Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1But this, O king, I asked : " Is there anything in the world which ought to be withheld, and not bestowed as a gift, if one worthy of a gift were present ?" ' ' No, Sir. When faith arises in their hearts some give food to those worthy of gifts, and some give clothes, and some give bedding, and some give dwellings, and some give mats or robes, and some give slave girls or slaves, and some give fields or premises, and some give bipeds or quadrupeds, and Brahmans held that to be a Brahman was another condition, but the Buddhist, who inherited the idea from them, had discarded this part of the conception. See, for the Brahman view, Eggeling's *Satapatha-Brahma//a II, 114, 344. 1 Samara- dan aw. Childers under samara gives only the meaning 'assembly,' but it is clear from ^ullavagga V, 26; VI, 2, 7 ; the Sutta Vibhahga II, 267, and Sumahgala I, 84, that the word, at least as a masculine (which it is here), has the technical sense of one of those orgies in high places which were common in so many parts of the world in very early times, and were due in India to Kolarian influences. The 'giving' (dan a) of such a samara would doubtless mean the providing of the necessary food, seats, cushions, &c. 2 intta-kammazrc. See my note on Pa/ibhana-^ittaw at 'Vinaya Texts,' III, 172. 122 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 7. some give a hundred * or a thousand or a hundred thousand, and some give the kingdom itself, and some give away even their own life/ ' But then, O king, if some give away even their own lives, why do you so violently attack 2 Vessan- tara, that king of givers, for the virtuous bestowal of his child and wife ? Is there not a general practice in the world, an acknowledged custom, according to which it is allowable for a father who has fallen into debt, or lost his livelihood, to deposit 3 his son in pledge, or sell him ?' ' Yes, that is so/ ' Well, in accordance therewith was it that Vessan- tara, O king, in suffering and distress at not having obtained the insight of the Omniscient Ones, pledged and sold his wife and children for that spiritual treasure. So that he gave away what other people had given away, he did what other people had done. Why then do you, O king, so violently attack him, the king of givers ?' 1 I. e. pieces of money, which it would be against the rules for a member of the Buddhist Order to accept. But the donees in all these cases are not necessarily Buddhists. 2 Paripatesi, not in Childers; but see Gataka II, 208; and below, p. 367 (of the Pali text). Hina/i-kumbure has here ninda karanne, and just below apasadanaya karanne.
2But the donees in all these cases are not necessarily Buddhists. 2 Paripatesi, not in Childers; but see Gataka II, 208; and below, p. 367 (of the Pali text). Hina/i-kumbure has here ninda karanne, and just below apasadanaya karanne. 3 Avapituffz, not in Childers. Dr. Morris, in the ' Journal of the Pali Text Society' for 1886, p. 157, compares the Sanskrit root vyap, but this does not help us much. Hina/i-kumbure (p. 414) has 'an tceneka cepaye hinduwanna/a/ which means, I think, ' to deposit as a pledge in some place or other/ At all events cepa, the ordinary word now in use in Ceylon courts for 'bail,' may very well be actually derived from vapa. And the passage at (-rataka I, 321 is an exact parallel to our phrase here, for there the Bodisat, when an elephant, gives away his teeth and tusks as vapana for the insight of the Omniscient Ones. IV, 8, 9- OF MILINDA THE KING. I 23 8. ' Venerable Nagasena, I don't blame him for giving, but for not having made a barter 1 with the beggar, and given away himself rather, instead of his wife and children.' [280] * That, O king, would be an act of a wrong doer, to give himself when he was asked for his wife and children. For the thing asked for, whatever it is, is that which ought to be given. And such is the practice of the good. Suppose, O king, a man were to ask that water should be brought, would any one who then brought him food have done what he wanted ?' ' No, Sir. The man who should have given what he first asked to be brought would have done what he wanted.' * Just so, O king, when the Brahman asked Vessantara the king for his wife and children, it was his wife and children that he gave. If the Brahman, O king, had asked for Vessantara's body, then would Vessantara have not saved his body, he would neither have trembled nor been stained (by the love of self), but would have given away and abandoned his own body. If, O king, any one had come up to Vessantara the king, and asked of him, saying : " Become my slave," then would he have given away and abandoned his own self, and in so giving would he have felt no pain. 9. * Now the life of king Vessantara, O king, was a good thing shared in by many — just as meats when cooked are shared in by many, or as a tree covered with fruit is shared in by many flocks of 1 Niminitva, also not in Childers; but see Gataka III, 63, 221. 1 24 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 10.
31 24 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 10. birds. And why so ? Because he had said to him- self : " Thus acting may I attain to Buddhahood." As a man in need, O king, who is wandering about in his search after wealth, will have to pass along goat-tracks, and through jungles full of stakes and sticks *, and doing merchandise by sea and land, will devote his actions, words, and thoughts to the attain- ment of wealth — just so, O king, did Vessantara, the king of givers, who was longing for the treasure of Buddhahood, for the attainment of the insight of the Omniscient Ones, by offering up to any one who begged of him his property and his corn, his slave girls and his slaves, his riding animals and carriages, all that he possessed, his wife and children and him- self, seek after the Supreme Enlightenment. Just, O king, as an official who is anxious for the seal 2, and for the office of the custody thereof [281], will exert himself to the attainment of the seal by sacrificing everything in his house — property and corn, gold and silver, everything — just so, O king, did Vessantara, the king of givers, by giving away- all that he had, inside his house and out 3, by giving even his life for others, seek after the Supreme Enlightenment. 10. * And further, O king, Vessantara, the king of givers, thought thus : " It is by giving to him precisely what he asks for, that I shall be of service 1 A^-apatha/fl sahkupathaw vettapathaw ga££^ati. Hin- a/i-kumbur6, at p. 416, repeats the words with a gloss on the two last words, which I have followed. 2 Mudda-kamo ; mudra-naw ganam perekkuwa, says Hina/i-kumbur6, p. 416. 3 Bahirabbhantarazrc dhana#z datva. I am not sure that I have rightly understood this phrase, which the Sinhalese merely repeats. IV, 8, io. OF MILINDA THE KING. I 25 to the Brahman :" and therefore did he bestow upon him his wife and children. It was not, O king, out of dislike to them that he gave them away, not because he did not care to see them more, not because he considered them an encumbrance or thought he could no longer support them, not (in an- noyance) with the wish of being relieved of what was not pleasant to him — but because the jewel treasure of omniscience was dear to him, for the sake of the insight of the Omniscient Ones, did he bestow that glorious gift, — immeasurable, magnificent, unsur- passed— of what was near and dear to him, greatly beloved, cherished as his own life, his own children and his wife ! For it has been said, O king, by the Blessed One, the god of gods, in the Aariyd Pi/aka1: " 'Twas not through hatred 2 of my children sweet, 'Twas not through hatred of my queen, Maddi, Thraller of hearts 3 — not that I loved them less — But Buddhahood more, that I renounced them all." 1 j£ariya Pi/aka I, 9, 53.
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 this, O king, I asked : " Is there anything in the world which ought to be withheld, and not bestowed as a gift, if one worthy of a gift were present ?" ' ' No, Sir. When faith arises in their hearts some give food to those worthy of gifts, and some give clothes, and some give bedding, and some give dwellings, and some give mats or robes, and some give slave girls or slaves, and some give fields or premises, and some give bipeds or quadrupeds, and Brahmans held that to be a Brahman was another condition, but the Buddhist, who inherited the idea from them, had discarded this part of the conception. See, for the Brahman view, Eggeling's *Satapatha-Brahma//a II, 114, 344. 1 Samara- dan aw. Childers under samara gives only the meaning 'assembly,' but it is clear from ^ullavagga V, 26; VI, 2, 7 ; the Sutta Vibhahga II, 267, and Sumahgala I, 84, that the word, at least as a masculine (which it is here), has the technical sense of one of those orgies in high places which were common in so many parts of the world in very early times, and were due in India to Kolarian influences. The 'giving' (dan a) of such a samara would doubtless mean the providing of the necessary food, seats, cushions, &c. 2 intta-kammazrc. See my note on Pa/ibhana-^ittaw at 'Vinaya Texts,' III, 172. 122 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 7. some give a hundred * or a thousand or a hundred thousand, and some give the kingdom itself, and some give away even their own life/ ' But then, O king, if some give away even their own lives, why do you so violently attack 2 Vessan- tara, that king of givers, for the virtuous bestowal of his child and wife ? Is there not a general practice in the world, an acknowledged custom, according to which it is allowable for a father who has fallen into debt, or lost his livelihood, to deposit 3 his son in pledge, or sell him ?' ' Yes, that is so/ ' Well, in accordance therewith was it that Vessan- tara, O king, in suffering and distress at not having obtained the insight of the Omniscient Ones, pledged and sold his wife and children for that spiritual treasure. So that he gave away what other people had given away, he did what other people had done. Why then do you, O king, so violently attack him, the king of givers ?' 1 I. e. pieces of money, which it would be against the rules for a member of the Buddhist Order to accept. But the donees in all these cases are not necessarily Buddhists. 2 Paripatesi, not in Childers; but see Gataka II, 208; and below, p. 367 (of the Pali text). Hina/i-kumbure has here ninda karanne, and just below apasadanaya karanne.
2But the donees in all these cases are not necessarily Buddhists. 2 Paripatesi, not in Childers; but see Gataka II, 208; and below, p. 367 (of the Pali text). Hina/i-kumbure has here ninda karanne, and just below apasadanaya karanne. 3 Avapituffz, not in Childers. Dr. Morris, in the ' Journal of the Pali Text Society' for 1886, p. 157, compares the Sanskrit root vyap, but this does not help us much. Hina/i-kumbure (p. 414) has 'an tceneka cepaye hinduwanna/a/ which means, I think, ' to deposit as a pledge in some place or other/ At all events cepa, the ordinary word now in use in Ceylon courts for 'bail,' may very well be actually derived from vapa. And the passage at (-rataka I, 321 is an exact parallel to our phrase here, for there the Bodisat, when an elephant, gives away his teeth and tusks as vapana for the insight of the Omniscient Ones. IV, 8, 9- OF MILINDA THE KING. I 23 8. ' Venerable Nagasena, I don't blame him for giving, but for not having made a barter 1 with the beggar, and given away himself rather, instead of his wife and children.' [280] * That, O king, would be an act of a wrong doer, to give himself when he was asked for his wife and children. For the thing asked for, whatever it is, is that which ought to be given. And such is the practice of the good. Suppose, O king, a man were to ask that water should be brought, would any one who then brought him food have done what he wanted ?' ' No, Sir. The man who should have given what he first asked to be brought would have done what he wanted.' * Just so, O king, when the Brahman asked Vessantara the king for his wife and children, it was his wife and children that he gave. If the Brahman, O king, had asked for Vessantara's body, then would Vessantara have not saved his body, he would neither have trembled nor been stained (by the love of self), but would have given away and abandoned his own body. If, O king, any one had come up to Vessantara the king, and asked of him, saying : " Become my slave," then would he have given away and abandoned his own self, and in so giving would he have felt no pain. 9. * Now the life of king Vessantara, O king, was a good thing shared in by many — just as meats when cooked are shared in by many, or as a tree covered with fruit is shared in by many flocks of 1 Niminitva, also not in Childers; but see Gataka III, 63, 221. 1 24 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 10.
31 24 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 10. birds. And why so ? Because he had said to him- self : " Thus acting may I attain to Buddhahood." As a man in need, O king, who is wandering about in his search after wealth, will have to pass along goat-tracks, and through jungles full of stakes and sticks *, and doing merchandise by sea and land, will devote his actions, words, and thoughts to the attain- ment of wealth — just so, O king, did Vessantara, the king of givers, who was longing for the treasure of Buddhahood, for the attainment of the insight of the Omniscient Ones, by offering up to any one who begged of him his property and his corn, his slave girls and his slaves, his riding animals and carriages, all that he possessed, his wife and children and him- self, seek after the Supreme Enlightenment. Just, O king, as an official who is anxious for the seal 2, and for the office of the custody thereof [281], will exert himself to the attainment of the seal by sacrificing everything in his house — property and corn, gold and silver, everything — just so, O king, did Vessantara, the king of givers, by giving away- all that he had, inside his house and out 3, by giving even his life for others, seek after the Supreme Enlightenment. 10. * And further, O king, Vessantara, the king of givers, thought thus : " It is by giving to him precisely what he asks for, that I shall be of service 1 A^-apatha/fl sahkupathaw vettapathaw ga££^ati. Hin- a/i-kumbur6, at p. 416, repeats the words with a gloss on the two last words, which I have followed. 2 Mudda-kamo ; mudra-naw ganam perekkuwa, says Hina/i-kumbur6, p. 416. 3 Bahirabbhantarazrc dhana#z datva. I am not sure that I have rightly understood this phrase, which the Sinhalese merely repeats. IV, 8, io. OF MILINDA THE KING. I 25 to the Brahman :" and therefore did he bestow upon him his wife and children. It was not, O king, out of dislike to them that he gave them away, not because he did not care to see them more, not because he considered them an encumbrance or thought he could no longer support them, not (in an- noyance) with the wish of being relieved of what was not pleasant to him — but because the jewel treasure of omniscience was dear to him, for the sake of the insight of the Omniscient Ones, did he bestow that glorious gift, — immeasurable, magnificent, unsur- passed— of what was near and dear to him, greatly beloved, cherished as his own life, his own children and his wife ! For it has been said, O king, by the Blessed One, the god of gods, in the Aariyd Pi/aka1: " 'Twas not through hatred 2 of my children sweet, 'Twas not through hatred of my queen, Maddi, Thraller of hearts 3 — not that I loved them less — But Buddhahood more, that I renounced them all." 1 j£ariya Pi/aka I, 9, 53.
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.
No commentary for this page.