The Questions of King Milinda, Part I — SBE Vol. 35 (trans. Rhys Davids, 1890)
English·1879–1910·trans. T. W. Rhys Davids·277 passages
The text · part 3 of 14
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*®,
23. Then young Nagasena said to his father: ‘Is
1 Suvava//hapita, or perhaps its use in ceremonies or sacrifices. The phrase only occurs in this passage. It is literally, ‘The three Vedas were well fixed by the boy.’ Hinafi-kumburé 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 Kullavagga IV, 14,17; IX, 5,1.
’ The above are the stock phrases for the learning of a scholarly Brahman, and one or two points in the details are uncertain,
[35] Ccp. 23 there anything more to be learned in this Brahmanical family of ours, or is this all ?’
‘There is no more, Nagasena, my dear. This is all,’ was the reply.
And young Nagasena 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 Kagangala. And young Na4gasena, as he stood again in the doorway, saw him coming in the distance. At the sight of him he became happy and glad, and a sweet hope sprang up in his heart that from him he might learn the essential 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’ (Pabbagita : literally, ‘one who has abandoned;’ that is, the worldly life).
‘And why do they call thee “ one who has abandoned ?”’
‘ Because a recluse is one who has receded fromp. 19 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 ?’
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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!? 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?’
‘Beautiful clothes, my boy, such as are worn by worldly men, are inseparable from the five cravings’. 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 medizval ethics.
2 The lust of the eye, of the ear, &c.
C2
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‘Yes, I could.’
‘Teach nre, then.’
‘Just 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] N4gasena 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’.
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’.
Then the venerable Rohana took Nagasena to the Vattaniya hermitage, to the Vigamba 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 NAgasena was admitted, as a novice, into the Order.
? Under the rules of the Buddhist Order any one can leave it as soon as he likes,
I, 26. BUDDHIST EDUCATION. 21f
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 Sangazi, with its great divisions into good, bad, and indifferent qualities, and its subdivisions into couples and triplets’—the Vibhanga, with its eighteen chapters, beginning with the book on the constituent elements of beings—the Dhatu Kathé, with its fourteen books, beginning with that on compensation and non-compensation—the Puggala Paz#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*—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 P&li Text Society, by Dr. Edward Miller, of Bern (London, 1885).
2 The six kinds of discrimination (Pa#fatti) 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).
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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 Pa¢¢h4na, with its twenty-four chapters on the reason of causes, the reason of ideas, and the rest. And he said [18]: ‘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
And he said [18]: ‘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 Pizaka, 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 company of the Arahats, then and there at the Guarded Slope, admitted the venerable Ndgasena, 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 !’
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And the venerable Rohana became aware in his own mind of what was passing in the mind of Nagasena, and he said to him: ‘That is an unworthy reflection that thou art making, N4gasena; it is not worthy of thee so to think.’
‘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.’
[14] ‘I cannot forgive you, N4gasena, simply on that promise,’ was the reply. ‘But there is a city called S4gala, 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 Nagasena. 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!?’
29. ‘There is a brother named Assagutta dwelling 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.
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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.
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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 NAagasena 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 hermitage, 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, Nagasena, put by your bowl and robe.’ And the next day Nagasena 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. Nowa certain woman, a distinguished follower of the faith, had for thirty years and more administered 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 Nagasena 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 hisp. 25 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, Nagasena, give the thanks to this distinguished lady.’ And, so saying, he rose from his seat, and went away. [16]
31. And the lady said to Nagasena: ‘I am old, friend Nagasena. Let the thanksgiving be from the deeper things of the faith.’
[16]
31. 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, dwelt on the profounder side of the Abhidhamma, not on matters of mere ordinary morality, but on those relating to Arahatship?. And as the lady sat there listening, there arose in her heart the Insight into the Truth ®, clear and stainless, which perceives that whatsoever has beginning, that has the inherent quality of passing away. And NAégasena also,when he had concluded that thanksgiving discourse, felt the force of the truths he himself had preached, and he too arrived at insight*—he too
* See the note above, p. 15.
* Su#sata, used here in the sense of Nirvana. Compare Anguttara II, 5,6; Gataka III, 191; Kullavagga XII, 2, 5.
’ 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. Nirvana. 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.
‘ Vipassan4, Childers says this is an attribute of Arahatship ; and Trenckner translates it ‘superior intelligence.’ But Arahatsp. 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 Nagasena arose and returned to Assagutta, and saluting him, took a seat reverently apart. And Assagutta said to him: ‘Do thou now go, Nagasena, to P&saliputta. There, in the Asoka Park, dwells the venerable Dhammarakkhita. Under him you should learn the words of the Buddha.’
‘How far is it, Sir, from here to P&éaliputta.’
‘A hundred leagues’, 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 Nagasena, 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-dakkhu and Dibba-sakkhu, and also Mahévagga I, 6, 33; Gataka I, 140; Sumangala Vildsini, 237, 278.
It is less than the ‘ Divine Eye,’ and Nagasena was not yet an Arahat. Compare the passages quoted by Childers under Dhamma-dakkhu and Dibba-sakkhu, and also Mahévagga I, 6, 33; Gataka I, 140; Sumangala Vildsini, 237, 278.
’ Yoganas: that is, leagues of seven miles each. See my ‘Ancient Coins and Measures of Ceylon,’ p. 16, in Thomas's ‘ Numismata Orientalia,’ vol. i.
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down before his teacher, and passing him on the right side as he went, he took his bowl and his robe and departed for P&/aliputta.
33. [17] At that time a merchant of PA/aliputta was on his way back to that city with five hundred waggons. And when he saw the venerable Nagasena coming in the distance, he stopped the waggons, and saluted N4gasena, and asked him: ‘Whither art thou going, father?’
‘To P&éaliputta, 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 Nd§gasena’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 Nagasena 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 whatsoever has in itself the necessity of beginning, that too has also the inherent quality of passing away.
34. And the P&éaliputta merchant sent on hisp. 35 waggons in advance, and followed himself after them. And at a place where the road divided, not far from P&éaliputta, he stopped, and said to Nagasena: ‘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 content and happiness, saluted the venerable Nagasena, 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! 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-
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 Pifakas, 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 Sumangala Vildsint, pp. 15, 16, 17, 18, &c., and the Samanta PAsddik4, printed in Oldenberg’s ‘Vinaya Pifaka,’ vol. iii, p. 293). The tertium quid of the comparison is not the basket or the box as a receptacle for preservation, 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.
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ma-rakkhita addressed him, and said: ‘ Just, N4gasena, 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 Samazaship.’
‘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 appreciation of the deep religious teaching contained in the word, the power of intuitive judgment, and the power of correct and ready exposition)". 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 Himélaya 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, Nagasena, 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‘isambhid4s, which form the subject of one of the books of the Sutta Pifaka.
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me. I will break all those puzzles up and solve them. You may go fearlessly to Sagala.’
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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 S4gala, lighting it up with their yellow robes like lamps, and bringing down upon it the breezes from the heights where the sages dwell’.
237. At that time the venerable Ayup4la was living at the Saikheyya 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-vatam parivatam (nagaram) akamsu. 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 Rishi-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 viganavatam 4ramam, ‘a hermitage with breezes from the desert.’ (Mahavagga I, 22, 17=Xullavagga VI, 4, 8.) I venture to suggest the rendering adopted above. Hfna/ikumburé (p. 24) has Rrshiwarayange gaman4gamanayem ganita wa kivara watayem pratiwataya kalahuya. ‘They set its air in commotion produced by the waving of the robes of the coming and going Rrshis.’
3 We here take up the original episode of Milinda as interrupted at § 15 (or if there is an interpolation at § 10).
I, 38. AvurALA SILENCED, 31
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 hundred Yonakas, mounted his royal chariot and proceeded to the Sankheyya hermitage, to the place where Ayup4la dwelt, and exchanged with him the greetings and compliments of friendship and courtesy, and took his seat respectfully apart. And then he said to him:
38. ‘Of what use, venerable Ayupila, is the renunciation of the world carried out by the members of your Order, and in what do you place the summum bonum??’
‘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 '. And not one of those beings, all of whom were laymen, had renounced the world. And again when the Blessed One delivered the Mah&é Samaya discourse?, 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 Pifaka text referred to.
* No. 20 in the Digha NikAya.
* In the Mah& Mangala, translated in my ‘Buddhism,’ pp. 125-127.
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and the Exposition of Quietism?, and the Exhortation to Rahula?, 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 3’
‘Then, most venerable Ayupdla, your renunciation is of no use. It must be in consequence of sins committed in some former birth, that the Buddhist Samazas renounce the world, and even subject themselves to the restraints of one or other of the thirteen aids to purity‘! 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-Aitta-pariyaya Suttanta. It is not certain which Sutta is here referred to. Trenckner identifies it with a short Sutta in the Anguttara (II, 4, 5). It is true that the ten short Suttas in A. II, 4 are (in the Burmese MSS. only) called collectively Samakitta Vagga. But the separate Suttas have no separate titles; the title of the Vagga is not found in the Simhalese MSS., and is probably later than the text; and it is not, after all, identical with the title here given.
? There are several Suttas of this name in the P4li Pisakas. The one referred to here (and also, it may be added, in the Asoka Edicts) is probably the shorter one (fila Rahulovada Sutta) found both in the Magghima (No. 147) and in the Samyutta (XXXIV, 120). See Trenckner’s note on this passage.
* This way of looking at gods as laymen, still ‘in the world,’ is thoroughly Buddhist.
* The dhutangas, enumerated by Childers sub voce,
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147) and in the Samyutta (XXXIV, 120). See Trenckner’s note on this passage.
* This way of looking at gods as laymen, still ‘in the world,’ is thoroughly Buddhist.
* The dhutangas, enumerated by Childers sub voce,p. 33 some former birth, dacoits who plundered whole villages. 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 abstinence, 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 consequence of the Karma of that habit that they have become Nesaggika 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 righteousness of life!’
39. And when he had thus spoken the venerable Ayupala 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 Ayupala 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 Samaza or Brahman, capable of discussing things with me and dispelling my doubts?!’
As he looked, however, at the assembly and saw how fearless and self-possessed the Yonakas appeared, 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
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10, § 14. [35] _D
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‘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 Samamas, 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 (Pifakas), and erudite in Vedic lore'. 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? by which the most abstruse points can be explained. Heknew by heart the ninefold divisions of the doctrine of the Buddha to perfection®, 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 mountains; victorious in the struggle with evil, a dispeller
1 This is always explained as wise in the Buddhist Vedas, that is, the three Pisakas.
? Pafisambhid4s: see above, the note on p. 29.
8’ Parami-ppatto. This is an unusual use of P4rami, 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.’
p. 35
? Pafisambhid4s: see above, the note on p. 29.
8’ Parami-ppatto. This is an unusual use of P4rami, 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.’
p. 35
of darkness and diffuser of light; mighty in eloquence, 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 bow] and lodging, and whatever is needful for the sick—receiving the highest veneration no less than material gifts. To the wise and discerning 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 righteousness, bore aloft for them the torch of truth, set up for them the sacred pillar of the truth!, and celebrated 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 Nirvaza of the truth— thus satisfying to the full a thirsty world.
41. There then, at the Sankheyya hermitage, did the venerable N4gasena, with a numerous company of the brethren, dwell?. Therefore is it said:
1 Dhamma-yfipam; with allusion to the sacred sacrificial post, which plays so great a part in Brahman ritual.
* 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 (Fausbéll, No. 20).
D2
p. 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, Nagasena of clear mind and wisdom deep, Who knew which was the right Path, which the
false, ;
And had himself attained Nirv4za’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.’
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’. He is staying at present at the Sankheyya hermitage. You should go, great king, and put your questions tohim. He is able to discuss things with you, and dispel your doubts.’ -
Then when Milinda the king heard the name Nagasena, thus suddenly introduced, he was seized with fear, and with anxiety, and the hairs of his body stood on end*. But he asked Devamantiya : ‘Is that really so?’
1 See above, p. 34, note 3. 2 The name itself, which means ‘Chief of Naga Snakes,’ is
p. 37
And Devamantiya replied: ‘ He is capable, Sire, of discussing things with the guardians of the world —with Indra, Yama, Varuza, Kuvera, Pragapati, Suyama, [28] 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 N&gasena 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. So king Milinda saw the assembly from afar, and he said to Devamantiya : ‘ Whose, Devamantiya, is this so mighty retinue ?’
‘ These are they who follow the venerable Nagasena,’ 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 Mandala-méAla, that is a hall consisting only of a roof, supported 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 drawingroom 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, sometimes of stone, it is always graceful in appearance and pleasant to use. It is mentioned in the corresponding passage of the Sama#ifla Phala (D. II, 10).
p. 44
25), or sufficiently large
- to accommodate a considerable number. Usually of wood, sometimes of stone, it is always graceful in appearance and pleasant to use. It is mentioned in the corresponding passage of the Sama#ifla Phala (D. II, 10).
p. 44
a feeling of fear and of anxiety, and the hairs of his body stood on end’. But nevertheless, though he felt like an elephant hemmed in by rhinoceroses, like a serpent surrounded by the Garudas (the snake-eating mythical birds), like a jackal surrounded 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 beasts, 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 N4gasena. I shall pick him out unaided.’
‘Certainly, Sire, recognise him yourself, said he?
44. Now Nagasena was junior in seniority (reckoned from the date of his full membership in the
' This again, like the passage at p. 8, is an echo of the Sama#ifia Phala. (See D. 2, ro of our forthcoming edition, or p. 116 of Grimblot.)
* In the corresponding passage of the Sdmag#a Phala Givaka points out the Buddha to AgA@tasattu (§ 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.
p. 39
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 behind, 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 N4gasena, 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 recognised 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 Nagasena, wise and pure, Subdued in all that is the best subjection, Milinda uttered this foreboding word— “Many the talkers I have visited,
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 Nagasena, 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 | 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 (Bahira-katha)'.
? See note on p.1. This book closes in Hina/i-kumburé’s Simhalese version with the title ‘PQrwa Yoga yayi;’ and is of course identical with the Pubba-yoga referred to above, p. 4, as the first division of the work.
p. 1
BOOK II.
LakKHANA PANHA.
THE DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS OF ETHICAL QUALITIES,
CHAPTER 1.
1, [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, '‘ How is your Reverence known, and what, Sir, is your name ?’
‘I am known as Nagasena, 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 Sfrasena, or Virasena, or Sihasena, yet this, Sire,—NdAgasena and so on—is only a generally understood term, a designation in common use. For there is no permanent individuality (no soul) involved in the matter?’
1 There is a free translation of the Simhalese 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 Simhalese or the P4li, and slurs over the doubtful passages.
* Na puggalo upalabbhati. This thesis, that ‘there is no Andividual,’ is discussed at the opening of the Katha 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
Il, 1, 1 INDIVIDUALITY. 4I
But
Il, 1, 1 INDIVIDUALITY. 4I
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 necessaries 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 Nirvaza 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) commits any one of the five sins which work out their bitter fruit even in this life’? If that be so there is neither merit nor demerit; there is neither doer nor causer of good or evil deeds?; there is neither fruit nor result of good or evil Karma?. [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.
? Pa#kdnantariya-kammam karoti. See my note on Xullavagga VII, 3, 9 (‘ Vinaya Texts,’ vol. iii, p. 246, in the Sacred Books of the East).
? This is no doubt said in these words with allusion to the opinion ascribed in the Sama#fa Phala (D. II, 17) to Pfrana Kassapa.
5 This is the opinion ascribed in identical words in the Sama#ita Phala (D. II, 23) to Agita of the garment of hair.
p. 1
to kill you there would be no murder ', 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 N4gasena. Now what is that Nagasena? Do you mean to say that the hair is Nagasena ?’
‘I don’t say that, great king.’
‘Or the hairs on the body, perhaps ?’
‘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 Nagasena? ?’
And to each of these he answered no.
‘Is it the outward form then (Rapa) that is NAgasena, or the sensations (Vedan4), or the ideas (Sazi#a), or the confections (the constituent elements of character, Samkh4r4), or the consciousness (Vi#wana), that is Nagasena® ?’
And to each of these also he answered no.
‘Is it the outward form then (Rapa) that is NAgasena, or the sensations (Vedan4), or the ideas (Sazi#a), or the confections (the constituent elements of character, Samkh4r4), or the consciousness (Vi#wana), that is Nagasena® ?’
And to each of these also he answered no.
1 This is practically the same opinion as is ascribed in the Samaéif#a Phala (D. II, 26) to Pakudha Kafsayana.
? This list of the thirty-two forms (444ras) of organic matter in the human body occurs already in the Khuddaka PAéfa, § 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) 4/4ras of the mind according to Dipavamsa I, 42.
5 These are the five Skandhas, which include in them the whole bodily and mental constituents of any being. See p. 80.
p. 43
‘Then is it all these Skandhas combined that are Nagasena ?’
‘No! great king.’
‘But is there anything outside the five Skandhas that is NAgasena ?’
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 ?’
p. 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, possible to approve him in that ?’
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, possible to approve him in that ?’
When he had thus spoken the five hundred Yonakas 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 ‘‘ Nagasena.”
Il, 1, 2. . SENIORITY. 45
For it was said, Sire, by our Sister Vagira in the presence of the Blessed One:
‘“Just 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 Skandhas are there we talk of a ‘being?’”’
‘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, Nagasena ?’
‘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 Nagasena 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 ?’
‘TI 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 existence; and it is mine in the same sense as the shadow is yours®.’
1 From the Samyutta Nikdya V, 10, 6.
* Hardy (p. 427, § 4 of the first edition) has quite missed the point of this crux.
p. 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 (pazdit), well; but if you will discuss as a king, no.’
‘ How is it then that scholars discuss ?’
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 (pazdit), 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’, an unravelling ; one or other is convicted of error?, and he then acknowledges his mistake; [29] distinctions are drawn, and contra-distinctions?; 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: “ Inflict such and such a punishment upon that fellow !” Thus, your Majesty, do kings discuss‘.
‘Very well. It is as a scholar, not as a king, that I will discuss. Let your reverence talk unrestrainedly, as you would with a brother, or a novice, or a lay disciple, or even with a servant. Be not afraid !’
1 Avethanam; not in Childers, but see Gataka II, 9; IV, 383, 384; and Morris in the ‘Journal of the P4li Text Society,’ 1887.
* Nigg4ho kartfyati, as for instance below, p. 142.
§ Pafiviseso; not in Childers, but see again GAtaka II, g.
“ Hardy, loc. cit. § 5, puts all this into the mouths of ‘the priests.’
p. 47
‘Very good, your Majesty, said Nagasena, with thankfulness.
‘ Nagasena, I have a question to ask you;’ said the king.
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 Nagasena, and mounted his horse, and went away, muttering as he went, ‘N4gasena, Nagasena !’
And Devamantiya delivered his message to NAgasena, who accepted the proposal with gladness. And early the next morning Devamantiya and Anantakaya and Mankura and Sabbadinna went to the king, and said: ‘Is his reverence, Nagasena, to come, [80] Sire, to-day?’
‘Yes, he is to come.’ e
‘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 Sabbadinna reiterating his suggestion, the king rejoined: ‘All this preparation has been made, and I say:
p. 4
And on Sabbadinna reiterating his suggestion, the king rejoined: ‘All this preparation has been made, and I say:
p. 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 Anantak4ya and Mankura went to Nagasena and told him what the king had said. And the venerable Nagasena robed himself in the forenoon, and taking his bowl in his hand, went to Sdgala with the whole company of the brethren. And Anantakdya, as he walked beside Nagasena, said :
‘When, your reverence, I say, ‘“‘ Nagasena,” what is that N4gasena ?’
The Elder replied: ‘What do you think Nagasena is ?’
‘The soul, the inner breath which comes and goes, that I suppose to be Nagasena.’ ~
‘But if that breath having gone forth should not return, or having returned should not go forth, would the man be alive ?’
‘Certainly [81] 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?’
‘IT 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 inhalations and exhalations are merely constituent powersp. 49 of the bodily frame,’ said the Elder. And he talked to him from the Abhidhamma 'to such effect that?
Anantak4ya 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 NAgasena 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: ‘ Be pleased to keep your seat here, and with you ten of the brethren. Let the rest depart.’
And when he saw that Nagasena 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 ? 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.’
‘ How now, Sir! Is it for such high reasons that all members of it have joined the Order ?’
[32] ‘Certainly not, Sire. Some for those reasons,
1-1 I venture to think it is incorrect to put a full stop, as Mr. Trenckner has done, after ak4si.
* Plural. ‘You members of the Buddhist Order.’ The question is further elaborated below, III, 1, 3, and above, I, 38.
[35] " £E
p. 6
Some for those reasons,
1-1 I venture to think it is incorrect to put a full stop, as Mr. Trenckner has done, after ak4si.
* Plural. ‘You members of the Buddhist Order.’ The question is further elaborated below, III, 1, 3, and above, I, 38.
[35] " £Ep. 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.’
‘I 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 Samazas, 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: ‘ Nagasena, 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, no1’
‘Very good, Nagasena!’
7. The king said : ‘ Nagasena, he who escapes reindividualisation is it by reasoning that he escapes it?’
‘Both by reasoning *, your Majesty, and by wisdom %, and by other good qualities.’
‘But are not reasoning and wisdom surely much the same ?’
‘Certainly not. Reasoning is one thing, wisdom
Repeated below, with an illustration, Chap. 2, § 7, p. 76. ? Yoniso manasik4ra, * Paa#a. See pp. 59, 64, 128,p. 51 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’
‘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, Na4gasena !’
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, pag4nana is the mark of pa#a#indriya, avigg4ya akampiyam of pafflabala, and tad-uttariyam of pa##4 simply. He gives no ‘mark’ of yoniso manasik4ra,