Fetching
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Fetching
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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1But by their backsliding is not the religion of the Conquerors put to shame, for the brethren who remain stedfast are the cause of joy springing up in the hearts of gods and men. 39. ' Even red sandal wood of the purest sort, O king, may become in some portion of it rotten and scentless. But thereby is not the sandal wood disgraced. For that portion which remains whole- some and sweet scatters and diffuses its perfume all around. And just so, O king, whosoever having renounced the world under the system of the Con- querors return again to the lower state, they, like the rotten part of the sandal wood, may be as it were thrown away in the religion. But by their backsliding is not the religion of the Conquerors put to shame. For the brethren who remain sted- fast pervade, with the sandal wood perfume of their right conduct, the world of gods and men.' ' Very good, Nagasena ! By one appropriate simile after another, by one correct analogy after another have you most excellently made clear the 1 Kakkasa/rc. The Sinhalese (p. 357) has left out this clause, evidently by mistake only. IV, 6, 4i. OF MILINDA THE KING. 75 faultlessness of the system of the Conquerors, and shown it free from blame. And even those who have lapsed make evident how excellent that system is.' [Here ends the dilemma as to those who have lapsed.] [dilemma the fifty-seventh, why have arahats no power over their bodies?] 40. 'Venerable Nagasena, your (members of the Order) say : [253] " There is one kind of pain only which an Arahat suffers, bodily pain, that is, and not mental1." ' How is this, Nagasena ? The Arahat keeps his mind going by means of the body. Has the Arahat no lordship, no mastery, no power over the body ? ' ' No, he has not, O king/ ' That, Sir, is not right that over the body, by which he keeps his mind going, he should have neither lordship, nor mastery, nor power. Even a bird, Sir, is lord and master and ruler over the nest in which he dwells.' 41. 'There are these ten qualities, O king, in- herent in the body, which run after it, as it were, and accompany it from existence to existence 2. And what are the ten ? Cold and heat, hunger and thirst, 1 This passage has not yet been traced in the Pi/akas. An almost identical phrase has already been quoted, as said by the Buddha himself, at II, 1,4 (p. 44 of the Pali). 2 Bhave bhave anuparivattanti. See IV, 4, 41 (p. 204 of the Pali). 76 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 6, 42. the necessity of voiding excreta, fatigue and sleepi- ness, old age, disease, and death. And in respect thereof, the Arahat is without lordship, without mastery, without power.' ' Venerable Nagasena, what is the reason why the commands of the Arahat have no power over his body, neither has he any mastery over it ? Tell me that.
2And in respect thereof, the Arahat is without lordship, without mastery, without power.' ' Venerable Nagasena, what is the reason why the commands of the Arahat have no power over his body, neither has he any mastery over it ? Tell me that. ' Just, O king, as whatever beings are dependent on the land, they all walk, and dwell, and carry on their business in dependence upon it. But do their commands have force, does their mastery extend over it ? ' ' Certainly not, Sir ! ' ' Just so, O king, the Arahat keeps his mind going through the body. And yet his commands have no authority over it, nor power/ 42. ' Venerable Nagasena, why is it that the ordinary man suffers both bodily and mental pain ? ' ' By reason, O king, of the untrained state of his mind. Just, O king, as an ox when trembling with starvation might be tied up with a weak and fragile and tiny rope of grass or creeper. But if the ox were excited 1 then would he escape, dragging the fastening with him. Just so, O king, when pain comes upon him whose mind is untrained, then is his mind excited, and the mind so excited bends his body this way and that and makes it grovel on the ground, [254] and he, being thus untrained in mind, trembles 2 and cries, and gives forth terrible 1 Parikupati, not in Childers; but see above, IV, i, 38 (p. 118 of the Pali). 2 Tasati. Mr. Trenckner points out (p. 431) that two MSS. IV, 6, 44- OF MILINDA THE KING. 77 groans. This is why the ordinary man, O king, suffers pain as well in body as in mind.' 43. ' Then why, Sir, does the Arahat only suffer one kind of pain— bodily, that is, and not mental ? ' ' The mind of the Arahat, O king, is trained, well practised, tamed, brought into subjection, and obedient, and it hearkens to his word. When affected with feelings of pain, he grasps firmly the idea of the impermanence of all things, so ties his mind as it were to the post of contemplation, and his mind, bound to the post of contemplation, re- mains unmoved, unshaken, becomes stedfast, wanders not — though his body the while may bend this way and that and roll in agony by the disturbing influence of the pain. This is why it is only one kind of pain that the Arahat suffers — bodily pain, that is, and not mental/ 44. ' Venerable Nagasena, that verily is a most marvellous thing that when the body is trembling the mind should not be shaken. Give me a reason for that.' ' Suppose, O king, there were a noble tree, mighty in trunk and branches and leaves. And when agitated by the force of the wind its branches should wave. Would the trunk also move ? ' ' Certainly not, Sir ! ' ' Well, O king, the mind of the Arahat is as the trunk of that noble tree.' ' x Most wonderful, Nagasena, and most strange! read rasati and one sarati. The Sinhalese rendering (p. 359), bhaya wanneya, confirms the reading he has adopted. 1 The Sinhalese (p. 360) has four lines here that are not in the Pali. 78 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 6, 45.
3read rasati and one sarati. The Sinhalese rendering (p. 359), bhaya wanneya, confirms the reading he has adopted. 1 The Sinhalese (p. 360) has four lines here that are not in the Pali. 78 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 6, 45. Never before have I seen a lamp of the law that burned thus brightly through all time.' [Here ends the dilemma as to the Arahat's power over his body.] [dilemma the fifty-eighth, the laymans sin.] 45. [255] ' Venerable Nagasena, suppose a layman had been guilty of a Para^ika offence 1y and some time after should enter the Order. And neither he himself should be aware that when still a layman he had so been guilty, nor should any one else inform him, saying : " When a layman you were guilty of such an offence." Now if he were to devote himself to the attainment of Arahatship2, would he be able so to comprehend the Truth as to succeed in entering upon the Excellent Way ? ' ' No, O king, he would not/ ' But why not, Sir ? ' ' That, in him, which might have been the cause of his grasping the Truth has been, in him, destroyed. No comprehension can therefore take place.' 46. i Venerable Nagasena, your people say : " To him who is aware (of an offence) there comes 1 This, for a member of the Order, would be either unchastity, theft, murder, or putting forward false claims to extraordinary holiness. See 'Vinaya Texts/ part i, pp. 3-5. But Hina/i- kumbure takes the word Para^ika here in the sense of matricide, parricide, injuring a Bo Tree, murder of an Arahat, wounding a Tathagata, or rape of a nun. 2 Tathattaya. Rahat phala pi#isa pilipadane wi nam, says the Sinhalese (p. 361). IV, 6, 48. OF MILINDA THE KING. 79 remorse. When remorse has arisen there is an obstruction in the heart. To him whose heart is obstructed there is no comprehension of the Truth \" ' Why should there then be no such comprehension to one not aware of his offence, feeling no remorse, remaining with a quiet heart. This dilemma touches on two irreconcilable statements. Think well before you solve it/ 47. 'Would selected seed2, O king, successfully sown in a well-ploughed, well-watered, fertile soil, come to maturity ? ' ' Certainly, Sir ! ' ' But would the same seed grow on the surface of a thick slab of rock ? ' ' Of course not/ ' Why then should the same seed grow in the mud, and not on the rock ? ' ' Because on the rock the cause for its growth does not exist. Seeds cannot grow without a cause/ ' Just so, O king, the cause by reason of which his comprehension of the Truth (his conversion) might have been brought about, has been rooted out in him. Conversion cannot take place without a cause/ 48. ' [Give me, Sir, another simile :,Z] ' Well, O king, will sticks and clods and cudgels 4 1 This passage has not yet been traced in the Pi/akas. 2 Saradaw bi^am. f Seed which will give sara/ It has nothing to do with saradaw, ' autumn/ See Sawyutta Nikaya XXII, 24. 3 Added from the Sinhalese (p. 362). It is not in the Pali.
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.
1But by their backsliding is not the religion of the Conquerors put to shame, for the brethren who remain stedfast are the cause of joy springing up in the hearts of gods and men. 39. ' Even red sandal wood of the purest sort, O king, may become in some portion of it rotten and scentless. But thereby is not the sandal wood disgraced. For that portion which remains whole- some and sweet scatters and diffuses its perfume all around. And just so, O king, whosoever having renounced the world under the system of the Con- querors return again to the lower state, they, like the rotten part of the sandal wood, may be as it were thrown away in the religion. But by their backsliding is not the religion of the Conquerors put to shame. For the brethren who remain sted- fast pervade, with the sandal wood perfume of their right conduct, the world of gods and men.' ' Very good, Nagasena ! By one appropriate simile after another, by one correct analogy after another have you most excellently made clear the 1 Kakkasa/rc. The Sinhalese (p. 357) has left out this clause, evidently by mistake only. IV, 6, 4i. OF MILINDA THE KING. 75 faultlessness of the system of the Conquerors, and shown it free from blame. And even those who have lapsed make evident how excellent that system is.' [Here ends the dilemma as to those who have lapsed.] [dilemma the fifty-seventh, why have arahats no power over their bodies?] 40. 'Venerable Nagasena, your (members of the Order) say : [253] " There is one kind of pain only which an Arahat suffers, bodily pain, that is, and not mental1." ' How is this, Nagasena ? The Arahat keeps his mind going by means of the body. Has the Arahat no lordship, no mastery, no power over the body ? ' ' No, he has not, O king/ ' That, Sir, is not right that over the body, by which he keeps his mind going, he should have neither lordship, nor mastery, nor power. Even a bird, Sir, is lord and master and ruler over the nest in which he dwells.' 41. 'There are these ten qualities, O king, in- herent in the body, which run after it, as it were, and accompany it from existence to existence 2. And what are the ten ? Cold and heat, hunger and thirst, 1 This passage has not yet been traced in the Pi/akas. An almost identical phrase has already been quoted, as said by the Buddha himself, at II, 1,4 (p. 44 of the Pali). 2 Bhave bhave anuparivattanti. See IV, 4, 41 (p. 204 of the Pali). 76 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 6, 42. the necessity of voiding excreta, fatigue and sleepi- ness, old age, disease, and death. And in respect thereof, the Arahat is without lordship, without mastery, without power.' ' Venerable Nagasena, what is the reason why the commands of the Arahat have no power over his body, neither has he any mastery over it ? Tell me that.
2And in respect thereof, the Arahat is without lordship, without mastery, without power.' ' Venerable Nagasena, what is the reason why the commands of the Arahat have no power over his body, neither has he any mastery over it ? Tell me that. ' Just, O king, as whatever beings are dependent on the land, they all walk, and dwell, and carry on their business in dependence upon it. But do their commands have force, does their mastery extend over it ? ' ' Certainly not, Sir ! ' ' Just so, O king, the Arahat keeps his mind going through the body. And yet his commands have no authority over it, nor power/ 42. ' Venerable Nagasena, why is it that the ordinary man suffers both bodily and mental pain ? ' ' By reason, O king, of the untrained state of his mind. Just, O king, as an ox when trembling with starvation might be tied up with a weak and fragile and tiny rope of grass or creeper. But if the ox were excited 1 then would he escape, dragging the fastening with him. Just so, O king, when pain comes upon him whose mind is untrained, then is his mind excited, and the mind so excited bends his body this way and that and makes it grovel on the ground, [254] and he, being thus untrained in mind, trembles 2 and cries, and gives forth terrible 1 Parikupati, not in Childers; but see above, IV, i, 38 (p. 118 of the Pali). 2 Tasati. Mr. Trenckner points out (p. 431) that two MSS. IV, 6, 44- OF MILINDA THE KING. 77 groans. This is why the ordinary man, O king, suffers pain as well in body as in mind.' 43. ' Then why, Sir, does the Arahat only suffer one kind of pain— bodily, that is, and not mental ? ' ' The mind of the Arahat, O king, is trained, well practised, tamed, brought into subjection, and obedient, and it hearkens to his word. When affected with feelings of pain, he grasps firmly the idea of the impermanence of all things, so ties his mind as it were to the post of contemplation, and his mind, bound to the post of contemplation, re- mains unmoved, unshaken, becomes stedfast, wanders not — though his body the while may bend this way and that and roll in agony by the disturbing influence of the pain. This is why it is only one kind of pain that the Arahat suffers — bodily pain, that is, and not mental/ 44. ' Venerable Nagasena, that verily is a most marvellous thing that when the body is trembling the mind should not be shaken. Give me a reason for that.' ' Suppose, O king, there were a noble tree, mighty in trunk and branches and leaves. And when agitated by the force of the wind its branches should wave. Would the trunk also move ? ' ' Certainly not, Sir ! ' ' Well, O king, the mind of the Arahat is as the trunk of that noble tree.' ' x Most wonderful, Nagasena, and most strange! read rasati and one sarati. The Sinhalese rendering (p. 359), bhaya wanneya, confirms the reading he has adopted. 1 The Sinhalese (p. 360) has four lines here that are not in the Pali. 78 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 6, 45.
3read rasati and one sarati. The Sinhalese rendering (p. 359), bhaya wanneya, confirms the reading he has adopted. 1 The Sinhalese (p. 360) has four lines here that are not in the Pali. 78 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 6, 45. Never before have I seen a lamp of the law that burned thus brightly through all time.' [Here ends the dilemma as to the Arahat's power over his body.] [dilemma the fifty-eighth, the laymans sin.] 45. [255] ' Venerable Nagasena, suppose a layman had been guilty of a Para^ika offence 1y and some time after should enter the Order. And neither he himself should be aware that when still a layman he had so been guilty, nor should any one else inform him, saying : " When a layman you were guilty of such an offence." Now if he were to devote himself to the attainment of Arahatship2, would he be able so to comprehend the Truth as to succeed in entering upon the Excellent Way ? ' ' No, O king, he would not/ ' But why not, Sir ? ' ' That, in him, which might have been the cause of his grasping the Truth has been, in him, destroyed. No comprehension can therefore take place.' 46. i Venerable Nagasena, your people say : " To him who is aware (of an offence) there comes 1 This, for a member of the Order, would be either unchastity, theft, murder, or putting forward false claims to extraordinary holiness. See 'Vinaya Texts/ part i, pp. 3-5. But Hina/i- kumbure takes the word Para^ika here in the sense of matricide, parricide, injuring a Bo Tree, murder of an Arahat, wounding a Tathagata, or rape of a nun. 2 Tathattaya. Rahat phala pi#isa pilipadane wi nam, says the Sinhalese (p. 361). IV, 6, 48. OF MILINDA THE KING. 79 remorse. When remorse has arisen there is an obstruction in the heart. To him whose heart is obstructed there is no comprehension of the Truth \" ' Why should there then be no such comprehension to one not aware of his offence, feeling no remorse, remaining with a quiet heart. This dilemma touches on two irreconcilable statements. Think well before you solve it/ 47. 'Would selected seed2, O king, successfully sown in a well-ploughed, well-watered, fertile soil, come to maturity ? ' ' Certainly, Sir ! ' ' But would the same seed grow on the surface of a thick slab of rock ? ' ' Of course not/ ' Why then should the same seed grow in the mud, and not on the rock ? ' ' Because on the rock the cause for its growth does not exist. Seeds cannot grow without a cause/ ' Just so, O king, the cause by reason of which his comprehension of the Truth (his conversion) might have been brought about, has been rooted out in him. Conversion cannot take place without a cause/ 48. ' [Give me, Sir, another simile :,Z] ' Well, O king, will sticks and clods and cudgels 4 1 This passage has not yet been traced in the Pi/akas. 2 Saradaw bi^am. f Seed which will give sara/ It has nothing to do with saradaw, ' autumn/ See Sawyutta Nikaya XXII, 24. 3 Added from the Sinhalese (p. 362). It is not in the Pali.
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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