The Questions of King Milinda, Part I — SBE Vol. 35 (trans. Rhys Davids, 1890)

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 knowledge of a Tathdgata 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.

(35) M

p. 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 necessary condition of the knowledge of the TathAgata, yet on reflection it perceives whatever he wants to know.’

‘Does that happen always, NAagasena, at the moment of reflection ?’

‘Yes, O king. Just as when the mighty king of kings (the XKakkavatti) 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 knowledge of the Tath4gata follow continually on reflection.’

‘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 ?.]

[WHY DEVADATTA WAS ADMITTED TO THE ORDER.]

28. ‘Venerable Nagasena, who was it that admitted Devadatta? to the Order ?’

' At III, 6, 2 there is another problem raised as to the omniscience of the Buddha.

* He is the Judas of the Buddhist story, who tried to have the | Buddha killed, and to seduce his disciples from him.

p. 163

‘ Those six young nobles, O king, Bhaddiya and Anuruddha and Ananda and Bhagu and Kimbila and Devadatta, [108] together with Upéli 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 instruction, nor a novice of either sex. It must be a Bhikkhu, under no disability, who is in full communion, 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).’

It must be a Bhikkhu, under no disability, who is in full communion, 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 Tathagata knew that.’

‘But, NAgasena, 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 Hinasi-kumburé takes kula as an ablative.

2 These are all termini technici in Buddhist canon law.
The meaning is that other divisions in the Order do not amount
technically to schism. See the Xullavagga VII, 1, 27, &c.

M2

p. 29

datta after he had been admitted to the Order would stir up a schism—then he cannot have been omniscient, 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 previous 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 Tathagata, 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

p. 165

Just as mothers and fathers, O king, hurt their children and even knock them down, thinking the while of theirp. 165 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 Devadatta, 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 thousands 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 renouncing 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. Asa 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’. Was then, O king,

1 K4ruadaabalopatthaddha. Compare GAtaka, vol. i, verse
267, and Sutta Vibhanga I, 10, 7.

p. 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.’

‘Then accept this, great king, to the full as the reason for which the Blessed One admitted Devadatta to the Order.’

He committed no wrong, not even in the smallest degree.’

‘Then accept this, great king, to the full as the reason for which the Blessed One admitted Devadatta to the Order.’

31. ‘Hear another and further reason, O king, for the Blessed One’s having admitted Devadatta. Suppose men were to seize and hurry before the king some wicked robber, saying: “ This is the wicked robber, your Majesty. Inflict upon him such punishment 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 execution 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?, 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 ora 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 ?’

• * Gadd@hanam pi. It is the Sanskrit dadraghna.
• * Adeyya-vakano. See my note, Xullavagga VI, 4, 8, and also Puggala Pa#fatti III, 12, and Pa#éa Gati Dipana, 98.

p. 167

‘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 knowledge that by that his sorrow would be mitigated.’

32. ‘And Devadatta’s sorrow, O king, was mitigated. 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},

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 Passeka-Buddha*® under the name of Ad¢hissara.’

‘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-samangino and the four phala-samangino. See Puggala Pa##atti VIII, 1.

* The Simhalese inserts a paragraph here not found in Mr. Trenckner’s text.

5 See above, p. 158. -

p. 168

See Puggala Pa##atti VIII, 1.

* The Simhalese inserts a paragraph here not found in Mr. Trenckner’s text.

5 See above, p. 158. -p. 168 has caused him to attain to the state of a Pakkeka- 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 1,— 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

.

' The interpretation of some of the medical terms in this paragraph is very uncertain. See pp. 134, 252, 304 of the text.

p. 169

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.’

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 [118] Devadatta would have suffered torment in purgatory through a succession of existences, through hundreds of thousands of Kalpas.’

p. 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, Nagasena, unless he were wise as you!’

[Here ends the dilemma about Devadatta.]

[VESSANTARA’S EARTHQUAKE. ]

35. ‘Venerable NAgasena, the Blessed One said thus: “ There are these eight causes, O Bhikkhus, proximate or remote, for a mighty earthquake ’.” 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®. 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. 45 of my ‘ Buddhist Suttas,’ vol. xi in this series, ® See the Vessantara Gataka, and compare Gétaka I, p. 74.

IV, 1, 36. VESSANTARA. 17!

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. 45 of my ‘ Buddhist Suttas,’ vol. xi in this series, ® See the Vessantara Gataka, and compare Gétaka I, p. 74.

IV, 1, 36. VESSANTARA. 17!

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 As4/Aa 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 A4iravati, the Sarabhd, the Mahi, the Indus, the Sarasvatt, the Vetravatt, the Vitass4, and the Xandabh4g4a—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 extrap. 172ordinary 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-s4¢aka the brahman, and Puzza the hired servant, and Mallika the queen, and the queen known as the mother of Gopala, and Suppiy4 the devoted woman, and Puzna . 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 SAdhina the king, and king Nimi, and king Mandhatéa—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 acquirements 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 heardp. 173 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 largesse, 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

174 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. _ IV,r1, 38.

And on these ten conditions of heart, O king, was his mind too fixed—on self-control, and on inward calm, and on

174 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. _ IV,r1, 38.

long-suffering, and on self-restraint, and on temperance, 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 immeasurable, so unsurpassed. It was when he had attained to that supreme wisdom that he uttered the verse:

“Gli, my son, and the Black Antelope,
My daughter, and my queen, my wife, Madd,
I gave them all away without a thought—
And ’twas for Buddhahood I did this thing'.”’

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 Xariya Pifaka I, ix, 52. See Dr. Morris’s edition for the Pali Text Society, p, 81.

p. 175

‘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 Xariya Pifaka I, ix, 52. See Dr. Morris’s edition for the Pali Text Society, p, 81.

p. 175

and the speaker of falsehood by truth, and all evil did he overcome by righteousness +. When he was thus giving away—he who was seeking after righteousness, 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? 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? shook with fear, and thought in their alarm: “ What now! How now! is the great ocean being turned upside down ?”

? On this sentiment Mr. Trenckner calls attention to the analogous phrases at Dhammapada, verse 223.

* Sfnapatt4: which the Simhalese renders po/o talehi kal gewf patra weffma/a peminiy4wu wrikshayo.

* Fabulous beings supposed to occupy these fabulous waters.

p. 39

and sought, with terrified hearts, for a way of escape. And as the water on which it rests! 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 mungooses, 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.’

And at the trembling of the earth, the serpents, and mungooses, 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? 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 whatsoever 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.

* Mahati-mah4-pariyogo; not in Childers nor in the Sanskrit Petersburg Dictionary. Htnafi-kumburé renders it ita mahat wu maha bhaganayak,p. 177 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}, and the Acacia gem ?, and the entrancing gem, and the favourite of the sun’, and the favourite of the moon‘, and the crystal, and the kaggopakkamaka'‘, and the topaz, and the ruby, and the Mas4ra stone ‘—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 ’—just so, O king, of all the gifts that

? Umm4-puppha; rendered diya-mendiri-pushpa in the Simhalese. Clough gives diyameneri as a plant ‘commelina cucullata.’

? Sirfsa-puppha; rendered m4r4-pushpa in the Simhalese, m4r4 being the seed of the ‘adenanthera pavonia.’

* Suriya-kanto, which the Simhalese merely repeats.

‘ Kanda-kanta; and so also in the Simhalese. 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 Simhalese has kaggopakramaya, which is not in
Clough.

®° Mas4ra-galla, which the Simhalese renders by mas4ragalya, which Bohtlingk-Roth think is sapphire or smaragd, and Clough renders ‘emerald,’ and the commentary on the Abhidhana Padfpika, quoted by Childers, says is a stone produced in the hill of Mas4ra (otherwise unknown).

®° Mas4ra-galla, which the Simhalese renders by mas4ragalya, which Bohtlingk-Roth think is sapphire or smaragd, and Clough renders ‘emerald,’ and the commentary on the Abhidhana Padfpika, quoted by Childers, says is a stone produced in the hill of Mas4ra (otherwise unknown).

On similar lists of gems elsewhere see the Kullavagga IX, 1, 3, and my note at pp. 249, 250 of the ‘ Buddhist Suttas’ (vol. xi of the ‘ Sacred Books of the East ’).

7 So also in the Mah4-Sudassana Sutta I, 32, translated in the
‘ Buddhist Suttas,’ p. 256. Compare above, p. 35 of the text.

(35] Np. 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’.

41. ‘A marvellous thing is it, Nagasena, of the Buddhas, and a most wonderful, that the Tathagata 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, NA4gasena, the might of the Bodisats, a most clear light have you cast upon the perfection of the Conquerors, you have shown how, in the whole world of gods and men, a Tathagata, as he continues the practice of his noble life, is the highest and the best. Well spoken, venerable Nagasena. 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*. It is so, as you say, O best of the leaders of schools, and I accept that which you have said!’

[Here ends the dilemma as to the earthquake at
Vessantara’s gift. ]

? There is here a long paragraph in the Simhalese omitted in the Pali. * Nibb&hana; rendered abhiwarddhiya in the Simhalese. -

p. 179

[KING sivr!.]

]

? There is here a long paragraph in the Simhalese omitted in the Pali. * Nibb&hana; rendered abhiwarddhiya in the Simhalese. -

p. 179

[KING sivr!.]

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*.” This statement is unpalatable’, 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*.” 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 accomplish the task that is set to you, to the refutation of the adversaries!’

1 The story is given at length in the Sivi Gataka, No. 499 (vol. iv, pp. 401-412 of Professor Fausbdll’s edition).

2 There is nothing in the text of the Gataka (p. 410) of the new eyes being ‘divine’ or ‘from heaven.’ There new, ordinary eyes arose to him as the result of his virtue.

’ Sa-kasa/am. Kasafa cannot mean simply ‘insipid’ as Dr. Edward Miller suggests at p. 43 of his ‘Pali Grammar,’ for it is opposed to dullness, insipidity (manda) at Anguttara II, 5, 5. It must mean there ‘wrong, not only by omission, but by commission.’ Compare its use in the Dhammapada Commentary, p- 275; G&taka 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.)

* I don’t know which Sutta is referred to.

N2

p. 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, Nagasena, 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, remained. 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??’

‘Yes, Lord, there is. And by it true believers make the rain to fall, and fire to go out*, and ward off the effects of poison, and accomplish many other things they want to do.’

And by it true believers make the rain to fall, and fire to go out*, 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-

' This paragraph is very different in the Simhalese, and much longer than the Pali.

* 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.

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pose, O king, any Siddha (accomplished one") on intoning a charm?, 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.’

1 “One who knows a powerful charm (or perhaps Vedic verse,
mantra),’ says Hina/i-kumburé.
2 Sakka, literally truth, (Satya-g4yané in the Simhalese.)

p. 46

2 Sakka, literally truth, (Satya-g4yané in the Simhalese.)

p. 46

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, performs 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 overflowing—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, Bindumatt 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, ap. 183 harlot, in this city of PAéaliputta, 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'. 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?, 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,

By what authority is it that you, insignificant as you are?, 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 ‘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.

? Anummatto, which the Simhalese translates as a feminine.

p. 48

devoid of virtue, under no restraint’, sinful, who have overstepped all limits, and are full of transgression, and live on the plunder of fools ?”

*«“Tt 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, [128] 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

’ Khinnikaya. Compare Gataka IJ, 114, and the Sutta Vibhanga on PAfittiya 26.

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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 adversary. The thing is so, and I accept it thus?.’

[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 be best consulted in the Paéli.]

[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*.” But on the other hand the Blessed One declared, just before

‘Venerable NAgasena, it has been said by the Blessed One : “ But now the good law, Ananda, will only stand fast for five hundred years*.” But on the other hand the Blessed One declared, just beforep. 56 his death, in response to the question put by Subhadda the recluse: “But if in this system the brethren live the perfect life, then the world would not be bereft of Arahats’.” 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. [181] 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.’

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 Pifakas themselves, and is probably an incorporation 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. ro: ‘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.

* Kullavagga X, 1, 6, translated in ‘Vinaya Texts,’ vol. iii, p. 325.

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’, the other with the practice 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 purgatory, 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.’

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 * 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 SAsana. § Saddhammo.

p. 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 understanding 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 remained: “So much property have I lost; so much is still left”—{182] 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 hundred 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 Samaazas, 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 statement 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?’

188 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 1, g9-

‘Certainly not, Sir.’

‘But why not, O king ?’

‘Because of the continual downpour of the rain.’

IV, 1, g9-

‘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 continues 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 ?’

[183] ‘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 addition to that, the children of the Buddha, devoting themselves to the five! kinds of spiritual exertion, continue zealous in effort—if cultivating a longing for the threefold discipline, they train themselves therein—

1 Patka-padhanangani. This is curious. In the Pifakas there are four kinds only.

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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. ‘ Again, O king, suppose people were to continually 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.’

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 conduct, has conduct as its essence, and stands fast so long as conduct does not decline '.’

1 There is a paragraph here in the Simhalese not found in the
Pali.

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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?. [184] When the attainment of it ceases, then even the man who conducts himself aright in it has no clear understanding of it. By the decline of conduct the promulgation of the rules of discipline ceases, only the outward 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 disappearance 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 Nagasena, 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, 1, 63. KARMA. 19!

'*He had burnt out all evil. There was none left.’

‘But how, Sir? Did not the Tath4gata get hurt in his body ?’

‘Yes, O king. At Ragagaha a splinter of rock pierced his foot!, and once he suffered from dysentery 2, and once when the humours of his body were disturbed a purge was administered to him °, and once when he was troubled with wind the Elder who waited on him (that is Ananda) gave him hot water ‘.

At Ragagaha a splinter of rock pierced his foot!, and once he suffered from dysentery 2, and once when the humours of his body were disturbed a purge was administered to him °, and once when he was troubled with wind the Elder who waited on him (that is Ananda) gave him hot water ‘.

‘Then, Sir, if the Tathagata, 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®. 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, [185] and of bile, and of phlegm, the union of these humours, variations in temperature, the avoiding of

1 See Kullavagga VII, 3, 9.

? See Mah4parinibbana Sutta IV, 21.

5 Mahavagga VIII, 1, 30-33.

‘ This is, no doubt, the occurrence recounted in the Mahavagga VI, 17, 1-4. Childers translates vit&badha by ‘rheumatism,’ but I adhere here to the translation adopted there. It is said in the Mah4vagga 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.

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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.’

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. Therefore 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 disturbed 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?. And there is the act that has Karma as its fruit, and the pain so brought about arising from the act done. So what

’ As was pointed out above, IV, 1, 33, many of these medical terms are very doubtful.

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arises as the fruit of Karma is much less than that which arises from other causes. And the ignorant go too far [186] 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 Devadatta, O king, had harboured hatred against the Tathagata during a succession of hundreds of thousands of births’. 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?, yet

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?, yet

1 So below, IV, 3, 28. * Visama-parih4ra-g4 both in the Simhalese and the Pali,

[35] ce)

p. 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’, ° 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 [187] independent of Karma that the clod would fall to earth again.’

‘Well, O king, the Tath4gata 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.’

‘Just 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 Samyutta Nik4ya in

Water, fire, air, and earth (Apo, tego, vayo, pashavi).

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