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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
14 This is a very famous stanza. It is put into the mouth of IV, 6, 22. OF MILINDA THE KING. 6 1 ' Now what, Nagasena, is the reason that the Tathagata exhorted and led his disciples to that path which he had himself abandoned, which he loathed ? ' 21. ' Both then also, O king, and now too, that is still the only path. And it is along that path that the Bodisat attained to Buddhahood. Although the Bodisat, O king, exerting himself strenuously, re- duced the food he took till he had decreased it to nothing at all1, and by that disuse of food he became weak in mind, yet when he returned little by little to the use of solid food, it was by that path that before long he attained to Buddhahood. And that only has been the path along which all the Tathagatas reached to the attainment of the insight of om- niscience. Just as food is the support of all beings, as it is in dependence on food that all beings live at ease, just so is that the path of all the Tathagatas to the attainment of the insight of omniscience. The fault was not, O king, in the exertion, was not in the power, not in the battle waged against evil, that the Tathagata did not then, at once, attain to Buddha- hood. But the fault was in the disuse of food, and the path itself (of austerity) was always ready for use. 22. ' Suppose, O king, that a man should follow a path in great haste, and by that haste his sides Abhibhu at Thera Gatha, verse 256, and in the Sawyutta Nikaya VI, 2, 4, §§ 18 and 23; and also, in its Sanskrit form, into the mouth of the Buddha at the Divyavadana, p. 300, and into the mouth of the gods at ibid. p. 569. It is possibly another instance of our author having Sanskrit, and not Pali, authorities in his mind, that he ascribes it here to the Buddha, and not to Abhibhu, the Elder. 1 The Sinhalese has here six pages of description of the austeri- ties not found in the Pali text. 62 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 6, 22. should give way \ or he should fall a cripple on the ground, unable to move, would there then be any fault, O king, in the broad earth that that man's sides had given way ? ' ' Certainly not, Sir ! The great earth is always ready. How should it be in fault ? The fault was in the man's own zeal which made him fail/ ' And just even so, O king, the fault was not in the exertion, not in the power, not in the battle waged against evil, that the Tathagata did not then, at once, attain to Buddhahood. But the fault was in the disuse of food, and the path itself was always ready — [246] just as if a man should wear a robe, and never have it washed, the fault would not be in the water, which would always be ready for use, but in the man himself. That is why the Tathagata exhorted and led his disciples along that very path. For that path, O king, is always ready, always right.' * Very good, Nagasena! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma as to the path.]
2That is why the Tathagata exhorted and led his disciples along that very path. For that path, O king, is always ready, always right.' * Very good, Nagasena! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma as to the path.] 1 Pakkha-hato : ' should become like one whose two hands are ruined' says the Sinhalese here (p. 349), but at p. 411 (on p. 276 of the Pali) it translates the same term, ' whose hands and feet are broken/ It is literally ' should become side-destroyed/ and may mean paralysed. TV, 6, 24. OF MILINDA THE KING. 63 [dilemma THE FIFTY-SIXTH. THE BACKSLIDERS.] 23. 'Venerable Nagasena, this doctrine of the Tathagatas is mighty, essentially true, precious, ex- cellent, noble, peerless, pure and stainless, clear and faultless. It is not right to admit a layman who is merely a disciple1 into the Order. He should be instructed as a layman still, till he have attained to the Fruit of the First Path 2, and then be admitted. And why is this ? When these men, still being evil, have been admitted into a religion so pure, they give it up, and return again to the lower state 3, and by their backsliding the people is led to think : " Vain must be this religion of the Samara Gotama, which these men have given up." This is the reason for what I say/ 24. ' Suppose, O king, there were a bathing tank 4, full of pure clear cold water. And some man, dirty, covered with stains and mud, should come there, and without bathing in it should turn back again, still dirty as before. Now in that matter whom would the people blame, the dirty man, or the bathing tank ? ' ' The dirty man, Sir, would the people blame, 1 Tava/aka#z. I take this word, in the sense of 'mere,' as an accusative in agreement with gihim (see the use of the word at pp. 107, 115, 241 of the Pali text), and not as an accusative of motion, ' into so great a sasanaw.' 2 That is till he be converted, till he has ' entered the stream.' See 'Buddhism/ p. 101. 8 That is, of a layman. 4 Ta/aka, which Childers wrongly renders 'pond, pool, lake/ It is always an artificial tank, reservoir. See -ffullavagga X, 1, 6; Gataka I, 239; Milinda, pp. 66, 81, 296. 64 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 6, 25. saying : " This fellow came to the bathing tank, and has gone back as dirty as before. How could the bathing tank, of itself, cleanse a man who did not care to bathe ? What fault is there in the tank ? " '
366, 81, 296. 64 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 6, 25. saying : " This fellow came to the bathing tank, and has gone back as dirty as before. How could the bathing tank, of itself, cleanse a man who did not care to bathe ? What fault is there in the tank ? " ' * Just so, O king, [247] has the Tathagata con- structed a bathing tank full of the excellent waters of emancipation *, — the bath of the good law. Who- soever of conscious discerning beings are polluted with the stains of sin, they, bathing in it, can wash away all their sins. And if any one, having gone to that bathing tank of the good law, should not bathe in it, but turn back polluted as before, and return again to the lower state, it is him the people would blame, and say: " This man entered religion according to the doctrine of the Conquerors, and finding no resting- place within it, has returned again to the lower state. How could the religion of the Conquerors, of itself, cleanse him who would not regulate his life in accordance with it? What fault is there in the system ? " 25. ' Or suppose, O king, that a man afflicted with dire disease should visit a physician skilled in diagnosis 2, knowing an efficacious and lasting method of cure, and that that man should then not let himself be treated, but go back again as ill as before. Now therein whom would the people blame, the sick man or the doctor ? ' * It is the sick man, Sir, they would blame, say- 1 ' Vimutti: of the nectar of the Nirvana which is the highest fruit of Arahatship ' is Hina/i-kumbure's gloss. 2 Roguppatti-kusalaw : * skilled in the threefold origin of disease' says the Sinhalese (p. 351). See also pp. 248, 272 of the Pali text. IV, 6, 26. OF MILINDA THE KING. 65 ing : " How could the physician, of himself, cure this man, who would not let himself be treated ? What fault is there in the doctor ?" ' 'Just so, O king, has the Tathagata deposited in the casket of his religion the ambrosial medicine (of Nirvana) which is able to entirely suppress all the sickness of sin, thinking : " May all those of con- scious sentient beings who are afflicted with the sickness of sin drink of this ambrosia, and so allay all their disease." And if any one, without drinking the ambrosia, should turn back again with the evil still within him, and return once more to the lower state, it is he whom the people will blame, saying : "This man entered religion according to the doc- trine of the Conquerors, and finding no resting-place within it, has returned again to the lower state. How could the religion of the Conquerors, of itself, cure him who would not regulate his life in accordance with it ? What fault is there in the system ?" x26. f Or suppose, O king, a starving man were to attend at a place where a mighty largesse of food2 given for charity was being distributed, and then should go away again, still starving, without eating anything. Whom then would the people blame, the starving man, or the feast of piety ? '
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.
14 This is a very famous stanza. It is put into the mouth of IV, 6, 22. OF MILINDA THE KING. 6 1 ' Now what, Nagasena, is the reason that the Tathagata exhorted and led his disciples to that path which he had himself abandoned, which he loathed ? ' 21. ' Both then also, O king, and now too, that is still the only path. And it is along that path that the Bodisat attained to Buddhahood. Although the Bodisat, O king, exerting himself strenuously, re- duced the food he took till he had decreased it to nothing at all1, and by that disuse of food he became weak in mind, yet when he returned little by little to the use of solid food, it was by that path that before long he attained to Buddhahood. And that only has been the path along which all the Tathagatas reached to the attainment of the insight of om- niscience. Just as food is the support of all beings, as it is in dependence on food that all beings live at ease, just so is that the path of all the Tathagatas to the attainment of the insight of omniscience. The fault was not, O king, in the exertion, was not in the power, not in the battle waged against evil, that the Tathagata did not then, at once, attain to Buddha- hood. But the fault was in the disuse of food, and the path itself (of austerity) was always ready for use. 22. ' Suppose, O king, that a man should follow a path in great haste, and by that haste his sides Abhibhu at Thera Gatha, verse 256, and in the Sawyutta Nikaya VI, 2, 4, §§ 18 and 23; and also, in its Sanskrit form, into the mouth of the Buddha at the Divyavadana, p. 300, and into the mouth of the gods at ibid. p. 569. It is possibly another instance of our author having Sanskrit, and not Pali, authorities in his mind, that he ascribes it here to the Buddha, and not to Abhibhu, the Elder. 1 The Sinhalese has here six pages of description of the austeri- ties not found in the Pali text. 62 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 6, 22. should give way \ or he should fall a cripple on the ground, unable to move, would there then be any fault, O king, in the broad earth that that man's sides had given way ? ' ' Certainly not, Sir ! The great earth is always ready. How should it be in fault ? The fault was in the man's own zeal which made him fail/ ' And just even so, O king, the fault was not in the exertion, not in the power, not in the battle waged against evil, that the Tathagata did not then, at once, attain to Buddhahood. But the fault was in the disuse of food, and the path itself was always ready — [246] just as if a man should wear a robe, and never have it washed, the fault would not be in the water, which would always be ready for use, but in the man himself. That is why the Tathagata exhorted and led his disciples along that very path. For that path, O king, is always ready, always right.' * Very good, Nagasena! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma as to the path.]
2That is why the Tathagata exhorted and led his disciples along that very path. For that path, O king, is always ready, always right.' * Very good, Nagasena! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma as to the path.] 1 Pakkha-hato : ' should become like one whose two hands are ruined' says the Sinhalese here (p. 349), but at p. 411 (on p. 276 of the Pali) it translates the same term, ' whose hands and feet are broken/ It is literally ' should become side-destroyed/ and may mean paralysed. TV, 6, 24. OF MILINDA THE KING. 63 [dilemma THE FIFTY-SIXTH. THE BACKSLIDERS.] 23. 'Venerable Nagasena, this doctrine of the Tathagatas is mighty, essentially true, precious, ex- cellent, noble, peerless, pure and stainless, clear and faultless. It is not right to admit a layman who is merely a disciple1 into the Order. He should be instructed as a layman still, till he have attained to the Fruit of the First Path 2, and then be admitted. And why is this ? When these men, still being evil, have been admitted into a religion so pure, they give it up, and return again to the lower state 3, and by their backsliding the people is led to think : " Vain must be this religion of the Samara Gotama, which these men have given up." This is the reason for what I say/ 24. ' Suppose, O king, there were a bathing tank 4, full of pure clear cold water. And some man, dirty, covered with stains and mud, should come there, and without bathing in it should turn back again, still dirty as before. Now in that matter whom would the people blame, the dirty man, or the bathing tank ? ' ' The dirty man, Sir, would the people blame, 1 Tava/aka#z. I take this word, in the sense of 'mere,' as an accusative in agreement with gihim (see the use of the word at pp. 107, 115, 241 of the Pali text), and not as an accusative of motion, ' into so great a sasanaw.' 2 That is till he be converted, till he has ' entered the stream.' See 'Buddhism/ p. 101. 8 That is, of a layman. 4 Ta/aka, which Childers wrongly renders 'pond, pool, lake/ It is always an artificial tank, reservoir. See -ffullavagga X, 1, 6; Gataka I, 239; Milinda, pp. 66, 81, 296. 64 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 6, 25. saying : " This fellow came to the bathing tank, and has gone back as dirty as before. How could the bathing tank, of itself, cleanse a man who did not care to bathe ? What fault is there in the tank ? " '
366, 81, 296. 64 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 6, 25. saying : " This fellow came to the bathing tank, and has gone back as dirty as before. How could the bathing tank, of itself, cleanse a man who did not care to bathe ? What fault is there in the tank ? " ' * Just so, O king, [247] has the Tathagata con- structed a bathing tank full of the excellent waters of emancipation *, — the bath of the good law. Who- soever of conscious discerning beings are polluted with the stains of sin, they, bathing in it, can wash away all their sins. And if any one, having gone to that bathing tank of the good law, should not bathe in it, but turn back polluted as before, and return again to the lower state, it is him the people would blame, and say: " This man entered religion according to the doctrine of the Conquerors, and finding no resting- place within it, has returned again to the lower state. How could the religion of the Conquerors, of itself, cleanse him who would not regulate his life in accordance with it? What fault is there in the system ? " 25. ' Or suppose, O king, that a man afflicted with dire disease should visit a physician skilled in diagnosis 2, knowing an efficacious and lasting method of cure, and that that man should then not let himself be treated, but go back again as ill as before. Now therein whom would the people blame, the sick man or the doctor ? ' * It is the sick man, Sir, they would blame, say- 1 ' Vimutti: of the nectar of the Nirvana which is the highest fruit of Arahatship ' is Hina/i-kumbure's gloss. 2 Roguppatti-kusalaw : * skilled in the threefold origin of disease' says the Sinhalese (p. 351). See also pp. 248, 272 of the Pali text. IV, 6, 26. OF MILINDA THE KING. 65 ing : " How could the physician, of himself, cure this man, who would not let himself be treated ? What fault is there in the doctor ?" ' 'Just so, O king, has the Tathagata deposited in the casket of his religion the ambrosial medicine (of Nirvana) which is able to entirely suppress all the sickness of sin, thinking : " May all those of con- scious sentient beings who are afflicted with the sickness of sin drink of this ambrosia, and so allay all their disease." And if any one, without drinking the ambrosia, should turn back again with the evil still within him, and return once more to the lower state, it is he whom the people will blame, saying : "This man entered religion according to the doc- trine of the Conquerors, and finding no resting-place within it, has returned again to the lower state. How could the religion of the Conquerors, of itself, cure him who would not regulate his life in accordance with it ? What fault is there in the system ?" x26. f Or suppose, O king, a starving man were to attend at a place where a mighty largesse of food2 given for charity was being distributed, and then should go away again, still starving, without eating anything. Whom then would the people blame, the starving man, or the feast of piety ? '
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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