Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1The king said: ‘Your people say, Nagasena, that though a man should have lived a hundred 4 Muddato (see above, p. 6). 13 Gananfto. 1s Dharamato. The noun dhdranak4 is only found here (where I follow the Simhalese interpretation) and at Gataka II, 203 (where it means ‘ debtor,’ as in Sanskrit). 4 Bh4vanato. Fora translation of the full text, here abridged in the text, see ‘ Buddhist Suttas,’ pp. 215, 216 (§ 17). % Potthaka-nibandhanato. %® Upanikkhepato. 17 Anubh{fitato, perhaps ‘experience.’ There are really seventeen, not sixteen, so some two must have been regarded by the author as forming one between them. These may be Nos. 1 and ~ 14, or more likely Nos. 4 and 5. T24 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IIT, 7, 3- years an evil life, yet if, at the moment of death, thoughts of the Buddha should enter his mind, he will be reborn among the gods. This I don’t believe. And thus do they also say: “ By one case of destruction of life a man may be reborn in purgatory.” That, too, I cannot believe.’ ‘ But tell me,O king. Would even a tiny stone float on the water without a boat ?’ ‘Certainly not.’ ‘Very well; but would not a hundred cart-loads of stones float on the water if they were loaded ina boat ?’ ‘Yes, they would float right enough.’ ‘Well, good deeds are like the boat.’ ‘Very good, Nagasena!’ 3. The king said: ‘Do you (recluses), Nagasena, strive after the removal of past sorrow ?’ ‘No.’ ‘What then? Is it future sorrow you strive to remove ?’ ‘No.’ ‘Present sorrow, then ?’ [81] ‘ Not that either.’ ‘ Then if it be neither past, nor future, nor present sorrow that you strive to remove, whereunto is it that you strive ?’ ‘What are you asking, O king? That this sorrow should cease and no other sorrow should arise—that is what we strive after.’ ‘But, NAgasena, is there (now) such a thing as future sorrow ?’ ‘No. I grant that.’ ‘Then you are mighty clever people to strive after the removal of that which does not exist!’ Il], 7, 3- FUTURE SORROW. 125 ‘Has it ever happened to you, O king, that rival kings rose up against you as enemies and opponents?’ ‘Yes, certainly.’ ‘Then you set to work, I suppose, to have moats dug, and ramparts thrown up, and watch towers erected, and strongholds built, and stores of food collected??’ ‘Not at all. All that had been prepared beforehand.’ ‘Or you had yourself trained in the management of war elephants, and in horsemanship, and in the use of the war chariot, and in archery and fencing ?’ ‘Not at all. I had learnt all that before.’ ‘ But why ?’ ‘With the object of warding off future danger.’ ‘How so? Is there such a thing (now) as future danger ?’ ‘No. I must grant that.’ ‘Then you kings are mighty clever people to trouble yourselves about the warding off of that which does not exist !’ ‘Give me a further illustration.’
2Is there such a thing (now) as future danger ?’ ‘No. I must grant that.’ ‘Then you kings are mighty clever people to trouble yourselves about the warding off of that which does not exist !’ ‘Give me a further illustration.’ ‘Tell me, O king. Is it when you are athirst that you set to work to have wells dug, or ponds hollowed out, or reservoirs formed, with the object of getting something to drink ?’ ‘Certainly not. All that has been prepared beforehand.’ ‘ But to what end?’ ‘With the object of preventing future thirst.’ ‘Howso? Is there such a thing as future thirst?’ 1 All that follows only differs by slight additions from III, 4, 3 above, pp. 100-102, 126 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. _ III, 7, 4. ‘No, Sir ‘So you are mighty clever people, O king, [82] to take all that trouble to prevent the future thirst which all the time does not exist !’ ‘Give me a further illustration.’ [Then the Elder referred, as before, to the means people always took of warding against future hunger, and the king expressed his pleasure at the way in which the puzzle had been solved. ] 4. The king said: ‘How far is it, Nagasena, from here to the Brahma world? ?’ ‘Very far is it, O king. If a rock, the size of an upper chamber, were to fall from there, it would take four months to reach the earth, though it came down eight-and-forty thousand leagues* each day and night.’ ‘Good, Nagasena! Now do not your people say that a Bhikkhu, who has the power of Iddhi and the mastery over his mind’, can vanish from Gambu-dipa, and appear in the Brahma world, as quickly as a strong man could stretch forth his bent up arm, or bend it in again if it were stretched out? That is a saying I cannot believe. How is it possible that he could traverse so quickly so many hundreds of leagues ?’ The Elder replied: ‘In what district, O king, were you born ?’ ' One of the highest heavens. * Yogana, a league of seven miles. * Ketovasippatto, which Hfnasi-kumburé renders mano vasi prapta wi. I know of no passage in the Pifakas where the phrase occurs in connection with Iddhi; but it is often used by our author. See, for instance, just below, III, 7, 9. III, 7, 5. ALASANDA. 127 ‘There is an island called Alasanda'. It was there I was born.’ ‘ And how far is Alasanda from here ?’ ‘About two hundred leagues.’ ‘Do you know for certain of any business you once did there and now recollect ?’ ‘Oh, yes.’ ‘So quickly, great king, have you gone about two hundred leagues.’ ‘Very good, Nagasena !’ 5. The king said: ‘If one man, Nagasena, were to die here and be reborn in the Brahma world, and another were to die here and be reborn in Kashmir, which of the two would arrive first ?’ ‘Both together, O king.’ ‘Give me an illustration.’ ‘In what town [838], O king, were you born ?’ ‘There is a village called Kalasi. It was there I was born.’ ‘And how far is Kalasi from here ?’ ‘ About two hundred leagues.’ ‘ How far is Kashmir from here ?’ ‘ Twelve leagues.’
3It was there I was born.’ ‘And how far is Kalasi from here ?’ ‘ About two hundred leagues.’ ‘ How far is Kashmir from here ?’ ‘ Twelve leagues.’ ‘Now, great king, think of Kalasi.’ ‘I have done so.’ ‘And now, think of Kashmtr.’ ‘I have done so.’ ‘Well, which did you think of quickest ?’ ‘Of each in the same time.’ ‘Just so, great king, would it take no longer to be reborn in the Brahma world than to be reborn in Kashmir. And tell me, O king. Suppose two 1 Alexandria (in Baktria) built on an island in the Indus. 128 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IT, 7, 6. birds were flying, and one were to alight on a tall tree, and the other on a small shrub. If they settled both at the same moment, whose shadow would first fall to the ground ?’ ‘ The two shadows would fall together.’ ‘Just so, great king, in the case you put.’ ‘Very good, Nagasena!’ 6. The king said: ‘Venerable Nagasena, how many kinds of wisdom are there ?’ ‘ Seven, O king.’ ‘And by how many kinds of wisdom does one become wise ?’ ‘By one: that is to say by the kind of wisdom called “the investigation of the Truth?.”’ ‘Then why is it said there are seven ?’ ‘Tell me, O king. Suppose a sword were lying in its sheath and not taken in the hand, could it cut off anything you wanted to cut off with it ?’ ‘Certainly not.’ ‘Just so, great king, by the other kinds of wisdom can nothing be understood without investigation of the Truth.’ ‘Very good, Nagasena !’ 7. The king said: ‘Which, Nagasena, is there more of, merit or demerit ?’ ‘Merit.’ [84] ‘But why ?’ ‘He who does wrong, O king, comes to feel remorse, and acknowledges his evil-doing. So demerit does not increase. But he who does well feels no remorse, and feeling no remorse gladness will * Dhamma-vikaya-sambogghangena. IIT, 7, 9. PEACE. . 129 spring up within him, and joy will arise to him thus gladdened, and so rejoicing all his frame will be at peace, and being thus at peace he will experience a blissful feeling of content, and in that bliss his heart will be at rest, and he whose heart is thus at rest knows things as they really are’. For that reason merit increases. A man, for example, though his hands and feet are cut off, if he gave to the Blessed One merely a handful of lotuses, would not enter purgatory for ninety-one Kalpas. That is why I said, O king, that there is more merit than demerit.’ ‘Very good, Nagasena !’ 8. The king said: ‘Whose, Nagasena, is the greater demerit—his who sins consciously, or his who sins inadvertently ?’ ‘He who sins inadvertently, O king, has the greater demerit.’ ‘In that case, reverend Sir, we shall punish doubly any of our family or our court who do wrong unintentionally.’ ‘ But what do you think, O king ? If one man were to seize hold intentionally of a fiery mass of metal glowing with heat, and another were to seize hold of it unintentionally, which would be more burnt ?’ ‘The one who did not know what he was doing.’
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1The king said: ‘Your people say, Nagasena, that though a man should have lived a hundred 4 Muddato (see above, p. 6). 13 Gananfto. 1s Dharamato. The noun dhdranak4 is only found here (where I follow the Simhalese interpretation) and at Gataka II, 203 (where it means ‘ debtor,’ as in Sanskrit). 4 Bh4vanato. Fora translation of the full text, here abridged in the text, see ‘ Buddhist Suttas,’ pp. 215, 216 (§ 17). % Potthaka-nibandhanato. %® Upanikkhepato. 17 Anubh{fitato, perhaps ‘experience.’ There are really seventeen, not sixteen, so some two must have been regarded by the author as forming one between them. These may be Nos. 1 and ~ 14, or more likely Nos. 4 and 5. T24 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IIT, 7, 3- years an evil life, yet if, at the moment of death, thoughts of the Buddha should enter his mind, he will be reborn among the gods. This I don’t believe. And thus do they also say: “ By one case of destruction of life a man may be reborn in purgatory.” That, too, I cannot believe.’ ‘ But tell me,O king. Would even a tiny stone float on the water without a boat ?’ ‘Certainly not.’ ‘Very well; but would not a hundred cart-loads of stones float on the water if they were loaded ina boat ?’ ‘Yes, they would float right enough.’ ‘Well, good deeds are like the boat.’ ‘Very good, Nagasena!’ 3. The king said: ‘Do you (recluses), Nagasena, strive after the removal of past sorrow ?’ ‘No.’ ‘What then? Is it future sorrow you strive to remove ?’ ‘No.’ ‘Present sorrow, then ?’ [81] ‘ Not that either.’ ‘ Then if it be neither past, nor future, nor present sorrow that you strive to remove, whereunto is it that you strive ?’ ‘What are you asking, O king? That this sorrow should cease and no other sorrow should arise—that is what we strive after.’ ‘But, NAgasena, is there (now) such a thing as future sorrow ?’ ‘No. I grant that.’ ‘Then you are mighty clever people to strive after the removal of that which does not exist!’ Il], 7, 3- FUTURE SORROW. 125 ‘Has it ever happened to you, O king, that rival kings rose up against you as enemies and opponents?’ ‘Yes, certainly.’ ‘Then you set to work, I suppose, to have moats dug, and ramparts thrown up, and watch towers erected, and strongholds built, and stores of food collected??’ ‘Not at all. All that had been prepared beforehand.’ ‘Or you had yourself trained in the management of war elephants, and in horsemanship, and in the use of the war chariot, and in archery and fencing ?’ ‘Not at all. I had learnt all that before.’ ‘ But why ?’ ‘With the object of warding off future danger.’ ‘How so? Is there such a thing (now) as future danger ?’ ‘No. I must grant that.’ ‘Then you kings are mighty clever people to trouble yourselves about the warding off of that which does not exist !’ ‘Give me a further illustration.’
2Is there such a thing (now) as future danger ?’ ‘No. I must grant that.’ ‘Then you kings are mighty clever people to trouble yourselves about the warding off of that which does not exist !’ ‘Give me a further illustration.’ ‘Tell me, O king. Is it when you are athirst that you set to work to have wells dug, or ponds hollowed out, or reservoirs formed, with the object of getting something to drink ?’ ‘Certainly not. All that has been prepared beforehand.’ ‘ But to what end?’ ‘With the object of preventing future thirst.’ ‘Howso? Is there such a thing as future thirst?’ 1 All that follows only differs by slight additions from III, 4, 3 above, pp. 100-102, 126 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. _ III, 7, 4. ‘No, Sir ‘So you are mighty clever people, O king, [82] to take all that trouble to prevent the future thirst which all the time does not exist !’ ‘Give me a further illustration.’ [Then the Elder referred, as before, to the means people always took of warding against future hunger, and the king expressed his pleasure at the way in which the puzzle had been solved. ] 4. The king said: ‘How far is it, Nagasena, from here to the Brahma world? ?’ ‘Very far is it, O king. If a rock, the size of an upper chamber, were to fall from there, it would take four months to reach the earth, though it came down eight-and-forty thousand leagues* each day and night.’ ‘Good, Nagasena! Now do not your people say that a Bhikkhu, who has the power of Iddhi and the mastery over his mind’, can vanish from Gambu-dipa, and appear in the Brahma world, as quickly as a strong man could stretch forth his bent up arm, or bend it in again if it were stretched out? That is a saying I cannot believe. How is it possible that he could traverse so quickly so many hundreds of leagues ?’ The Elder replied: ‘In what district, O king, were you born ?’ ' One of the highest heavens. * Yogana, a league of seven miles. * Ketovasippatto, which Hfnasi-kumburé renders mano vasi prapta wi. I know of no passage in the Pifakas where the phrase occurs in connection with Iddhi; but it is often used by our author. See, for instance, just below, III, 7, 9. III, 7, 5. ALASANDA. 127 ‘There is an island called Alasanda'. It was there I was born.’ ‘ And how far is Alasanda from here ?’ ‘About two hundred leagues.’ ‘Do you know for certain of any business you once did there and now recollect ?’ ‘Oh, yes.’ ‘So quickly, great king, have you gone about two hundred leagues.’ ‘Very good, Nagasena !’ 5. The king said: ‘If one man, Nagasena, were to die here and be reborn in the Brahma world, and another were to die here and be reborn in Kashmir, which of the two would arrive first ?’ ‘Both together, O king.’ ‘Give me an illustration.’ ‘In what town [838], O king, were you born ?’ ‘There is a village called Kalasi. It was there I was born.’ ‘And how far is Kalasi from here ?’ ‘ About two hundred leagues.’ ‘ How far is Kashmir from here ?’ ‘ Twelve leagues.’
3It was there I was born.’ ‘And how far is Kalasi from here ?’ ‘ About two hundred leagues.’ ‘ How far is Kashmir from here ?’ ‘ Twelve leagues.’ ‘Now, great king, think of Kalasi.’ ‘I have done so.’ ‘And now, think of Kashmtr.’ ‘I have done so.’ ‘Well, which did you think of quickest ?’ ‘Of each in the same time.’ ‘Just so, great king, would it take no longer to be reborn in the Brahma world than to be reborn in Kashmir. And tell me, O king. Suppose two 1 Alexandria (in Baktria) built on an island in the Indus. 128 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IT, 7, 6. birds were flying, and one were to alight on a tall tree, and the other on a small shrub. If they settled both at the same moment, whose shadow would first fall to the ground ?’ ‘ The two shadows would fall together.’ ‘Just so, great king, in the case you put.’ ‘Very good, Nagasena!’ 6. The king said: ‘Venerable Nagasena, how many kinds of wisdom are there ?’ ‘ Seven, O king.’ ‘And by how many kinds of wisdom does one become wise ?’ ‘By one: that is to say by the kind of wisdom called “the investigation of the Truth?.”’ ‘Then why is it said there are seven ?’ ‘Tell me, O king. Suppose a sword were lying in its sheath and not taken in the hand, could it cut off anything you wanted to cut off with it ?’ ‘Certainly not.’ ‘Just so, great king, by the other kinds of wisdom can nothing be understood without investigation of the Truth.’ ‘Very good, Nagasena !’ 7. The king said: ‘Which, Nagasena, is there more of, merit or demerit ?’ ‘Merit.’ [84] ‘But why ?’ ‘He who does wrong, O king, comes to feel remorse, and acknowledges his evil-doing. So demerit does not increase. But he who does well feels no remorse, and feeling no remorse gladness will * Dhamma-vikaya-sambogghangena. IIT, 7, 9. PEACE. . 129 spring up within him, and joy will arise to him thus gladdened, and so rejoicing all his frame will be at peace, and being thus at peace he will experience a blissful feeling of content, and in that bliss his heart will be at rest, and he whose heart is thus at rest knows things as they really are’. For that reason merit increases. A man, for example, though his hands and feet are cut off, if he gave to the Blessed One merely a handful of lotuses, would not enter purgatory for ninety-one Kalpas. That is why I said, O king, that there is more merit than demerit.’ ‘Very good, Nagasena !’ 8. The king said: ‘Whose, Nagasena, is the greater demerit—his who sins consciously, or his who sins inadvertently ?’ ‘He who sins inadvertently, O king, has the greater demerit.’ ‘In that case, reverend Sir, we shall punish doubly any of our family or our court who do wrong unintentionally.’ ‘ But what do you think, O king ? If one man were to seize hold intentionally of a fiery mass of metal glowing with heat, and another were to seize hold of it unintentionally, which would be more burnt ?’ ‘The one who did not know what he was doing.’
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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