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1IV, 8, 28. OF MILINDA THE KING. 1 49 the kings table ; the other is the food of servants and of slaves. [293] ' Just so, O king, it is by reason of its meanness that vice dies quickly away. But virtue, by its grandeur, takes a long time to die/ 28. ' But, Nagasena, it is just those things which come most quickly to their end which are in the world considered the most powerful. And so still vice must be the more powerful, not virtue. Just, Nagasena, as the strong man who, when he enters into a terrible battle, is able the most quickly to get hold of his enemies' heads under his armpit \ and dragging them along to bring them prisoners to his lord, that is the champion who is regarded, in the world, as the ablest hero — just as that surgeon who is able the most quickly to extract the dart, and allay the disease, is considered the most clever — just as the accountant who is able with the greatest speed to make his calculations, and with most rapidity to show the result, is considered the cleverest counter — just as the wrestler who is able the most quickly to lift his opponent up, and make him fall flat on his back, is considered the ablest hero — just so, Naga- sena, it is that one of these two things — virtue and vice — which most quickly reaches its end that is, in the world, the more powerful of the two/ ' The Karma of both the two, O king, will be made evident in future births ; but vice besides that will by reason of its guilt be made evident at once, and in this present life. The rulers (Kshatriyas) 1 Upaka/££y$ake. The word is not in the Pali dictionaries, but I follow Hina/i-kumbur6, p. 432, who renders it Kisilla, and the context at the parallel passage, £ataka I, 63 (see also Gataka I, 158, and the Sutta Vibhahga II, 260). 1 50 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 28. of old, O king, established this decree : " Whosoever takes life shall be subject to a fine, and whosoever takes to himself what has not been given, and who- soever commits adultery, and whosoever speaks lies, and whosoever is a dacoit, and whosoever is a high- wayman, and whosoever cheats and swindles. Such men shall be liable to be fined or beaten or muti- lated or broken x or executed/' And in pursuance thereof they held repeated enquiry, and then ad- judged one or other punishment accordingly. But, O king, has there ever been by any one a decree promulgated : " Whosoever gives gifts, or observes a virtuous life, or keeps Uposatha, to him shall wealth be given, or honours ? " And do they make continued enquiry, and bestow wealth or honours accordingly, as they do stripes or bonds upon a thief?1 ' Certainly not, Sir/
2" And do they make continued enquiry, and bestow wealth or honours accordingly, as they do stripes or bonds upon a thief?1 ' Certainly not, Sir/ * Well, if they did so then would virtue too be made evident even in this life. [294] But as they neither make such enquiry concerning givers, nor bestow wealth and honours upon them, therefore is virtue not manifested now. And this is the reason, O king, why vice is made known in this life, whereas he (the giver) receives the more abundantly in the lives to come. And therefore it is virtue which, through the destructions brought about by Karma, is by far the more powerful of the two2/ * Very good, Nagasena ! Only by one wise as you could this puzzle have been so well solved. 1 Bhettabbo, ' have their arms or legs broken/ 2 In this sentence the translation follows Hina/i-kumbur6, who has apparently had a different, and fuller, reading before him. IV, 8, 29. OF MILINDA THE KING. 151 The problem put by me in worldly sense have you in transcendental sense made clear/ [Here ends the dilemma as to virtue and vice.] [dilemma the seventy-fourth, offerings to the dead.] 29. ' Venerable Nagasena, these givers when they bestow their offerings, devote them specifically to former (relatives) now departed \ saying : " May this gift benefit such and such." Now do they (the dead) derive any benefit therefrom ? ' ' Some do, O king, and some do not/ * Which then are they that do, and which do not?' ' Those who have been reborn in purgatory, O king, do not ; nor those reborn in heaven ; nor those reborn as animals. And of those reborn as Pretas three kinds do not — the Vantasika (who feed on vomit), the Khuppipasino (who hunger and thirst), the Nig^ama-ta/zhika (who are con- sumed by thirst). But the Paradattupa^ivino (who live on the gifts of others) they do derive profit, and those who bear them in remembrance do so too/ ' Then, Nagasena, offerings given by the givers have run to waste2, and are fruitless, since those 1 Peta; which are not ghosts, disembodied 'souls/ but new beings whose link of connection with the departed is, ' not soul/ but Karma. 2 Vissota#z, from sru. The Sinhalese, p. 434, has asthana gata wanneya (for asthana). 152 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 30. for whose benefit they are given derive no profit therefrom/ ' No, O king. They run not to waste, neither are fruitless. The givers themselves derive profit from them/ ' Then convince me of this by a simile/ ' Suppose, O king, people were to get ready fish and meat and strong drinks and rice and cakes, and make a visit on a family related to them. If their relatives should not accept their complimentary present, would that present be wasted or fruitless?' 4 No, Sir, it would go to the owners of it/ 4 Well, just so the givers themselves derive the profit. Or just, O king, [295] as if a man were to enter an inner chamber, and there were no exit in front of him, how would he get out ? ' ' By the way he entered/
3Or just, O king, [295] as if a man were to enter an inner chamber, and there were no exit in front of him, how would he get out ? ' ' By the way he entered/ ' Well, just so the givers themselves derive the profit/ 30. ' Let that pass, Nagasena. That is so, and I accept it as you say. We will not dispute your argument. But, venerable Nagasena, if the offerings made by such givers do advantage certain of the departed, and they do reap the result of the gifts, then if a man who destroys living creatures and drinks blood and is of cruel heart, were after com- mitting murder or any other dreadful act, to dedicate it to the departed, saying : " May the result of this act of mine accrue to the departed " — would it then be transferred to them ? ' ' No, O king/ * But what is the reason, what is the cause, that a good deed can accrue to them, and not an evil one ? ' IV, 8, 30. OF MILINDA THE KING. I 53 * This is really not a question you should ask, O king. Ask me no foolish question, O king, in the idea that an answer will be forthcoming. You will be asking me next why space is boundless, why the Ganges does not flow up stream, why men and birds are bipeds, and the animals quadrupeds !' i It is not to annoy you that I ask this question, Nagasena, but for the sake of resolving a doubt. There are many people in the world who are left- handed or squint 1. I put that question to you, thinking : " Why should not also these unlucky ones have a chance 2 of bettering themselves ? " ' ' An evil deed, O king, cannot be shared with one who has not done it, and has not consented to it. People convey water long distances by an aque- duct. But could they in the same way remove a great mountain of solid rock ? ' * Certainly not, Sir/ ' Well, just in that way can a good deed be shared, but a bad one cannot. And one can light a lamp with oil, but could one in the same way, O king, light it with water ? ' [296] ' Certainly not, Sir/ ' Well, so is it that a good deed can be shared, but not an evil one. And husbandmen take water from a reservoir to bring their crops to maturity, but could they for the same purpose, O king, take water from the sea ? ' 1 Vamagahino vi^akkhuka. Neither of these words are in the dictionaries. Hina/i-kumbur6, p. 436, says, 'who spoil what they take hold of, and whose eyes have lost their cunning/ 2 Otara, which the Sinhalese renders awaka^aya; and in that sense the word is used at Magg^ima Nikaya I, 334. 154 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 31. * Certainly not, Sir.' * So again is it that though a good deed can be shared, an evil one cannot/ 31. ' But, venerable Nagasena, why is that? Convince me of this by a reason. I am not blind, or unobservant. I shall understand when I have heard/ ' Vice, O king, is a mean thing, virtue is great and grand. By its meanness vice affects l only the doer, but virtue by its grandeur overspreads the whole world of gods and men/ ' Show me this by a metaphor/
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.
1IV, 8, 28. OF MILINDA THE KING. 1 49 the kings table ; the other is the food of servants and of slaves. [293] ' Just so, O king, it is by reason of its meanness that vice dies quickly away. But virtue, by its grandeur, takes a long time to die/ 28. ' But, Nagasena, it is just those things which come most quickly to their end which are in the world considered the most powerful. And so still vice must be the more powerful, not virtue. Just, Nagasena, as the strong man who, when he enters into a terrible battle, is able the most quickly to get hold of his enemies' heads under his armpit \ and dragging them along to bring them prisoners to his lord, that is the champion who is regarded, in the world, as the ablest hero — just as that surgeon who is able the most quickly to extract the dart, and allay the disease, is considered the most clever — just as the accountant who is able with the greatest speed to make his calculations, and with most rapidity to show the result, is considered the cleverest counter — just as the wrestler who is able the most quickly to lift his opponent up, and make him fall flat on his back, is considered the ablest hero — just so, Naga- sena, it is that one of these two things — virtue and vice — which most quickly reaches its end that is, in the world, the more powerful of the two/ ' The Karma of both the two, O king, will be made evident in future births ; but vice besides that will by reason of its guilt be made evident at once, and in this present life. The rulers (Kshatriyas) 1 Upaka/££y$ake. The word is not in the Pali dictionaries, but I follow Hina/i-kumbur6, p. 432, who renders it Kisilla, and the context at the parallel passage, £ataka I, 63 (see also Gataka I, 158, and the Sutta Vibhahga II, 260). 1 50 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 28. of old, O king, established this decree : " Whosoever takes life shall be subject to a fine, and whosoever takes to himself what has not been given, and who- soever commits adultery, and whosoever speaks lies, and whosoever is a dacoit, and whosoever is a high- wayman, and whosoever cheats and swindles. Such men shall be liable to be fined or beaten or muti- lated or broken x or executed/' And in pursuance thereof they held repeated enquiry, and then ad- judged one or other punishment accordingly. But, O king, has there ever been by any one a decree promulgated : " Whosoever gives gifts, or observes a virtuous life, or keeps Uposatha, to him shall wealth be given, or honours ? " And do they make continued enquiry, and bestow wealth or honours accordingly, as they do stripes or bonds upon a thief?1 ' Certainly not, Sir/
2" And do they make continued enquiry, and bestow wealth or honours accordingly, as they do stripes or bonds upon a thief?1 ' Certainly not, Sir/ * Well, if they did so then would virtue too be made evident even in this life. [294] But as they neither make such enquiry concerning givers, nor bestow wealth and honours upon them, therefore is virtue not manifested now. And this is the reason, O king, why vice is made known in this life, whereas he (the giver) receives the more abundantly in the lives to come. And therefore it is virtue which, through the destructions brought about by Karma, is by far the more powerful of the two2/ * Very good, Nagasena ! Only by one wise as you could this puzzle have been so well solved. 1 Bhettabbo, ' have their arms or legs broken/ 2 In this sentence the translation follows Hina/i-kumbur6, who has apparently had a different, and fuller, reading before him. IV, 8, 29. OF MILINDA THE KING. 151 The problem put by me in worldly sense have you in transcendental sense made clear/ [Here ends the dilemma as to virtue and vice.] [dilemma the seventy-fourth, offerings to the dead.] 29. ' Venerable Nagasena, these givers when they bestow their offerings, devote them specifically to former (relatives) now departed \ saying : " May this gift benefit such and such." Now do they (the dead) derive any benefit therefrom ? ' ' Some do, O king, and some do not/ * Which then are they that do, and which do not?' ' Those who have been reborn in purgatory, O king, do not ; nor those reborn in heaven ; nor those reborn as animals. And of those reborn as Pretas three kinds do not — the Vantasika (who feed on vomit), the Khuppipasino (who hunger and thirst), the Nig^ama-ta/zhika (who are con- sumed by thirst). But the Paradattupa^ivino (who live on the gifts of others) they do derive profit, and those who bear them in remembrance do so too/ ' Then, Nagasena, offerings given by the givers have run to waste2, and are fruitless, since those 1 Peta; which are not ghosts, disembodied 'souls/ but new beings whose link of connection with the departed is, ' not soul/ but Karma. 2 Vissota#z, from sru. The Sinhalese, p. 434, has asthana gata wanneya (for asthana). 152 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 30. for whose benefit they are given derive no profit therefrom/ ' No, O king. They run not to waste, neither are fruitless. The givers themselves derive profit from them/ ' Then convince me of this by a simile/ ' Suppose, O king, people were to get ready fish and meat and strong drinks and rice and cakes, and make a visit on a family related to them. If their relatives should not accept their complimentary present, would that present be wasted or fruitless?' 4 No, Sir, it would go to the owners of it/ 4 Well, just so the givers themselves derive the profit. Or just, O king, [295] as if a man were to enter an inner chamber, and there were no exit in front of him, how would he get out ? ' ' By the way he entered/
3Or just, O king, [295] as if a man were to enter an inner chamber, and there were no exit in front of him, how would he get out ? ' ' By the way he entered/ ' Well, just so the givers themselves derive the profit/ 30. ' Let that pass, Nagasena. That is so, and I accept it as you say. We will not dispute your argument. But, venerable Nagasena, if the offerings made by such givers do advantage certain of the departed, and they do reap the result of the gifts, then if a man who destroys living creatures and drinks blood and is of cruel heart, were after com- mitting murder or any other dreadful act, to dedicate it to the departed, saying : " May the result of this act of mine accrue to the departed " — would it then be transferred to them ? ' ' No, O king/ * But what is the reason, what is the cause, that a good deed can accrue to them, and not an evil one ? ' IV, 8, 30. OF MILINDA THE KING. I 53 * This is really not a question you should ask, O king. Ask me no foolish question, O king, in the idea that an answer will be forthcoming. You will be asking me next why space is boundless, why the Ganges does not flow up stream, why men and birds are bipeds, and the animals quadrupeds !' i It is not to annoy you that I ask this question, Nagasena, but for the sake of resolving a doubt. There are many people in the world who are left- handed or squint 1. I put that question to you, thinking : " Why should not also these unlucky ones have a chance 2 of bettering themselves ? " ' ' An evil deed, O king, cannot be shared with one who has not done it, and has not consented to it. People convey water long distances by an aque- duct. But could they in the same way remove a great mountain of solid rock ? ' * Certainly not, Sir/ ' Well, just in that way can a good deed be shared, but a bad one cannot. And one can light a lamp with oil, but could one in the same way, O king, light it with water ? ' [296] ' Certainly not, Sir/ ' Well, so is it that a good deed can be shared, but not an evil one. And husbandmen take water from a reservoir to bring their crops to maturity, but could they for the same purpose, O king, take water from the sea ? ' 1 Vamagahino vi^akkhuka. Neither of these words are in the dictionaries. Hina/i-kumbur6, p. 436, says, 'who spoil what they take hold of, and whose eyes have lost their cunning/ 2 Otara, which the Sinhalese renders awaka^aya; and in that sense the word is used at Magg^ima Nikaya I, 334. 154 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 31. * Certainly not, Sir.' * So again is it that though a good deed can be shared, an evil one cannot/ 31. ' But, venerable Nagasena, why is that? Convince me of this by a reason. I am not blind, or unobservant. I shall understand when I have heard/ ' Vice, O king, is a mean thing, virtue is great and grand. By its meanness vice affects l only the doer, but virtue by its grandeur overspreads the whole world of gods and men/ ' Show me this by a metaphor/
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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