Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1‘ 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 heard IV, 1, 37 VESSANTARA. 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.
2And 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. IV, 1, 38. VESSANTARA. 175
3‘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. IV, 1, 38. VESSANTARA. 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. 176 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. _ IV,1, 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.’
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‘ 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 heard IV, 1, 37 VESSANTARA. 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.
2And 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. IV, 1, 38. VESSANTARA. 175
3‘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. IV, 1, 38. VESSANTARA. 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. 176 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. _ IV,1, 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.’
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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