Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1‘Venerable Nagasena, was the Buddha omniscient ?’ ‘Yes, O king, he was. But the insight of knowledge was not always and continually (consciously) present with him. The omniscience of the Blessed One was dependent on reflection.’ But if he did reflect he knew whatever he wanted to know”. ‘Then, Sir, the Buddha cannot have been omniscient, if his all-embracing knowledge was reached through investigation.’ ‘LIf so, great king, our Buddha’s knowledge must have been less in degree of fineness than that of the other Buddhas. And that is a conclusion hard to draw. But let me explain a little further.] Suppose, O king, you had a hundred cart-loads of rice in the husk, and each cart-load was of seven ammanas$ and a half. Would a man without consideration be able to tell you ina moment how many laks of grains there were in the whole‘ ?’ 1 This title and the subsequent ones to the various questions are added from the Simhalese. They are probably the same titles as those referred to by Mr. Trenckner in his preface as being in his Burmese MS. 2 So again below, § 27. 5 An ammaza is about four bushels. ‘ Mr. Trenckner has marked this passage as corrupt, and I do not pretend to understand it either. The Simhalese is also very IV, 1, 21. THE GIANT BAMBO. 155 20. ‘ Now there are these seven classes of minds, Those, great king, who are full of lust, ill-will, delusion, or wrong doing, who are untrained in the management of their body, or in conduct, or in thought, or in wisdom,—their thinking powers are brought into play with difficulty, and act slowly. _And why is it so? Because of the untrained condition of their minds. It is like the slow and heavy movements of a giant bambd—when it is being dragged along with its wide-spreading, extensive, overgrown, and interlaced vegetation, and with its branches intricately entangled one with the other. So slow and heavy are the movements of the minds of those men, O king. And why? Because of the intricate entanglements of wrong dispositions. This is the first class of minds.’ 21. ‘From it the second class is to be distinguished. Those, O king, who have been converted, for whom the gates of purgatory are closed, who have attained to right views, who have grasped the doctrine of the Master—their thinking powers, so far as the three lower stages' are concerned, are brought quickly involved and confused. I have added the words in brackets from the Simhalese, and translated the rest according to the general sense of the Simhalese and the figures of the Pali. Hardy gives his ‘version’ at p. 386 of the ‘Manual of Buddhism.’ It says, ‘ In one load of rice there are 63,660,000 grains, Each of these grains can be separately considered by Buddha in a moment of time. In that moment the seven-times gifted mind exercises this power.’ The last sentence is a misunderstanding of the opening words of our next section (IV, 1, 20).
2In that moment the seven-times gifted mind exercises this power.’ The last sentence is a misunderstanding of the opening words of our next section (IV, 1, 20). ' That is, of the Excellent Way. They are the three Fetters— Delusion of self, Doubt, and Dependence on rites and ceremonies and outward morality—which the Sotapanno has conquered, broken. 156 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV,1, 22 into play, [103] and act with ease. But as regards the higher regions they are brought into play with difficulty, and act slowly. And why is this so? Because of their minds having been made clear as regards those three stages, and because of the failings (to be vanquished in the higher stages) still existing within them. It is like the movement of _ a giant bambd which has a clean trunk as far as the third knot, but above that has its branches intricately entangled. So far as regards the smooth trunk it would travel easily when dragged along, but it would stick obstinately as regards its upper branches. This is the second class of minds.’ 22. ‘From these the third class is to be distinguished. Those, O king,who are Sakad AgAmins 1, in whom lust, ill-will, and delusion are reduced to a minimum,—their thinking powers, so far as the five lower stages are concerned, are brought quickly into play, and act w:th ease. But as regards the higher regions they are brought into play with difficulty, and act slowly. And why is this so? Because of their minds having been made clear as regards those five stages, and because of the failings (to be vanquished in the higher stages) still existing within them. It is like the movement of a giant bamba which has a clean trunk as far as the fifth knot, but above that has its branches intricately entangled. So far as regards the smooth trunk it would travel easily when dragged along, but it would be moved with difficulty as far as its upper branches are concerned. This is the third class of minds.’ ? Disciples who will return only once to this world, there attain Arahatship, and therefore pass away. IV, 1, 24. THINKING POWERS. 157 23. ‘From these the fourth class is to be distinguished. Those, O king, who are AnA4g4mins}, who have completely got rid of the five lower fetters, ——their thinking powers, so far as the ten stages? are concerned, are brought quickly into play, and act with ease. [104] But as regards the higher regions they are brought into play with difficulty, and act slowly. And why is this so? Because of their minds having been made clear as regards those ten stages, and because of the failings (to be vanquished in the higher stages) still existing within them. It is like the movement of a giant bambf which has a smooth trunk as far as the tenth knot, but above that has its branches intricately entangled. This is the fourth class of minds.’
3It is like the movement of a giant bambf which has a smooth trunk as far as the tenth knot, but above that has its branches intricately entangled. This is the fourth class of minds.’ 24. ‘From these the fifth class is to be distinguished. Those, O king, who are Arahats, in whom the four Great Evils* have ceased, whose stains have been washed away, whose predispositions to evil* have been put aside, who have lived the life, and accomplished the task, and laid aside every burden, and reached up to that which is good, for whom the Fetter of the craving after any kind of future life has been broken to pieces®, who have reached the higher insight*, who are purified as regards all those conditions of heart in which a ? Who will not return even once to this world, but attain Arahatship in heaven. * This is noteworthy, for their mind is not yet quite clear as regards the higher five stages. But it is on all fours with the last section. 5 Lust, becoming, delusion, and ignorance. * Kiles4. ® Parikkiaza-bhava-samyogané, * Patta-pasisambhida. 158 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA., _IV,1, 25. hearer can be pure,—their thinking powers, as regards all that a disciple can be or do, are brought quickly into play, and act with ease. But as to those things which are within the reach of the Pakseka- Buddhas (of those who are Buddhas, but for themselves alone) they are brought into play with difficulty, and act slowly. And why is this so? Because of their having been made pure as regards all within the province of a hearer, but not as regards that within the reach of those who are Buddhas (though for themselves alone). It is like the movement of a giant bambf which has been pruned of the branches arising out of all its knots—and which, therefore, when dragged along moves quickly and with ease, because of its smoothness all along, and because of its being unencumbered with the jungly growth of vegetation. This is the fifth class of minds.’ 25. [105] ‘From these the sixth class is to be distinguished. Those, O king, who are Pakkeka- Buddhas, dependent on themselves alone, wanting no teacher, dwellers alone like the solitary horn of the rhinoceros, who so far as their own higher life is concerned, have pure hearts free from stain,—their thinking powers, so far as their own province is concerned, are brought quickly into play, and act with ease. But as regards all that is specially within the province of a perfect Buddha (one who is not only Buddha, that is enlightened, himself, but can lead others to the light) they are brought with difficulty into play, and move slowly. And why is this so? Because of their purity as regards all within their own province, and because of the immensity of the province of the omniscient Buddhas. It is like a man, O king, who would fearlessly cross, and at will, IV, 1, 26. THE BUDDHAS. 159
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.
1‘Venerable Nagasena, was the Buddha omniscient ?’ ‘Yes, O king, he was. But the insight of knowledge was not always and continually (consciously) present with him. The omniscience of the Blessed One was dependent on reflection.’ But if he did reflect he knew whatever he wanted to know”. ‘Then, Sir, the Buddha cannot have been omniscient, if his all-embracing knowledge was reached through investigation.’ ‘LIf so, great king, our Buddha’s knowledge must have been less in degree of fineness than that of the other Buddhas. And that is a conclusion hard to draw. But let me explain a little further.] Suppose, O king, you had a hundred cart-loads of rice in the husk, and each cart-load was of seven ammanas$ and a half. Would a man without consideration be able to tell you ina moment how many laks of grains there were in the whole‘ ?’ 1 This title and the subsequent ones to the various questions are added from the Simhalese. They are probably the same titles as those referred to by Mr. Trenckner in his preface as being in his Burmese MS. 2 So again below, § 27. 5 An ammaza is about four bushels. ‘ Mr. Trenckner has marked this passage as corrupt, and I do not pretend to understand it either. The Simhalese is also very IV, 1, 21. THE GIANT BAMBO. 155 20. ‘ Now there are these seven classes of minds, Those, great king, who are full of lust, ill-will, delusion, or wrong doing, who are untrained in the management of their body, or in conduct, or in thought, or in wisdom,—their thinking powers are brought into play with difficulty, and act slowly. _And why is it so? Because of the untrained condition of their minds. It is like the slow and heavy movements of a giant bambd—when it is being dragged along with its wide-spreading, extensive, overgrown, and interlaced vegetation, and with its branches intricately entangled one with the other. So slow and heavy are the movements of the minds of those men, O king. And why? Because of the intricate entanglements of wrong dispositions. This is the first class of minds.’ 21. ‘From it the second class is to be distinguished. Those, O king, who have been converted, for whom the gates of purgatory are closed, who have attained to right views, who have grasped the doctrine of the Master—their thinking powers, so far as the three lower stages' are concerned, are brought quickly involved and confused. I have added the words in brackets from the Simhalese, and translated the rest according to the general sense of the Simhalese and the figures of the Pali. Hardy gives his ‘version’ at p. 386 of the ‘Manual of Buddhism.’ It says, ‘ In one load of rice there are 63,660,000 grains, Each of these grains can be separately considered by Buddha in a moment of time. In that moment the seven-times gifted mind exercises this power.’ The last sentence is a misunderstanding of the opening words of our next section (IV, 1, 20).
2In that moment the seven-times gifted mind exercises this power.’ The last sentence is a misunderstanding of the opening words of our next section (IV, 1, 20). ' That is, of the Excellent Way. They are the three Fetters— Delusion of self, Doubt, and Dependence on rites and ceremonies and outward morality—which the Sotapanno has conquered, broken. 156 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV,1, 22 into play, [103] and act with ease. But as regards the higher regions they are brought into play with difficulty, and act slowly. And why is this so? Because of their minds having been made clear as regards those three stages, and because of the failings (to be vanquished in the higher stages) still existing within them. It is like the movement of _ a giant bambd which has a clean trunk as far as the third knot, but above that has its branches intricately entangled. So far as regards the smooth trunk it would travel easily when dragged along, but it would stick obstinately as regards its upper branches. This is the second class of minds.’ 22. ‘From these the third class is to be distinguished. Those, O king,who are Sakad AgAmins 1, in whom lust, ill-will, and delusion are reduced to a minimum,—their thinking powers, so far as the five lower stages are concerned, are brought quickly into play, and act w:th ease. But as regards the higher regions they are brought into play with difficulty, and act slowly. And why is this so? Because of their minds having been made clear as regards those five stages, and because of the failings (to be vanquished in the higher stages) still existing within them. It is like the movement of a giant bamba which has a clean trunk as far as the fifth knot, but above that has its branches intricately entangled. So far as regards the smooth trunk it would travel easily when dragged along, but it would be moved with difficulty as far as its upper branches are concerned. This is the third class of minds.’ ? Disciples who will return only once to this world, there attain Arahatship, and therefore pass away. IV, 1, 24. THINKING POWERS. 157 23. ‘From these the fourth class is to be distinguished. Those, O king, who are AnA4g4mins}, who have completely got rid of the five lower fetters, ——their thinking powers, so far as the ten stages? are concerned, are brought quickly into play, and act with ease. [104] But as regards the higher regions they are brought into play with difficulty, and act slowly. And why is this so? Because of their minds having been made clear as regards those ten stages, and because of the failings (to be vanquished in the higher stages) still existing within them. It is like the movement of a giant bambf which has a smooth trunk as far as the tenth knot, but above that has its branches intricately entangled. This is the fourth class of minds.’
3It is like the movement of a giant bambf which has a smooth trunk as far as the tenth knot, but above that has its branches intricately entangled. This is the fourth class of minds.’ 24. ‘From these the fifth class is to be distinguished. Those, O king, who are Arahats, in whom the four Great Evils* have ceased, whose stains have been washed away, whose predispositions to evil* have been put aside, who have lived the life, and accomplished the task, and laid aside every burden, and reached up to that which is good, for whom the Fetter of the craving after any kind of future life has been broken to pieces®, who have reached the higher insight*, who are purified as regards all those conditions of heart in which a ? Who will not return even once to this world, but attain Arahatship in heaven. * This is noteworthy, for their mind is not yet quite clear as regards the higher five stages. But it is on all fours with the last section. 5 Lust, becoming, delusion, and ignorance. * Kiles4. ® Parikkiaza-bhava-samyogané, * Patta-pasisambhida. 158 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA., _IV,1, 25. hearer can be pure,—their thinking powers, as regards all that a disciple can be or do, are brought quickly into play, and act with ease. But as to those things which are within the reach of the Pakseka- Buddhas (of those who are Buddhas, but for themselves alone) they are brought into play with difficulty, and act slowly. And why is this so? Because of their having been made pure as regards all within the province of a hearer, but not as regards that within the reach of those who are Buddhas (though for themselves alone). It is like the movement of a giant bambf which has been pruned of the branches arising out of all its knots—and which, therefore, when dragged along moves quickly and with ease, because of its smoothness all along, and because of its being unencumbered with the jungly growth of vegetation. This is the fifth class of minds.’ 25. [105] ‘From these the sixth class is to be distinguished. Those, O king, who are Pakkeka- Buddhas, dependent on themselves alone, wanting no teacher, dwellers alone like the solitary horn of the rhinoceros, who so far as their own higher life is concerned, have pure hearts free from stain,—their thinking powers, so far as their own province is concerned, are brought quickly into play, and act with ease. But as regards all that is specially within the province of a perfect Buddha (one who is not only Buddha, that is enlightened, himself, but can lead others to the light) they are brought with difficulty into play, and move slowly. And why is this so? Because of their purity as regards all within their own province, and because of the immensity of the province of the omniscient Buddhas. It is like a man, O king, who would fearlessly cross, and at will, IV, 1, 26. THE BUDDHAS. 159
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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