any other—is distinctive of
Buddhism, it is the ignoring, in ethics, of the time-honoured belief
in a soul—that is, in the old sense, in a separate creature inside
the body, which flies out of it, like a bird out of a cage, when the
body dies. Yet the Theosophists, who believe, I am told, in seven
souls inside each human body (which would be worse according
to true Buddhism than seven devils), still venture to call themselves
Buddhists, and do not see the absurdity of their position 1
1 Sampa^ana-musfivida par&g-ika. This is curious as ac¬
cording to the Patimokkha it is Pa/littiya, not Paragika. Compare
Par^giM 4 with Paiittiya 1. (‘Vinaya Texts,’ S. B. E,, vol. iii,
pp. 5 and 32.)
IV, 4 , io-
FALSEHOOD.
And again he said : “ By a deliberate lie a Bhikkhu
commits a minor offence, one that ought to be the
subject of confession made before another (member
of the Order) 1 2 .” Now, venerable Nagasena, what is
herein the distinction, what the reason, that by one
lie a Bhikkhu is cast out of the Order, and by
another he is guilty only of an offence that can be
atoned for. If the first decision be right, then the
second must be wrong; but if the second be right,
then the first must be wrong. This too is a double-
edged problem now put to you, and you have to
solve it.’
10. [ 193 ] 2 ‘ Both your quotations, O king, are
correct 3 . But a falsehood is a light or heavy
offence according to the subject matter. For what
do you think, great king ? Suppose a man were to
give another a slap with his hand, what punishment
would you inflict upon him ? ’
‘ If the other refused to overlook the matter, then
neither should we be able to pardon his assailant 4 * ,
but should mulct him in a penny or so 6 .’
‘ But on the other hand, suppose it had been you
1 I cannot trace these identical words in the Pi/aka texts. But
the general sense of them is exactly in agreement with the first
Pai’ittiya rule.
2 Hma/i-kumbure here inserts a summary of the Introductory
Story (in the Sutta Vibhaiiga) to the 4th Para^ika. All this (pp.
254-256) stands in his version for lines 1-3 on p. 193 of the Pali
text.
3 The Pili repeats them word for word. As I have pointed out
above, they are not really correct.
4 So Hma/i-kumbure, who must have had a different reading,
and I think a better one, before him.
6 A kahapawa. See the discussion of the value of this coin in
my ‘ Ancient Coins and Measures,’ pp. 3, 4.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, n.
yourself that he had given the blow to, what would
then be the punishment ? ’
‘ We should condemn him to have his hands cut
off, and his feet cut off, and to be skinned alive 1 ,
and we should confiscate all the goods in his house,
and put to death all his family to the seventh genera¬
tion on both sides.’
‘ But, great king, what is the distinction ? Why
is it that for one slap of the hand there should be
a gentle fine of a penny, while for a slap given to
you there should be so fearful a retribution ? ’
‘ Because of the difference in the person (assaulted).’
‘Well! just so, great king, is a falsehood a light
or a heavy offence according to the attendant cir¬
cumstances.’
‘ Very good, Nigasena ! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the problem as to the degree of
offence in falsehood.]
[the bodisat’s consideration.]
11. ‘Venerable Nigasena, it has been said by
the Blessed One in the discourse on the essential
conditions 2 : “ Long ago have his parents been
destined for each Bodisat, and the kind of
tree he is to select for his Bo tree, and the
1 Yava sisaw ka.lha.kkhegga.rn ^edapeyyama, which the
Sinhalese merely repeats. It is literally ‘ We should have him
“ bambu-sprout-cut ” up to his head.’ What this technical term
may mean is not exactly known—possibly having slits the shape of
a bambfi sprout cut all over his body.
2 Dhammata-dhamma-pariy^ye. I don’t know where this
is to be found.
IV, 4, II.
THE BODISAT.
27I
Bhikkhus who are to be his two chief disciples,
and the lad who is to be his son, and the
member of the Order who is to be his special
attendant.” But on the other hand he said:
“ When yet in the condition of a god in the
Tusita heaven the Bodisat makes the eight
Great Investigations — he investigates the time
(whether the right moment had come at which he
ought to be re-born as a man), and the continent
(in which his birth is to take place), and the
country (where he is to be re-born), and the family
(to which he is to belong), and the mother (who
is to bear him), and the period (during which he
was to remain in the womb), and the month (in
which his birthday shall come), and his renunciation
(when it shall be) 1 . [194] Now, Nagasena, before
knowledge is ripe there is no understanding, but
when it has reached its summit there is no longer
any need to wait for thinking a matter over 1 , for
there is nothing outside the ken of the omniscient
mind. Why then should the Bodisat investigate
the time, thinking to himself: “ In what moment
shall I be born 2 ?” And for the same reason why
should he investigate the family, thinking to him-
1 These eight Investigations (Vilokanani) have not yet been
found in the Pi/aka texts. But, when relating the birth of the his¬
torical Buddha, the Gataka commentary (vol. i, p. 48, of Professor
Fausboll’s edition) mentions the first six of them (substituting
ok&sa for desa), and calls them, oddly enough, the Five Great
Investigations. In the corresponding passage in the Lalita Vistara
only the first four are mentioned. The last two of the above eight
seem very forced.
2 Nimesantaram na figameti, for which Hinafi-kumburS
(p. 256 at the end) has nivesantara. Neither word occurs
elsewhere.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 12.
self: “ Iii what family shall I be born?” And if,
Nagasena, it is a settled matter who shall be the
parents of the Bodisat, then it must be false that
he “ investigated the family.” But if that be true,
then must the other saying be wrong. This too is
a double-edged problem now put to you, and you
have to solve it.’
12 . ‘ It was both a settled matter, O king, who
should be the parents of the Bodisat, and he did
investigate into the question as to which family he
was to be born into. But how did he do so ? He
thought over the matter as to whether his parents
should be nobles or Brahmans. With respect to
eight things, O king, should the future be inves¬
tigated before it comes to pass. A merchant, O
king, should investigate goods before he buys
them—an elephant should try with its trunk a path
it has not yet trod—a cartman should try a ford he
has not yet crossed over—a pilot should test a
shore he has not yet arrived at, and so guide the
ship—a physician should find out the period of life
which his patient has lasted 1 before he treats his
disease—a traveller should test the stability of a
bambft bridge 2 before he mounts on to it—a Bhikkhu
should find out how much time has yet to run before
sun turn before he begins to eat his meal—and
Bodisats, before they are born, should investigate
the question whether it would be right for them
to be born in the family of a noble or of a Brahman.
1 Ayum oloketva, which the Sinhalese (p. 257) repeats. This
implied meaning is doubtful.
2 Uttara-setu, a word which does not occur elsewhere. Hina/i-
kumbure renders it He-danda, which Clough explains as a foot¬
bridge usually made of a single tree.
IV, 4, 14-
SUICIDE.
These are the eight occasions on which investi¬
gation ought to precede action.’
‘ Very good, N&gasena ! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the problem as to the Bodisat’s
consideration.]
[on suicide.]
13 . [195] ‘Venerable Ndgasena, it has been said
by the Blessed One : “ A brother is not, O Bhikkhus,
to commit suicide. Whosoever does so shall be
dealt with according to the law 1 .” And on the
other hand you (members of the Order) say :
“ On whatsoever subject the Blessed One was ad¬
dressing the disciples, he always, and with various
similes, preached to them in order to bring about
the destruction of birth, of old age, of disease, and
of death. And whosoever overcame birth, old age,
disease, and death, him did he honour with the
highest praise 2 .” Now if the Blessed One forbade
suicide that saying of yours must be wrong, but if
not then the prohibition of suicide must be wrong.
This too is a double-edged problem now put to
you, and you have to solve it.’
14 . ‘ The regulation you quote, O king, was laid
down by the Blessed One, and yet is our saying you
refer to true. And there is a reason for this, a
1 Literally ‘ is not to throw himself down,’ and I think ‘ from a
precipice ’ is to be understood, especially as the nearest approach
to the words quoted, that is the passage in the Sutta Vibhanga on
the 3rd P&ra^ika (III, 5, 13), has that meaning.
2 Here again the passage referred to is not known.
[35} T
2 74 THE QUESTIONS of KING MILINDA. IV, 4 , 14 .
reason for which the Blessed One both prohibited
(the destruction of life), and also (in another sense)
instigated us to it.’
‘What, Nagasena, may that reason be ?’
‘ The good man, O king, perfect in uprightness, is
like a medicine to men 1 in being an antidote to the
poison of evil, he is like water to men in laying the
dust and the impurities of evil dispositions, he is
like a jewel treasure to men in bestowing upon them
all attainments in righteousness, he is like a boat to
men inasmuch as he conveys them to the further
shore of the four flooded streams (of lust, indi¬
viduality, delusion, and ignorance) 2 , he is like a
caravan owner to men in that he brings them beyond
the sandy desert of rebirths, he is like a mighty
rain cloud to men in that he fills their hearts with
satisfaction, he is like a teacher to men in that he
trains them in all good, he is like a good guide to
men in that he points out to them the path of peace.
It was in order that so good a man as that, one
whose good qualities are so many, so various, so
immeasurable, [196] in order that so great a treasure
mine of good things, so full of benefit to all beings,
might not be done away with, that the Blessed One,
O king, out of his mercy towards all beings, laid
down that injunction, when he said: “ A brother is
not, O Bhikkhus, to commit suicide. Whosoever
does so shall be dealt with according to the law.”
This is the reason for which the Blessed One pro¬
hibited (self-slaughter). And it was said, O king,
1 Sattanawi, in which gods are included.
2 The four oghas; also called Asavas. The former term is
used of them objectively, the latter subjectively.
fT, 4) J 5*
SUICIDE.
by the Elder Kumara Kassapa, the eloquent, when
he was describing to Payisi the Rijranya the other
world : “ So long as Samaras and Brahmans of up¬
rightness of life, and beauty of character, continue
to exist—however long that time may be—-just so
long do they conduct themselves to the advantage
and happiness of the great masses of the people, to
the good and the gain and the weal of gods and
men 1 ! ” ’
15 . ‘And what is the reason for which the Blessed
One instigated us (to put an end to life) ? Birth,
O king, is full of pain, and so is old age, and disease,
and death. Sorrow is painful, and so is lamentation,
and pain, and grief, and despair. Association with
the unpleasant is painful, and separation from the
pleasant 2 , The death of a mother is painful, or of
a father, or a brother, or a sister, or a son, or a wife,
or of any relative. Painful is the ruin of one’s
family, and the suffering of disease, and the loss of
wealth, and decline in goodness, and the loss of in-
1 This Kumara Kassapa is said at Anguttara I, xiv, 3 to have
been the most eloquent of the early disciples. Another 1 eloquent
little outburst of his is preserved for us in verses 201 and 202 of
the Thera GltM. ‘ O for the Buddhas, and their doctrines! O
for the achievements of our Master 1 Thereby may the disciple
realise the Truth. Through countless aeons of time has Selfness
followed on Selfness. But this one is now the last. This aggrega¬
tion (of mental and material qualities which forms me now again
into an individuality) is at last the end, the end of the coming and
going of births and deaths. There will be no rebirth for me!’
But where the verses are so full of allusions to the deepest
Buddhist psychology, it is impossible to reproduce in English the
vigour of the original Pali. Selfness (Sakkaya) is the condition
of being a separate individual.
2 All this is from the celebrated discourse, the ‘ Foundation of
the Kingdom of Righteousness ’ (in ‘Buddhist Suttas,’ p. 148).
T 2
276 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 15.
sight. Painful is the fear produced by despots, or
by robbers, or by enemies, or by famine, or by fire,
or by flood, or by the tidal wave, or by earthquake,
or by crocodiles or alligators. Painful is the fear of
possible blame attaching to oneself, or to others, the
fear of punishment, the fear of misfortune. Painful
is the fear arising from shyness in the presence of
assemblies of one’s fellows, painful is anxiety as to
one’s means of livelihood, painful the foreboding of
death. [197] Painful are (the punishments inflicted
on ‘Criminals), such as being flogged with whips, or
with sticks, or with split rods, having one’s hands
cut off, or one’s feet, or one’s hands and feet, or one’s
ears, or one’s nose, or one’s ears and nose. Painful
are (the tortures inflicted on traitors)—being sub¬
jected to the Gruel Pot (that is, having boiling gruel
poured into one’s head from the top of which the
skull bone has been removed 7 )—or to the Chank
Crown 2 (that is, having the scalp rubbed with gravel
till it becomes smooth like a polished shell)—or to
the Rahu’s Mouth 3 (that is, having one’s mouth held
open by iron pins, and oil put in it, and a wick lighted
therein)—or to the Fire Garland 4 or to the Hand
Torch 5 (that is, being made a living torch, the whole
body, or the arms only, being wrapped up in oily
cloths, and set on fire)—or to the Snake Strips 6
(that is, being skinned in strips from the neck to the
hips, so that the skin falls in strips round the legs)—
or to the Bark Dress 7 (that is, being skinned alive
from the neck downwards, and having each strip of
1 Bilanga-tMlikazw. 2 Sankha-muzz^ikawz.
s Rahu-mukhaw. 4 (Voti-malakawz.
5 Hattha-pa^otikaw. 6 Eraka-vattikazzz.
7 irtraka-v&sikawz.
IV, 4 , 15 .
SUICIDE.
skin as soon as removed tied to the hair, so that
these strips form a veil around one)—or to the
Spotted Antelope 1 (that is, having one’s knees and
elbows tied together, and being made to squat on a
plate of iron under which a fire is lit)—or to the
Flesh-hooks 2 (that is, being hung up on a row of
iron hooks)—or to the Pennies 3 (that is, having bits
cut out of the flesh, all over the body, of the size of
pennies)—or to the Brine Slits 4 * (that is, having cuts
made all over one’s body by means of knives or
sharp points, and then having salt and caustic liquids
poured over the wounds)—or to the Bar Turn 6 (that
is, being transfixed to the ground by a bar of iron
passing through the root of the ear, and then being
dragged round and round by the leg)—or to the
Straw Seat 6 (that is, being so beaten with clubs that
1 E«eyyaka»z.
2 Balisa-mawsikaw (so the Sinhalese, Mr. Trenckner reads
Ba/isa).
s Kahapazzakaw. 4 Kharapati^Makazw.
6 Paligha-parivattikawz.
6 Palala-pi//zaka»z. I follow throughout Hma/i-kumbure’sin¬
terpretation (pp. 260, 261) of these pretty names, which could be
well matched in the West. That some Indian kings were cruel in
the extreme is no doubt true. But it must not be supposed that
this list gives the names of well-known punishments. It is merely a
string of technical terms which is repeated by rote whenever tortures
have to be specified. And the meaning of its terms was most likely
unknown to the very people who so used them. For the whole list
(which is taken by our author from the Pali Pi/akas) is explained
by Buddhaghosa in his commentary, the Manoratha Purawt, on
Anguttara II, 1, 1, as edited by Dr. Morris at pp. 113, 114 of the
first edition of his Anguttara for the Pali Text Society, 1884. But
Buddhaghosa’s explanations differ from Hinad-kumbure’s in several
details; and to nearly half the names he gives alternative mean¬
ings, quite contradictory to those that he gives first. So the list
had its origin some centuries (say 400-500) b.c., and was certainly
2 78 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 15.
the bones are broken, and the body becomes like a
heap of straw)—or to be anointed with boiling oil,
or to be eaten by dogs, or to be impaled alive, or to
be beheaded. Such and such, O king, are the mani¬
fold and various pains which a being caught in the
whirlpool of births and rebirths has to endure. Just,
O king, as the water rained down upon the Hima¬
laya mountain flows, in its course along the Ganges,
through and over rocks and pebbles and gravel,
whirlpools and eddies and rapids \ and the stumps
and branches of trees which obstruct and oppose its
passage,—-just so has each being caught in the suc¬
cession of births and rebirths to endure such and
such manifold and various pains. Full of pain, then,
is the continual succession of rebirths, a joy is it
when that succession ends. And it was in pointing
out the advantage of that end, the disaster involved
in that succession, that the Blessed One, great king,
instigated us to get beyond birth, and old age, and
disease, and death by the realisation of the final end
of that succession of rebirths. This is the sense, O
king, which led the Blessed One to instigate us (to
put an end to life).’
‘Very good, N&gasena ! Well solved is the puzzle
(I put), well set forth are the reasons (you alleged).
That is so, and I accept it as you say.’
[Here ends the problem as to suicide.]
not understood in the fifth century a. d. ; and was probably there¬
fore unintelligible also, at least in part, to our author.
1 ITmika-vanka-^adika. I don’t pretend to understand this
last word. Dr. Morris, at p. 92 of the 1 Pali Text Society’s Journal ’
for 1884, suggests velika. Perhaps it was simply adika after all,
with or without m euphonic.
IV, 4, i 6 *
LOVE.
[a loving disposition.]
16 . [198] ■ Venerable Nagasena, it has been said
by the Blessed One: “ Eleven advantages, O
brethren, may be anticipated from practising, making
a habit of, enlarging within one, using as a means of
advancement, and as a basis of conduct, pursuing
after, accumulating, and rising well up to the very
heights of the emancipation of heart, arising from a
feeling of love (towards all beings) 1 . And what are
these eleven ? He who does so sleeps in peace, and
in peace does he awake. He dreams no sinful
dreams. He becomes dear to men, and to the
beings who are not men 2 . The gods watch over
him. Neither fire, nor poison, nor sword works any
harm to him. Quickly and easily does he become
tranquillised. The aspect of his countenance is calm.
Undismayed does he meet death, and should he not
press through to the Supreme Condition (of Arahat-
ship), then is he sure of rebirth in the Brahma
world 3 .” But on the other hand you (members of
1 This same string of words, except the first, is used of the
Iddhi-padas in the Book of the Great Decease, III, 3 (p. 40 of
vol. xi of the S. B. E.). The words ‘ towards all beings ’ are not
in the text. But this is the meaning of the phrase used, and not
love to men only, as would be understood if they were not inserted
in the translation.
2 Amanussa. This means, not the gods, but the various spirits
on the earth, nayads, dryads, fairies, &c. &c. As here, so again
below, IV, 4, 41, the amanussa are opposed to the devata, men¬
tioned in the next clause here. In older texts the devata include
the amanussfi.
3 From the Anguttara Nikaya, Ekadasa Nipata; quoted in full,
with the context, in the Introductory Story to the 169th Gataka
(vol. ii, pp. 60, 61 of Professor Fausboll’s edition).
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 4, 16.
the Order) say that “ Sama the Prince, while dwel¬
ling in the cultivation of a loving disposition toward
all beings, and when he was (in consequence thereof)
wandering in the forest followed by a herd of deer,
was hit by a poisoned arrow shot by Piliyakkha the
king, and there, on the spot, fainted and fell V’
Now, venerable Nagasena, if the passage I have
quoted from the words of the Blessed One be right,
then this statement of yours must be wrong. But
if the story of Prince Sama be right, then it cannot
be true that neither fire, nor poison, nor sword can
work harm to him who cultivates the habit of love
to all beings. This too is a double-edged problem,
so subtle, so abstruse, so delicate, and so profound,
that the thought of having to solve it might well
bring out sweat over the body even of the most
subtle-minded of mortals. This problem is now put
to you. Unravel this mighty knot 1 2 . Throw light
upon this matter 3 to the accomplishment of the
desire of those sons of the Conqueror who shall
arise hereafter 4 .’
‘ The Blessed One spake, O king, as you have
quoted. And Prince Sima dwelling in the cultiva¬
tion of love, and thus followed by a herd of deer
when he was wandering in the forest, was hit by the
poisoned arrow shot by king Piliyakkha, and then
and there fainted and fell. But there is a reason
for that. [199] And what is the reason ? Simply
that those virtues (said in the passage you quoted
1 Mr. Trenckner points out that this story is given in the 540th
G&taka.
2 See p. 105 of the text.
s .ff'akkhuw? dehi. So also p. 95 of the text.
4 Nibbahana; not in Childers, but see p. 119 of the text.
IV, 4, 16-
LOVE.
to be in the habit of love) are virtues not attached
to the personality of the one who loves, but to the
actual presence of the love that he has called up in
his heart b And when Prince Sima was upsetting
the water-pot, that moment he lapsed from the
actual feeling of love. At the moment, O king, in
which an individual has realised the sense of love,
that moment neither fire, nor poison, nor sword can
do him harm. If any men bent on doing him an
injury come up, they will not see him, neither will
they have a chance of hurting him. But these
virtues, O king, are not inherent in the individual,
they are in the actual felt presence of the love that
he is calling up in his heart.’
‘ Suppose, O king, a man were to take into his
hand a Vanishing Root of supernatural power; and
that, so long as it was actually in his hand, no other
ordinary person would be able to see him. The
virtue, then, would not be in the man. It would be
in the root that such virtue would reside that an
object in the very line of sight of ordinary mortals
could, nevertheless, not be seen. Just so, O king,
is it with the virtue inherent in the felt presence of
love that a man has called up in his heart.’
‘Or it is like the case of a man [200] who has entered
into a well-formed mighty cave. No storm of rain,
however mightily it might pour down, would be able
to wet him. But that would be by no virtue inherent
1 BhananS. is really more than ‘cultivation.’ It is the actual,
present, felt sense of the particular moral state that is being
cultivated (in this case, of love). I have elsewhere rendered it
‘ meditation ’: but as the ethical doctrine, and practice, are alike
unknown to us, we have no word that exactly reproduces the con¬
notation of the Pali phrase.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 4, 16.
in the man. It would be a virtue inherent in the
cave that so mighty a downpour of rain could not
wet the man. And just so, O king, is it with the
virtue inherent in the felt presence of love that a
man has called up in his heart V
1 This is no quibble. The early Buddhists did believe in the
power of a subjective love over external circumstances. It is true
that the best known instances in which this power is represented as
having been actually exercised, are instances of the power of love
over the hearts of other beings, and hence, indirectly, over their
actions. Thus when Devadatta had had the fierce, manslaying
elephant Nalagiri let loose against the Buddha (Afullavagga VII, 3,
11, 12), Gotama is said to have permeated him with his love,
and the elephant then went up to him only to salute him, and
allowed himself to be stroked, and did no harm. And when the
five disciples had intended, when he went to Benares, to show him
no respect, the Buddha, in like manner, is said to have ‘ concen¬
trated that feeling of his love which was able to pervade generally
all beings in earth and heaven,’ and to have ‘ directed it specially
towards them.’ Then ‘ the sense of his love diffused itself through
their hearts. And as he came nearer and nearer, unable any
longer to adhere to their resolve, they rose from their seats, and
bowed down before him, and welcomed him with every mark of
reverence and of respect’ (‘Buddhist Birth Stories,’ vol. i, p. 112).
And when he wished to convert Ro^a the Mallian, the Buddha
is said, in like manner, to have ‘ suffused him with the feeling of
his love.’ And then Ro^a, ‘ overcome by the Blessed One by the
sense of his love—just as a young calf follows the kine, so did he
go from apartment to apartment ’ seeking the Blessed One (Maha-
vagga VI, 36, 4).
And again, when the Bhikkhus told the Buddha of a brother
having been killed by a snake-bite, he is represented (in the Aulla-
vagga V, 6) to have said : ‘ Now surely that brother had not let
his love flow out over the four royal kinds of serpents. Had he
done so, he would not have died of the bite of a snake.’ And then
he is said to have enjoined the use of a poem of love to snakes (set
out in the text quoted) as a safeguard against snake-bite. This
goes really much further than the other instances, but no case is
given of that safeguard having been actually used successfully.
And I know of no case in the Pali Phakas of the felt presence
IV, 4 , 17 -
DEVADATTA.
‘ Most woaderful is it, Ndgasena, and most strange
*how the felt presence of love has the power of
warding off all evil states of mind V
‘Yes! The practice of love is productive of all
virtuous conditions of mind both in good (beings)
and in evil ones. To all beings whatsoever, who
are in the bonds of conscious existence 2 , is this
practice of love of great advantage, and therefore
ought it to be sedulously cultivated.’
[Here ends the problem as to the power of love.]
[devadatta.]
17 . ‘Venerable Nagasena, is the consequence the
same to him who does good and to him who does
evil, or is there any difference in the two cases ? ’
‘ There is a difference, O king, between good and
evil. Good works have a happy result, and lead to
Sagga 3 , and evil works have an unhappy result, and
lead to Niraya V
of the feeling of love being said to have actually counteracted
either fire, or poison, or sword.
It is noteworthy that the Sinhalese inserts here six pages
(265-271) of matter not found in the Pali. But as it gives at
length the story of Prince Sima, it is taken, I presume, from the
Gitaka book.
1 This is something quite different from what was said before.
2 Ye vi#»ana-baddhi, sabbesawz, which the Sinhalese takes
as a gloss on 1 good and evil ones,’ and renders vi«Mna prati
wft da. But I prefer Mr. Trenckner’s punctuation.
3 That is to a temporary life in heaven.
4 That is to life in a temporary hell (or purgatory).
284 the questions of KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 18.
‘ But, venerable Nagasena, your people say that
Devadatta was altogether wicked, full of wicked
dispositions, and that the Bodisat 1 was altogether
pure, full of pure dispositions 2 . And yet Devadatta,
through successive existences 3 , was not only quite
equal to the Bodisat, but even sometimes superior
to him, both in reputation and in the number of his
adherents.
18 . ‘Thus, Nagasena, when Devadatta became
the Purohita (family Brahman, royal chaplain) of
Brahmadatta, the king, in the city of Benares, then
the Bodisat was a wretched K^nda .la (outcast ) 4 who
knew by heart a magic spell. And by repeating his
spell he produced mango fruits out of season 6 . This
1 Bodhi-satto (Wisdom-Child). The individual who (through
virtue practised in successive lives) was becoming the Buddha.
2 ‘Wicked’ and ‘pure’ are in the Pali ka»he and sukka,
literally, 1 dark ’ and ‘ light.’ The only other passage I recollect
where these names of colours are used in an ethical sense is the
87th verse of the Dhammapada. Professor Max Muller there
renders: ‘ A wise man should leave the dark state (of ordinary life),
and follow the bright state (of the Bhikshu),’ (S. B. E., vol. x, p. 26.)
But the words should certainly be translated: ‘ A wise man should
put away wicked dispositions, and cultivate purity of heart.’
Bhavetha could never refer to adopting or following any outward
profession. It is exclusively used of the practice, cultivation, of
inward feelings. And the commentary, which is quoted by Pro¬
fessor Fausboll, takes the passage in the Dhammapada in that
sense, just as Hinad-kumbure (p. 271) does here.
3 Bhave bhave, which would be more accurately rendered ‘in
the course of his gradual becoming.’
4 Wavaka-/ 5 a»(fila. The Aa«tfalas are a well-known caste
still existing in India—if indeed that can rightly be called a caste
which is beneath all others. .Oavaka is not in Childers, but is
applied below (p. 256 of our text) to Mara, the Buddhist Satan.
See also the next note.
6 This is not a summary of the 309th 6’ataka, for it differs from
that story as published by Professor Fausboll (vol. iii, pp.
IV, 4 , 20. DEVADATTA. 285
is one case in which the Bodisat was inferior to
Devadatta in birth, [201] inferior to him in repu¬
tation.’
19. ‘And again, when Devadatta became a king,
a mighty monarch of the earth 1 , living in the enjoy¬
ment of all the pleasures of sense, then the Bodisat
was an elephant, decked with all manner of orna¬
ments that the king might make use of them. And
the king, being put out of temper at the sight of his
graceful and pleasant style of pace and motion, said
to the elephant trainer with the hope of bringing
about the death of the elephant: “ Trainer, this ele¬
phant has not been properly trained, make him
perform the trick called ‘Sky walking.’” In that
case too the Bodisat was inferior to Devadatta,—
was a mere foolish animal 2 .’
20. ‘And again, when Devadatta became a man
who gained his living by winnowing grain 3 , then
217-30), and, also from the older and shorter version contained
in the Old Commentary on the Patimokkha (on the 69th Sakhiya,
Vinaya IV, pp. 203, 204). [The name of that story in Professor
Fausboll’s edition is -Oavaka-Gfitaka, but throughout the story
itself the word KandaXa is used in the passages corresponding to
those in which Professor Fausboll has AVrapaka (sic),—a coin¬
cidence which throws light on our author, KhavaYa-kanda\a^\
The story here referred to is the Amba Gataka (No. 474) in tvhich
the word A^avaka does not occur.
1 ‘ Of Magadha,’ says Hina/i-kumbure (p. 272).
2 This is the 122nd Gataka, there called the Dummedha Gataka.
The king has the elephant taken to the top of the Vepulla moun¬
tain outside Ragagaha. Then having made him stand first on
three feet, then on two, then on one, he demands of the trainer to
make him stand in the air. Then the elephant flies away to
Benares !
3 Pavane naZ/Myiko. But as Hina/i-kumbure renders all
this: ‘ a farmer in Benares who gained his living by husbandry,’
I would suggest pavanena ZZ^ayiko as the right reading.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 21.
the Bodisat was a monkey called “ the broad earth.”
Here again we have the difference between an
animal and a man, and the Bodisat was inferior in
birth to Devadatta V
21. ‘And again, when Devadatta became a man,
by name So^uttara, a Nes&da (one of an outcast
tribe of aborigines, who lived by hunting), and was
of great strength and bodily power, like an elephant,
then the Bodisat was the king of elephants under
the name of the “ Six-tusked.” And in that birth,
the hunter slew the elephant. In that case too
Devadatta was the superior 2 .’
22. ‘And again, when Devadatta became a man,
a wanderer in the woods, without a home, then the
Bodisat was a bird, a partridge who knew the Vedic
hymns. And in that birth too the woodman killed
the bird. So in that case also Devadatta was the
superior by birth V
23. ‘And again, when Devadatta became the
king of Benares, by name Kalabu, then the Bodisat
was an ascetic who preached kindness to animals.
And the king (who was fond of sport), enraged with
the ascetic, had his hands and feet cut off like so
many bambu sprouts 4 . In that birth, too, Deva-
1 I cannot unfortunately trace this story among the (Jatakas.
2 I do not know which G &taka is here referred to.
3 This must be the 438th Gataka, there called the Tittira
Gataka. In the summary Devadatta is identified with the hypo¬
critical ascetic who killed and ate the wise partridge.
4 This is the 313th G&taka, there called the Khanti-vadi Gataka.
The royal sportsman has first the skin, and then the hands and feet
of the sage cut off, to alter his opinions. But the sage simply says
that his love to animals is not in his skin, or in his limbs, but in his
heart. Then the earth swallows up the cruel monarch, and the
citizens bury the body of the sage with all honour. In the summary
Kalabu, the king, is identified with Devadatta.
IY, 4, 2 1 ].
DEVADATTA.
datta was the superior, both in birth and in reputa¬
tion among men.’
24. ‘ And again, when Devadatta became a man,
a woodman, then the Bodisat was Nandiya the
monkey king. And in that birth too the man killed
the monkey, and his mother besides, and his younger
brother. So in that case also it was Devadatta who
was the superior in birth V
25. ‘And again, when Devadatta became a man,
a naked ascetic, by name Karambhiya, then the
Bodisat was a snake king called “the Yellow one.”
So in that case too it was Devadatta [202] who was
the superior in birth V
26. ‘ And again, when Devadatta became a man,
a crafty ascetic with long matted hair, then the
Bodisat was a famous pig, by name “ the Carpenter.”
So in that case too it was Devadatta who was the
superior in birth V
27. ‘And again, when Devadatta became a king
among the Ke tas, by name Sura Pari/feara 1 * * 4 , who had
the power of travelling through the air at a level
above men’s heads 5 6 , then the Bodisat was a Brah-
1 This is the 222nd Gataka, there called the Aula Nandiya
Gataka.
s This is probably the 518th Gataka. See Mr. Trenckner’s note.
8 This must be the 492nd Gataka, the Ta^Ma-sfikara Gataka,
in which the hero is a learned pig who helps the carpenter in his
work, and the villain of the story is a hypocrite ascetic with matted
hair. But it should be added that though in the summary (Faus-
boll, vol. iv, p. 350) Devadatta is identified with the ascetic, the
Bodisat is identified, not with the learned pig, but with the dryad.
* He is called Upa/iara both in the 422nd Gataka (of which
this is a summary) and in the Sumangala (p. 258). The Gataka
(III, 454) also gives a third variation, Apa^ara.
6 Purisamatto gagane vehasangamo. The Gataka says
simply upari^aro, which must mean about the same.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 4, 28.
man named Kapila. So in that case too it was Deva-
datta who was the superior in birth and in reputation.’
28. ‘ And again, when Devadatta became a man,
by name Sdma, then the Bodisat was a king among
the deer, by name Ruru. So in that case too it was
Devadatta who was the superior in birth V
29. ‘ And again, when Devadatta became a man,
a hunter wandering in the woods, then the Bodisat
was a male elephant, and that hunter seven times
broke off and took away the teeth of the elephant.
So in that case too it was Devadatta who was the
superior in respect of the class of beings into which
he was born V
30. ‘ And again, when Devadatta became a jackal
who wanted to conquer the world 1 2 3 , and brought the
kings of all the countries in India under his control,
then the Bodisat was a wise man, by name Vidhura.
So in that case too it was Devadatta who was the
superior in glory.’
31. ‘And again, when Devadatta became the
1 This must be the 482nd Gataka. It is true that the man is
there called Maha Dhanaka (Fausboll, vol. iii, p. 255), and the
Bodisat is not specially named Ruru, nor is he a king of the herd,
but is only a stag of the kind of deer called Ruru, who lives
alone. But a comparison of the poetical version of the same story
in the Mariya Pi/aka II, 6 (p. 87 of Dr. Morris’s edition for the
Pali Text Society) shows that the same story is here referred to.
2 This is the 72nd Gataka, the Silava Naga Gataka. (Faus¬
boll, vol. i, p. 319.)
8 Khattiya-dhammo; literally, ‘who had the nature of a
Kshatriya.’ This expression is not found in the Gataka referred
to, No. 241 (vol. ii, p. 242 and foil, in Professor Fausboll’s
edition), and the Bodisat is there called purdhita not pa«<fita,
and his name is not given as Vidhura. The jackal also came to
grief in his attempt to conquer Benares. But there is no doubt as
to that story, the Sabba Da/Zza Gataka being the one here quoted.
IV, 4, 3 6 -
DEVADATTA.
elephant who destroyed the young of the Chinese
partridge, then the Bodisat was also an elephant,
the leader of his herd. So in that case they were
both on a par V
32. ‘And again, when Devadatta became a yak-
kha, by name U nrighteous, then the Bodisat too was
a yakkha, by name Righteous. So in that case too
they were both on a par V
33. ‘And again,when Devadatta became a sailor,
the chief of five hundred families, then the Bodisat
too was a sailor, the chief of five hundred families.
So in that case too they were both on a par*.’
34. ‘ And again, when Devadatta became a
caravan leader, the lord of five hundred waggons,
then the Bodisat too was a caravan leader, the lord
of five hundred waggons. So in that case too they
were both on a par V
35. [ 203 ] ‘ And again, when Devadatta became a
king of deer, by name Sakha, then the Bodisat was
a king of deer, by name Nigrodha. So in that case
too they were both on a par V
36. ‘ And again, when Devadatta became a com¬
mander-in-chief, by name S&kha, then the Bodisat
1 This is the 357th 6’ataka (Fausboll, vol. iii, pp. 174) and
which is one of those illustrated on the Bharhut Tope (Cunning¬
ham, Plate 109).
2 In the G&taka text (No. 457, Fausboll, vol. iv, pp. 100 and
foil.), there are both devaputta, ‘gods,’ not yakkha. This is by
no means the only instance of the term yakkha being used of gods.
8 I cannot trace this story in the printed text of the Gatakas.
4 This is the Apawwaka < 7 ataka (No. 1, vol. i, pp. 98 and foil,
in Professor Fausboll’s edition), translated in the ‘ Buddhist Birth
Stories,’ vol. i, pp. 138-145.
6 The Nigrodha Miga G&taka (No. 12, vol. i, pp. 145 and foil,
in Fausboll), translated in 1 Buddhist Birth Stories,’ vol. i, pp. 198
and following.
U
290 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4 , 37 .
was a king, by name Nigrodha. So in that case
too they were both on a par V
37. ‘And again, when Devadatta became a brah¬
man, by name Kha^tfahala, then the Bodisat was a
prince, by name Aanda. So in that case that
KhawtfaMla was the superior 2 .’
38. ‘And again, when Devadatta became a king,
by name Brahmadatta, then the Bodisat was his
son, the prince called Mah& Paduma. In that case
the king had his son cast down seven times, from
the precipice from which robbers were thrown down.
And inasmuch as fathers are superior to and above
their sons, in that case too it was Devadatta was the
superior V
39. ‘ And again, when Devadatta became a king,
by name Mahi Patapa, then the Bodisat was his
son, Prince Dhamma-pctla; and that king had the
hands and feet and head of his son cut off. So in
that case too Devadatta was the superior V
40. ‘ And now again, in this life, they were
in the S&kya clan, and the Bodisat became a
Buddha, all wise, the leader of the world, and Deva¬
datta having left the world to join the Order founded
by Him who is above the god of gods, and having
attained to the powers of Iddhi, was filled with lust
to become himself the Buddha. Come now, most
venerable Nagasena! Is not all that I have said
true, and just, and accurate ? ’
1 The Nigrodha Gataka (No. 445, Fausboll, vol. iv, pp. 37
and foil.).
2 I cannot trace this story among the published Gatakas.
3 This is the Maha Paduma Gataka (No. 472, Fausbdll, vol. iv,
pp. 187-195). It was a case of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife.
1 This tragical story is No. 358 in the Gataka collection (Fausboll,
vol. iii, pp. 177-182).
IV, 4 ) 4 1,
DEVADATTA.
41. ‘All the many things which you, great king,
have now propounded, are so, and not otherwise.’
‘ Then, N&gasena, unless black and white are the
same in kind, it follows that good and evil bear equal
fruit.’
‘ Nay, not so, great king! Good and evil have
not the same result. Devadatta was opposed by
everybody. No one was hostile to the Bodisat.
And the hostility which Devadatta felt towards
the Bodisat, that came to maturity and bore fruit in
each successive birth. And so also as Devadatta,
when he was established in lordship over the world,
[ 204 ] was a protection to the poor, put up bridges
and courts of justice and rest-houses for the people,
and gave gifts according to his bent to Samaras
and Brahmans, to the poor and needy and the way¬
farers, it was by the result of that conduct that,
from existence to existence, he came into the enjoy¬
ment of so much prosperity. For of whom, O king,
can it be said that without generosity and self-
restraint, without self-control and the observance of
the Upasatha 1 , he can reach prosperity ?
‘ And when, O king, you say that Devadatta and
the Bodisat accompanied one another in the passage
from birth to birth, that meeting together of theirs
took place not only at the end of a hundred, or a
thousand, or a hundred thousand births, but was in
fact constantly and frequently taking place through
an immeasurable period of time 2 . For you should
regard that matter in the light of the comparison
drawn by the Blessed One between the case of the
1 The Buddhist Sabbath, on which see my ‘ Manual of Buddhism,’
pp. 139-141-
2 So also above, IV, 2, 64, and IV, 3, 28.
U 2
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 41.
purblind tortoise and the attainment of the condi¬
tion of a human being. And it was not only with
Devadatta that such union took place. Siriputta
the Elder also, O king, was through thousands of
births the father, or the grandfather, or the uncle \
or the brother, or the son, or the nephew, or the
friend of the Bodisat; and the Bodisat was the
father, or the grandfather, or the uncle, or the
brother, or the son, or the nephew, or the friend
of S&riputta the Elder.
‘ All beings in fact, O king, who, in various forms
as creatures, are carried down the stream of trans¬
migration, meet, as they are whirled along in it,
both with pleasant companions and with disagreeable
ones—just as water whirled along in a stream meets
with pure and impure substances, with the beautiful
and with the ugly.
‘ And when, O king, Devadatta as the god, had
been himself Unrighteous, and had led others into
unrighteousness of life, he was burnt in purgatory
for an immeasurable period of time 1 2 . [ 205 ] But
the Bodisat, who, as the god, had been himself
Righteous, and had led others into righteousness
of life, lived in all the bliss of heaven for a like
immeasurable period of time. And whilst in this
life, Devadatta, who had plotted injury against the
Buddha, and had created a schism in the Order,
was swallowed up by the earth, the Tathagata,
1 That is ‘ father’s younger brother.’ The Pali has no word for.
uncle generally, the whole scheme of relationship being different
from ours, and the various sorts of uncles having, in the Pali
scheme, different and distinct names.
2 ‘ Fifty-seven ko/is and sixty hundreds of thousands of years,’
says the text, with touching accuracy.
IV, 4 , 41 .
DEVADATTA.
knowing all that can be known, arrived at the
insight of Buddhahood 1 , and was completely set
free (from the necessity of becoming) by the des¬
truction of all that leads to re-existence.’
‘ Very good, Nigasena ! That is so, and I accept
it as you say 2 .’
[Here ends the dilemma as to Devadatta’s superi¬
ority to the Bodisat in previous births.]
1 So Hinad-kumbure, who takes sabbadhamme as accusative
to bu^Aitvd, and understands the phrase as above translated.
2 This discussion is very interesting, both as a specimen of
casuistry, and as an exposition of orthodox Buddhist belief. And
it is full of suggestion if taken as a statement of the kind of reason
which led the Buddhist editors of the earlier folk-lore to identify
Devadatta with the characters referred to by king Milinda.
But the facts are that those editors, in using the old stories and
legends for their ethical purposes, always identified Devadatta with
the cruel person in the story, and paid no heed to the question
whether he was superior or not in birth or in the consideration of
the world, to the person they identified with the Bodisat. In
searching through the four volumes of the published Gatakas, and
the proof-sheets of the fifth volume with which Professor Fausboll
has favoured me, for the purpose of tracing the stories referred to
by our author, I find that Devadatta appears in sixty-four of them,
and that in almost every one of these sixty-four he is either superior
in birth, or equal to the character identified with the Bodisat.
This is not surprising, for it is not unusually the superiors in birth
who are guilty of the kind of cruelty and wickedness which the
Buddhist editors would ascribe to Devadatta. So that our author,
had he chosen to do so, might have adduced many other instances
of a similar kind to those he actually quotes. I add in an
appendix the full list of the Devadatta stories in the <?atakas. It is
clear our author had before him a version of the Cfataka book
slightly different from our own, as will be seen from the cases
pointed out in the notes in which, as to’names or details, the story
known to him differs from the printed text. And also that here
(as at III, 6, 2) he would have been able to solve his own dilemma
much better if he had known more of the history of those sacred
books on the words of which it is based.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 42.
[women’s WILES.]
42. ‘ Venerable Nagasena, it has been said by the
Blessed One:
“ With opportunity, and secrecy,
And the right woo’r, all women will go wrong—
Aye, failing others, with a cripple even V’
But on the other hand it is said: “ Mahosadha’s
wife, Amara, when left behind in the village while
her husband was away on a journey, remained
alone and in privacy, and regarding her husband
as a man would regard his sovran lord, she refused
to do wrong, even when tempted with a thousand
pieces 2 .” Now if the first of these passages be
correct, the second must be wrong; and if the
second be right, [ 206 ] the first must be wrong. This
too is a double-edged problem now put to you, and
you have to solve it.’
43. ‘It is so said, O king, as you have quoted,
touching the conduct of Amara, Mahosadha’s wife.
But the question is would she have done wrong, on
receipt of those thousand pieces, with the right
man: or would she not have done so, if she had
had the opportunity, and the certainty of secrecy,
and a suitable wooer ? Now, on considering the
matter, that lady Amard was not certain of any of these
1 It is not meant that men would not. But that is too clear to
be even worthy of mention, whereas with regard to women the
question is worth discussion. Our author is mistaken in ascribing
this verse to the Buddha. It is only found (as has been pointed
out by Mr. Trenckner) in a Cataka story, No. 536, and is a speci¬
men, not of Buddhist teaching, but of Indian folk-lore. There is
a very similar sentiment in Crttaka, No. 62 (vol. i, p. 289).
2 This story will be found in the Ummagga Gataka, No. 546.
iv, 4, 43-
WOMEN.
things. Through her fear of censure in this world
the opportunity seemed to her not fit, and through
her fear of the sufferings of purgatory in the next
world. And because she knew how bitter is the
fruit of wrong-doing, and because she did not wish
to lose her loved one, and because of the high
esteem in which she held her husband, and because
she honoured goodness, and despised ignobleness
of life, and because she did not want to break with
her customary mode of life—for all these reasons
the opportunity seemed to her not fit.
£ And, further, she refused to do wrong because, on
consideration, she was not sure of keeping the thing
secret from the world. [ 207 ] For even could she
have kept it secret from men, yet she could not have
concealed it from spirits 1 —even could she have kept
it secret from spirits, yet she could not have concealed
it from those recluses who have the power of know¬
ing the thoughts of others—even could she have
kept it secret from them, yet she could not have con¬
cealed it from those of the gods who can read the
hearts of men—even could she have kept it secret
from the gods, yet she could not have escaped, her¬
self, from the knowledge of her sin—even could she
have remained ignorant of it herself, yet she could
not have kept it secret from (the law of the result
which follows on) unrighteousness 2 . Such were the
1 Fairies, nayad, dryads, &c. &c.—not gods.
2 Adhammena raho na labheyya. I am in great doubt as
to the real meaning of these words, which Hina/i-kumbure (p. 286)
renders merely adharmayen rahasak no labann6. They look
very much like a kind of personification of Karma. The phrase
is really very parallel to the saying in Numbers xxxii. 23, ‘Be
sure your sin will find you out ’—namely, in its results—and is as
true ethically as it is difficult grammatically.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 43.
various reasons which led her to abstain from doing
wrong because she could not be sure of secrecy.
‘ And, further, she refused to do wrong because, on
consideration, she found no right wooer. Mahosa-
dha the wise, O king, was endowed with the eight
and twenty qualities. And which are those twenty-
eight ? He was brave, O king, and full of modesty,
and ashamed to do wrong, he had many adherents,
and many friends, he was forgiving, he was upright
in life, he was truthful, he was pure in word, and
deed and heart 1 , he was free from malice, he was
not puffed up, he felt no jealousy 2 , he was full of
energy, he strove after all good things 3 , he was popu¬
lar with all men, he was generous, he was friendly 4 * ,
he was humble in disposition, he was free from guile,
he was free from deceit, he was full of insight, he
was of high reputation, he had much knowledge, he
sought after the good of those dependent on him,
his praise was in all men’s mouths, great was his
wealth, and great his fame. Such were the twenty-
eight qualities, O king, with which Mahosadha, the
wise, was endowed. And it was because she found
no wooer like unto him that she did no wrong 6 .’
1 So^eyya-sampanno, which Hma/i-kumbur6 renderssuva^a
gurcayen samanwibawa: that is, ‘compliant, attentive to what
is said.’ But I prefer to take the expression in the sense explained at
length in Anguttara III, 119. See also 6'ataka 1,214; Milinda, p. 115.
2 Anusuyyako. See G &taka II, 192, and Milinda, p. 94.
3 Ayuhako. Hinad-kumbure (p. 286) renders this word, which
is only found here, by Dhana piris roes kirim cetteya, ‘ one who
has heaped up goods and men.’ But see Milinda, p. 181, and Dr.
Morris in the Pali Text Society’s Journals for 1885 and 1886.
4 Sakhilo, 1 kindly in speech,’ says the Sinhalese.
B This is all very well, but it does not confirm, it explains away,
the supposed quotation from the Buddha’s words.
IV) 4 > 44*
ARAHATS.
‘Very good, Nagasena! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the dilemma as to the wickedness of
women b]
[on THE FEARLESSNESS OF THE ARAHATS.]
44. ‘Venerable Nigasena, it was said by the
Blessed One : “ The Arahats have laid aside all fear
and trembling 2 .” But on the other hand when, in
the city of Ra^agaha, they saw Dhana-pilaka, the
man-slaying elephant, bearing down upon the Blessed
1 The position of women in India, at the time when Buddhism
arose, was, theoretically, very low. The folk tales are full of stories
turning on the wiles of women, and the Hindoo law-books seem
never tired of the theme of her uncleanness, her weakness, and
her wickedness. But, except in matters of property, the bark was I
think worse than the bite. Among the people, in the homes of the
peasantry, the philippics of the Brahmin priests were not much
regarded, and the women led lives as pleasant as those of their
male relations, and shared in such mental and physical advantages
as their male relations enjoyed. The influence of Buddhism must
have been felt in two directions. In the first place the importance
attached to the celibate life must have encouraged the kind of view
taken of women among Catholics in mediseval times (the Brahmin
view being much akin to those that W'ere promulgated by Luther).
On the other hand the fact that women were admitted to the
Order, and that the still higher aim of Arahatship was held to be
attainable by them, must have helped to encourage a high esteem
for women. We have many instances of women who were credited
with the insight of Arahatship. A whole treatise in the Buddhist
sacred books, the Theri Gatha, is devoted to hymns and poems
ascribed to them, and many of these reach a very high level of
intelligent and spiritual emotion.
2 I do not know the exact passage referred to, but there are
many of similar tendency in the sacred books. See, for instance,
Dhammapada, verses 39, 188, 214, 351, and 385; and SuttaNipata,
verses 15, 70, 212, 621, and 965.
298 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 44.
One, all the five hundred Arahats forsook the Con¬
queror and fled, one only excepted, Ananda the
Elder 1 . Now how was it, Nagasena? Did those
Arahats run away from fear—or did they run away
willing to let the Blessed One be destroyed, and
thinking: “ (Our conduct) will be clear (to him) from
the way in which he himself will act 2 ,” [ 208 ] or did
they run away with the hope of watching the
immense and unequalled mighty power which the
Tathigata would exhibit? If, Nagasena, what the
1 Here again we have a variation between our author’s words
and those of the Pi/akas. In the ATullavagga VII, 3, n, 12 (trans¬
lated in pp. 247-250 of vol. iii of the ‘Vinaya Texts’ in the
‘ Sacred Books of the East ’), we have the oldest versions of this
story; and there the elephant is called, not Dhana-palaka, but
Nalagirl, and the number of attendant disciples (who are not called
Arahats) is not given as five hundred. The Buddha is simply said to
have entered Ragagaha ‘with a number of Bhikkhus.’ Nothing
also is said, either of their running away, or of Ananda’s remain¬
ing behind. It is, no doubt, an easily explicable and very pretty
alteration of the story, which exhibits Ananda, the beloved disciple,
as acting in this way. But it is none the less an alteration.
It should be added that Nalagiri (it should be Na/agiri) in the
Vinaya text is a personal name of the elephant, but may be derived
from its place of origin. (See the references to a famous elephant
named Na/agiri in the Megha Dftta and Na/agiri in the Katha
Sarit Sagara XI, 42, XII, 10, XIII, 7, 29. But Pamni VI, 3, 117,
gives the latter as the name of a mountain.) So while there may
be a variation in the legend, it may also be that we have only
two names for the same elephant, just as one might speak of the
Shetland pony (named) Brownie. And the stanza quoted below
(p. 410 of the Pali text) shows that the name Dhana-palaka was
given already in older texts to the Na/agiri elephant.
3 Pa^wiyissati sakena kammena, ‘It will be plain to the
Buddha (that is, he will be able to judge of our motives) from his
own kindness and goodness/ according to the Sinhalese (p. 287).
But the expression is a very strange one, and perhaps, after all,
it merely means, ‘ The matter will turn out according to his Karma.’
IV, 4 . 45 *
ARAIIATS.
Blessed One said as to the Arahats being devoid of
fear be true, then this story must be false. But if
the story be true, then the statement that the
Arahats have put away fear and trembling must be
false. This too is a double-edged problem now put
to you, and you have to solve it.’
45. 4 The Blessed One did say, O king, that
Arahats have put away all fear and trembling,
and five hundred Arahats, save only Ananda, did, as
you say, run away when the elephant Dhana-palaka
bore down upon the Tathagata that day in Ra^a-
gaha. But that was neither out of fear, nor from
willingness to let the Blessed One be destroyed. For
the cause by which Arahats could be made to fear
or tremble has been destroyed in them, and there¬
fore are they free from fear or trembling. Is the
broad earth, O king, afraid at people digging into it,
or breaking it up, or at having to bear the weight
of the mighty oceans and the peaked mountain
ranges ?’
‘ Certainly not, Sir.’
‘ But why not ?’
4 Because there is no cause in the broad earth
which could produce fear or trembling.’
‘Just so, O king. And neither is there any such
cause in Arahats. And would a mountain peak be
afraid of being split up, or broken down, or made to
fall, or burnt with fire ?’
4 Certainly not, Sir.’
4 But why not ? ’ [ 209 ]
4 The cause of fear or trembling does not exist
within it.’
4 And just so, O king, with Arahats. If all the
creatures of various outward form in the whole
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 45.
universe 1 were, together, to attack one Arahat in
order to put him to fear, yet would they bring about
no variation in his heart. And why ? Because
there is neither condition nor cause for fear (in him,
whence fear could arise). Rather, O king, was it these
considerations that arose in the minds of those Ara-
hats : “ To-day when the best of the best of men, the
hero among conquerors, has entered into the famous
city, Dhana-palaka the elephant will rush down the
street. But to a certainty the brother who is his
special attendant will not forsake him who is above
the god of gods. But if we should not go away,
then neither will the goodness of Ananda be made
manifest, nor will the elephant actually approach 2
the Tathagata. Let us then withdraw. Thus will
great masses of the people attain to emancipation
from the bonds of evil, and the goodness of Ananda
be made manifest.” It was on the realisation of the
fact that those advantages would arise from their
doing so, that the Arahats withdrew to every side.’
‘Well, Nagasena, have you solved the puzzle.
That is so. The Arahats feared not, nor did they
tremble. But for the advantages that they foresaw
they withdrew on every side.’
[Here ends the problem as to the panic of the
Arahats.]
1 Literally, * In the hundreds of thousands of world systems.’
2 A//Mnam-anavakasataya, ‘Because of the absence of con¬
dition and opportunity.’
IV, 4> 47-
OMNISCIENCE.
[on causing the omniscient one to change his
MIND.]
46. ‘Venerable Nagasena, your people say that
the Tathigata is all wise t . And on the other hand
they say : “ When the company of the members of
the Order presided over by Sariputta and Moggal-
lana had been dismissed by the Blessed One 1 2 , then
the Sakyas of Kitumi and Brahmd Sabanipati, by
means of the parables of the seed and of the calf,
gained the Buddha over, and obtained his forgive¬
ness, and made him see the thing in the right
light 3 .” Now how<?was that, Nagasena? Were
those two parables unknown to him that he should
be [ 210 ] appeased and gained over to their side,
and brought to see the matter in a new light ? But
if he did not already know them, then, Nagasena, he
was not all-wise. If he did know them, then he must
have dismissed those brethren rudely and violently 4
in order to try them; and therein is his unkindness
made manifest. This too is a double-edged problem
now put to you, and you have to solve it.’
47. ‘The Tathagata, O king, was all-wise, and
yet, pleased at those parables, he was gained over by
them, he granted pardon to the brethren he had sent
1 This question is also discussed above, III, 6, 2.
2 This episode has already been referred to above, and will be
found set out in full in the jSatuma Sutta, No. 67, in the MaggvHma
Nikaya (pp. 436-462 of Mr. Trenckner’s edition for the Pali Text
Society).
8 Ni^^attaw akawzsu. Compare < 7 ataka, vol. i, p. 495.
4 Okassa pasayha, which the Sinhalese (p. 289) renders
&ka<W/*anaya ko/a abhibhavanaya karand. See Dr. Morris
in the ‘Journal of the Pali Text Society,’ 1887, p. 148.
THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IY, 4, 47.
away, and he saw the matter in the light (in which
the intercessors on their behalf wished him to see
it). For the Tathagata, O king, is lord of the
Scriptures. It was with parables that had been first
preached by the Tathagata himself 1 that they con¬
ciliated him, pleased him, gained him over, and it
was on being thus gained over that he signified
his approval (of what they had said). It was, O king,
as when a wife conciliates, and pleases, and gains
over her husband by means of things that belong to
the husband himself; and the husband signifies his
approval thereof. Or it was, O king, as when the
royal barber conciliates and pleases and gains over
the king when he dresses the king’s head with the
golden comb 2 which belongs to the king himself,
and the king then signifies his approval thereof.
Or it was, O king, as when an attendant novice,
when he serves his teacher with the food given in
alms which his teacher has himself brought home,
conciliates him and pleases him and gains him over,
and the teacher then signifies his approval thereof.’
1 Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept
it as you say.’
[Here ends the problem as to the all-wise Buddha
being gained over by intercession 3 .]
Here ends the Fourth Chapter.
1 This is quite correct. They are in the fourth book of the
Anguttara Sutta, No. 13.
2 Para aka, a word only found in this passage. Hina/i-kumbure
(p. 280 at the end) renders it ran panawen.
3 Other cruxes arising out of the dogma of the Buddha’s omni¬
science are discussed above, III, 6, 2.
notes
The Milindapanha ("Questions of King Milinda") is a Pali Buddhist philosophical text of the first or second century CE, recording a dialogue between the Indo-Greek king Menander I (Pali: Milinda, c. 155–130 BCE) and the Buddhist monk Nagasena at Sagala (modern Sialkot, Pakistan). It is one of the most intellectually celebrated works of early Buddhist literature, famous for its use of analogy, debate, and dialectical argument to defend and expound Buddhist doctrine. The central philosophical question of the opening dialogue — what constitutes personal identity if the self is impermanent (the "chariot analogy") — became one of the most-discussed arguments in Buddhist philosophy. Milinda challenges Nagasena with paradoxes about karma, rebirth, nirvana, and the nature of consciousness; Nagasena answers with systematic analogies drawn from everyday life. Book I describes the past lives of Milinda and Nagasena that predestined their encounter. Book II contains the famous questions about the nature of the self, beginning with the chariot simile. Book III presents the "removal of difficulties" — apparent contradictions in Buddhist teaching. Book IV ("The Solving of Dilemmas") presents further aporiai. This translation covers Books I–IV (Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 35). Books V–VII (Vol. 36, later additions) are not included here. Translation by T.W. Rhys Davids (1890). Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 35. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Public domain (pre-1929). Source: Internet Archive — archive.org/details/wg935
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