The Questions of King Milinda, Part II — SBE Vol. 36 (trans. T. W. Rhys Davids, 1894)

This, O king, is the one quality of the squirrel which he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by Abulia Panthaka, the Elder :

" When sins, those fell destroyers of the gains
Gained by the life of recluse, fall on us,
They should be slain, again and yet again,
By resolute self-possession as a club 3." '

1 As he does in war, according to Magg^ima I, 415.

2 Not traced as yet. It is not included in the collection of
Sariputta' s verses preserved in the Thera Gatha.

3 Not in the published texts.

p. 285

• 4. The Panther (female) \
• 9. * Venerable Nagasena, that one quality of the female of the panther which you say he ought to take, which is that ? '

' Just, O king, as the female of the panther conceives only once, and does not resort again and again to the male 2 ; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, — seeing how future conceptions and births involve a period of gestation and a fall from each state as it is reached, and dissolution and death and destruction, seeing the horrors of transmigration and of rebirths in evil states, the annoyance of them, the torment of them, — he should stedfastly resolve never to enter upon any future life. [369] This, O king, is the one quality of the female panther which he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by the Blessed One, the god over all gods, in the Sutta Nipata, in the Sutta of Dhaniya the cowherd :

" Like a strong bull who's burst the bonds that
bound him,
Or elephant who's forced his way through jungle,
Thus shall I never more enter the womb —
And now, if it so please you, god, rain on 3 ! " '

• 5. The Panther (male).
• 10. ' Venerable Nagasena, those two qualities of the panther which you say he ought to take, which are they ? '

1 Di pint, perhaps 'leopardess/ The Sinhalese has 'tigress/ which is certainly wrong.

2 Because it realises the pains and sorrows of cub-bearing, says the Sinhalese.

3 Sutta Nipata I, 2, 12.

p. 286

* Just, O king, as the panther, lying in ambush in wild places, behind a thicket of long grass or brushwood, or among the rocks, catches the deer ; so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, resort to solitary places in the woods, at the foot of a tree, on mountain heights, in caves and grottoes, in cemeteries, in forests, under the open sky, on beds of straw, in quiet, noiseless spots, free from strong winds, and hid from the haunts of men. For the strenuous Bhikshu, O king, earnest in effort, who frequents such solitudes, will soon become master of the six forms of transcendent insight. This, O king, is the first of the qualities of the panther he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by the Elders who collected the scriptures ;

" As the panther by lying in ambush catches the deer, So the sons of the Buddha, with insight and earnestness armed, By resorting to solitudes gain that Fruit which is best1."

For it was said, O king, by the Elders who collected the scriptures ;

" As the panther by lying in ambush catches the deer, So the sons of the Buddha, with insight and earnestness armed, By resorting to solitudes gain that Fruit which is best1."

ii. ' And again, O king, as the panther, whatever may be the beast he has killed, will never eat it if it has fallen on the left side ; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, not partake of any food that has been procured by gifts of bamboos, or palms' leaves, or flowers, or fruits, or baths 2, or chunam, or tooth-sticks, [370] or water for washing ; or by flattery, or by gaining the laity over by sugaredp. 287 words (literally by pea-soup-talk), suppressing the truth and suggesting the false *, or by petting their children3, or by taking messages as he walks from house to house 3, or by doctoring them, or by acting as a go-between, or as a messenger on matters of business or ceremony 4, or by exchanging with them things he has received as alms, or by giving back again to them as bribes robes or food once given to him 5, or by giving them hints as to lucky sites, or lucky days, or lucky signs (on their children's bodies at birth), or by any other of those wrong modes of obtaining a livelihood that have been condemned by the Buddha 6 — no food so procured should he eat, as the panther will not eat any prey that has fallen on its left side. This is the second of the qualities of the panther he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by Sariputta, the Elder, the Commander of the Faith :

1 That is, of course, Arahatship. The lines are not to be found in the published texts.

2 Sinana-danena; omitted by the Sutta Vibhahga and by Hina/i-kumbure (who quotes the Pali of this passage).

" This food, so sweet, has been procured
Through intimation given by speech.
Were I, then, to partake thereof,
My mode of livelihood would be blamed.

1 Muggasuppata. So Hina/i-kumbure, p. 546. The Sutta Vibhanga omits both this word and the next.

2 Paribha/Zakata.

3 (rahgha-pesaniyena. The Sutta Vibhanga I, 185, on which our whole paragraph here is based, reads -pesanikena. I have differentiated the three sorts of messages according to the Sinhalese.

4 Hina/i-kumburS, both in his transcription of the Pali (p. 546) and in his translation (p. 547), reads pahina-gamana.

5 Anuppadana. Compare (rataka III, 205. At Sigalovada Sutta, p. 307, and Milinda, p. 315, it means simply providing a person with things he wants. Childers's rendering, ' giving/ is inadequate in all the passages.

6 Referring to the Silas.

p. 288

Now though by hunger dire oppressed
My stomach seem to rise, to go,
Ne'er will I break my rule of life,
Not though my life I sacrifice V y

6. The Tortoise.

12. i Venerable Nagasena, those five qualities of the tortoise which you say he ought to take, what are they ? '

Now though by hunger dire oppressed
My stomach seem to rise, to go,
Ne'er will I break my rule of life,
Not though my life I sacrifice V y

6. The Tortoise.

12. i Venerable Nagasena, those five qualities of the tortoise which you say he ought to take, what are they ? '

i Just, O king, as the tortoise, which is a water animal, keeps to the water ; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, let his heart go out over the whole wide world with pity and with love — mighty, abounding, beyond measure, free from every feeling of hatred or of malice — towards all creatures that have life 2. This, O king, is the first of the qualities of the tortoise he ought to have.

13. ' And again, O king, just as the tortoise, when, as he swims on the water and raises his head, he catches sight of any one, that moment sinks, and dives into the depths, lest they should see him again ; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, when evil inclinations fall upon him, sink into the waters of meditation, dive down into the deeps thereof, lest those evil inclinations should catch sight of him again. This, O king, is the

1 Not traced as yet. Hina/i-kumbure gives a long account of the circumstances under which these verses were spoken. Saiiputta was ill. Moggallana asked him what would be good for him to take. Sariputta told him. His friend then, by intervention of the king of the gods, procured it. But Sariputta refused to make use of it.

2 The Brahma-viharas (Nos. 1 and 2). See ' Buddhist Suttas/ p. 201.

p. 289

second of the qualities of the tortoise he ought to have.

14. [371] ' And again, O king, just as the tortoise gets up out of the water, and suns himself; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, when he rouses himself (withdraws his mind) out of meditation, — whether taken sitting, or lying down, or standing, or walking up and down, — sun his mind in the Great Struggle against evil dispositions. This, O king, is the third of the qualities of the tortoise he ought to have.

15. 'And again, O king, just as the tortoise, digging a hole in the ground, dwells alone ; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, giving up worldly gain and honour and praise, take up his abode alone, plunging into the solitudes of empty lonely places in the groves and woods and hills, in caves and grottoes, noiseless and quiet. This, O king, is the fourth of the qualities of the tortoise he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by Upasena, the Elder, of the sons of the Vangantas:

" Lonely and quiet places, haunts
Of the deer, and of wild beasts,
Should the Bhikshu seek as his abode,
For solitude's sweet sake V