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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Would you then say, O king, that the Gem was produced by him 2 ? ' ' Certainly not, Sir ! The Gem would be in its original condition. But it has received, as it were, a new birth through him.' * Just so, O king, is it that the Blessed One, gaining a thorough knowledge of it by the eye of 1 ' The wisdom arising from the perception of the Four Noble Truths' is Hina/i-kumbur6's gloss. 2 The wondrous Gem-treasure of the king of kings (the Ve/uriya, etymologically the same as beryl, but probably meaning catVeye) is supposed, like the other mystic treasures, to come to him of its own accord, on his becoming sovran overlord. See my 'Buddhist Suttas,' p. 256 (S. B. E., vol. xi). IV, 5, 15- 0F MILINDA THE KING. I 5 his wisdom, brought back to life and made passable again the most excellent eightfold way in its original condition as when it was walked along by the previous Tathagatas, — though that way, when there was no teacher more, had become broken up, had crumbled away, had gone to ruin, was closed in, and lost to view. And therefore is it that he said : " The Tathagata, O brethren, the Arahat, the Buddha supreme, is the discoverer of a way that was unknown." 15. 'It is, O king, as when a mother brings forth from her womb the child that is already there, and the saying is that the mother has given birth to the child. Just so, O king, did the Tathagata, having gained a thorough knowledge of it by the eye of his wisdom, bring into life, and make passable again, a way that was already there, though then broken up, crumbled away, gone to ruin, closed in, and lost to view. ' It is as when some man or other finds a thing that has been lost, and the people use the phrase : " He has brought it back to life." [219] And it is as when a man clears away the jungle, and sets free 1 a piece of land, and the people use the phrase : " That is his land." But that land is not made by him. It is because he has brought the land into use that he is called the owner of the land. Just so, O king, did the Tathagata, having gained a thorough knowledge of it by the eye of his wisdom, bring back to life, and make passable again, a way that was already there, though then broken up, crumbled 1 Niharati. Avarawaya kara ganneya says Hina/i- kumbur£. 1 6 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, g, 16. away, gone to ruin, closed in, no longer passable, and lost to view. And therefore is it that he said : " The Tathagata, O brethren, the Arahat, the Buddha supreme, is the discoverer of a way that was unknown." ' * Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say/ [Here ends the dilemma as to the way of Nirvana.] [dilemma the forty-fifth, the buddha's kindness.] i 6. 'Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the Blessed One : " Already in former births when I was a man had I acquired the habit of inflicting no hurt on living beings V ' But on the other hand it is said 2:
2'Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the Blessed One : " Already in former births when I was a man had I acquired the habit of inflicting no hurt on living beings V ' But on the other hand it is said 2: " When he was Lomasa Kassapa, the Rishi, he had hundreds of living creatures slain and offered the great sacrifice, the ' Drink of Triumph V " ' 1 This passage has not yet been traced in the Pi/akas. 2 The identical words are not found, but they are a summary of the Lomasa Kassapa Gataka (No. 433 in Prof. Fausboll's edition, and see especially vol. iii, p. 517, line 25). 3 Va^apeyya, which Professor Fausboll (loc. cit., p. 518) spells va^apeyya, and a Burmese MS. he quotes spells vadhapeyya (characteristically enough, — the scribe not understanding the word, and thinking it must have been derived from vadha, makes what he thinks must be a correction). The Sanskrit form of the word is va^apeya, the drink or draught of battle or victory, name of that one of the seven Soma sacrifices which a king offered when desirous of attaining to sovran overlordship. In the allied legend IV, 5,17- OF MILINDA THE KING. IJ i Now, Nagasena, if it is true what the Buddha said, that, in his former births as a man, he inflicted no hurt on living beings, then the saying that, as Lomasa Kassapa, he had hundreds of living creatures slain must be false. But if he had, then the saying that he inflicted no hurt on living beings must be false. This too is a double-edged problem, now put to you, which you have to solve/ 1 7. ' The Blessed One did say, O king, that already in former births, when he was a man, he had acquired the habit of inflicting no hurt on living beings. And Lomasa Kassapa, the Rishi, did have hundreds of living creatures slain, and offered the great sacrifice, the " Drink of Triumph." [220] But that was done when he was out of his mind through lust, and not when he was conscious of what he was doing/ ' There are these eight classes of men, Nagasena, who kill living beings — the lustful man through his lust, and the cruel man through his anger, and the dull man through his stupidity, and the proud man through his pride, and the avaricious man through his greed, and the needy man for the sake of a livelihood, and the fool in joke, and the king in the way of punishment. These, Nagasena, are the eight classes of men who kill living beings. The Bodisat, venerable Nagasena, must have been acting in accord- ance with his natural disposition when he did so/ 'No, it was not, O king, an act natural to him that the Bodisat did then. If the Bodisat had been led, by natural inclination, to offer the great sacrifice, he would not have uttered the verse : of king Lomapada's sacrifice (Ramayawa I, 8, 11 foil.) it is the axva-medha, the horse sacrifice, which is offered. [36] c 1 8 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 5, 18. " Not the whole world, Sayha, the ocean girt, With all the seas and hills that girdle it, Would I desire to have, along with shame V
3[36] c 1 8 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 5, 18. " Not the whole world, Sayha, the ocean girt, With all the seas and hills that girdle it, Would I desire to have, along with shame V ' But though, O king, the Bodisat had said that, yet at the very sight of Aandavati (Moon-face), the princess 2, he went out of his mind and lost command of himself through love. And it was when thus out of his mind, confused and agitated, that he, with his thoughts all perplexed, scattered and wandering, thus offered the great sacrifice, the " Drink of Triumph/' — and mighty was the outpour of blood from the necks of the slaughtered beasts ! ' Just, O king, as a madman, when out of his senses, will step into a fiery furnace, and take hold of an infuriated venomous snake, and go up to a rogue elephant, and plunge forwards into great waters, the further shore of which he cannot see, and trample through dirty pools and muddy places 3, and rush into thorny brakes, and fall down precipices, and feed himself on filth, and go naked through the streets, and do many other things improper to be done — just so was it, O king, that at the very sight of Afandavati, the princess, the Bodisat went out of his mind, and then only acted as I have said 4. 18. [221] ' Now an evil act done, O king, by one out of his mind, is even in this present world not considered as a grievous offence, nor is it so in 1 This verse is found not only in the 433rd Gataka (loc. cit.), but also in the Sayha Gataka, No. 310, a shorter recension of the same story. 2 Hina/i-kumbure here summarises the whole story. 3 iTandanika and o/igalla. See Ahguttara III, 57, 1; Ma^-- ^ima I, 11, 448 ; Thera Gatha 567 ; A^ullavagga V, 17, 1. Hina/i- kumbure spells the second word with an ordinary 1. 4 The text repeats the last paragraph. IV, 5, i8. OF MILINDA THE KING. 1 9 respect of the fruit that it brings about in a future life. Suppose, O king, that a madman had been guilty of a capital offence, what punishment would you inflict upon him ?' ' What punishment is due to a madman ? We should order him to be beaten and set free. That is all the punishment he would have/ ' So then, O king, there is no punishment accord- ing to the offence of a madman. It follows that there is no sin in the act done by a madman, it is a pardonable act. And just so, O king, is it with respect to Lomasa Kassapa, the Rishi, who at the mere sight of Aandavati, the princess, went out of his mind, and lost command of himself through love. It was when thus out of his mind, confused and agitated, that he, with his thoughts all perplexed, scattered and wandering, thus offered the great sacrifice, the i( Drink of Triumph/' — and mighty was the outpour of blood from the necks of the slaughtered beasts ! But when he returned again to his natural state, and recovered his presence of mind, then did he again renounce the world, and having regained the five powers of insight, became assured of rebirth in the Brahma world/
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.
1Would you then say, O king, that the Gem was produced by him 2 ? ' ' Certainly not, Sir ! The Gem would be in its original condition. But it has received, as it were, a new birth through him.' * Just so, O king, is it that the Blessed One, gaining a thorough knowledge of it by the eye of 1 ' The wisdom arising from the perception of the Four Noble Truths' is Hina/i-kumbur6's gloss. 2 The wondrous Gem-treasure of the king of kings (the Ve/uriya, etymologically the same as beryl, but probably meaning catVeye) is supposed, like the other mystic treasures, to come to him of its own accord, on his becoming sovran overlord. See my 'Buddhist Suttas,' p. 256 (S. B. E., vol. xi). IV, 5, 15- 0F MILINDA THE KING. I 5 his wisdom, brought back to life and made passable again the most excellent eightfold way in its original condition as when it was walked along by the previous Tathagatas, — though that way, when there was no teacher more, had become broken up, had crumbled away, had gone to ruin, was closed in, and lost to view. And therefore is it that he said : " The Tathagata, O brethren, the Arahat, the Buddha supreme, is the discoverer of a way that was unknown." 15. 'It is, O king, as when a mother brings forth from her womb the child that is already there, and the saying is that the mother has given birth to the child. Just so, O king, did the Tathagata, having gained a thorough knowledge of it by the eye of his wisdom, bring into life, and make passable again, a way that was already there, though then broken up, crumbled away, gone to ruin, closed in, and lost to view. ' It is as when some man or other finds a thing that has been lost, and the people use the phrase : " He has brought it back to life." [219] And it is as when a man clears away the jungle, and sets free 1 a piece of land, and the people use the phrase : " That is his land." But that land is not made by him. It is because he has brought the land into use that he is called the owner of the land. Just so, O king, did the Tathagata, having gained a thorough knowledge of it by the eye of his wisdom, bring back to life, and make passable again, a way that was already there, though then broken up, crumbled 1 Niharati. Avarawaya kara ganneya says Hina/i- kumbur£. 1 6 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, g, 16. away, gone to ruin, closed in, no longer passable, and lost to view. And therefore is it that he said : " The Tathagata, O brethren, the Arahat, the Buddha supreme, is the discoverer of a way that was unknown." ' * Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say/ [Here ends the dilemma as to the way of Nirvana.] [dilemma the forty-fifth, the buddha's kindness.] i 6. 'Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the Blessed One : " Already in former births when I was a man had I acquired the habit of inflicting no hurt on living beings V ' But on the other hand it is said 2:
2'Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the Blessed One : " Already in former births when I was a man had I acquired the habit of inflicting no hurt on living beings V ' But on the other hand it is said 2: " When he was Lomasa Kassapa, the Rishi, he had hundreds of living creatures slain and offered the great sacrifice, the ' Drink of Triumph V " ' 1 This passage has not yet been traced in the Pi/akas. 2 The identical words are not found, but they are a summary of the Lomasa Kassapa Gataka (No. 433 in Prof. Fausboll's edition, and see especially vol. iii, p. 517, line 25). 3 Va^apeyya, which Professor Fausboll (loc. cit., p. 518) spells va^apeyya, and a Burmese MS. he quotes spells vadhapeyya (characteristically enough, — the scribe not understanding the word, and thinking it must have been derived from vadha, makes what he thinks must be a correction). The Sanskrit form of the word is va^apeya, the drink or draught of battle or victory, name of that one of the seven Soma sacrifices which a king offered when desirous of attaining to sovran overlordship. In the allied legend IV, 5,17- OF MILINDA THE KING. IJ i Now, Nagasena, if it is true what the Buddha said, that, in his former births as a man, he inflicted no hurt on living beings, then the saying that, as Lomasa Kassapa, he had hundreds of living creatures slain must be false. But if he had, then the saying that he inflicted no hurt on living beings must be false. This too is a double-edged problem, now put to you, which you have to solve/ 1 7. ' The Blessed One did say, O king, that already in former births, when he was a man, he had acquired the habit of inflicting no hurt on living beings. And Lomasa Kassapa, the Rishi, did have hundreds of living creatures slain, and offered the great sacrifice, the " Drink of Triumph." [220] But that was done when he was out of his mind through lust, and not when he was conscious of what he was doing/ ' There are these eight classes of men, Nagasena, who kill living beings — the lustful man through his lust, and the cruel man through his anger, and the dull man through his stupidity, and the proud man through his pride, and the avaricious man through his greed, and the needy man for the sake of a livelihood, and the fool in joke, and the king in the way of punishment. These, Nagasena, are the eight classes of men who kill living beings. The Bodisat, venerable Nagasena, must have been acting in accord- ance with his natural disposition when he did so/ 'No, it was not, O king, an act natural to him that the Bodisat did then. If the Bodisat had been led, by natural inclination, to offer the great sacrifice, he would not have uttered the verse : of king Lomapada's sacrifice (Ramayawa I, 8, 11 foil.) it is the axva-medha, the horse sacrifice, which is offered. [36] c 1 8 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 5, 18. " Not the whole world, Sayha, the ocean girt, With all the seas and hills that girdle it, Would I desire to have, along with shame V
3[36] c 1 8 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 5, 18. " Not the whole world, Sayha, the ocean girt, With all the seas and hills that girdle it, Would I desire to have, along with shame V ' But though, O king, the Bodisat had said that, yet at the very sight of Aandavati (Moon-face), the princess 2, he went out of his mind and lost command of himself through love. And it was when thus out of his mind, confused and agitated, that he, with his thoughts all perplexed, scattered and wandering, thus offered the great sacrifice, the " Drink of Triumph/' — and mighty was the outpour of blood from the necks of the slaughtered beasts ! ' Just, O king, as a madman, when out of his senses, will step into a fiery furnace, and take hold of an infuriated venomous snake, and go up to a rogue elephant, and plunge forwards into great waters, the further shore of which he cannot see, and trample through dirty pools and muddy places 3, and rush into thorny brakes, and fall down precipices, and feed himself on filth, and go naked through the streets, and do many other things improper to be done — just so was it, O king, that at the very sight of Afandavati, the princess, the Bodisat went out of his mind, and then only acted as I have said 4. 18. [221] ' Now an evil act done, O king, by one out of his mind, is even in this present world not considered as a grievous offence, nor is it so in 1 This verse is found not only in the 433rd Gataka (loc. cit.), but also in the Sayha Gataka, No. 310, a shorter recension of the same story. 2 Hina/i-kumbure here summarises the whole story. 3 iTandanika and o/igalla. See Ahguttara III, 57, 1; Ma^-- ^ima I, 11, 448 ; Thera Gatha 567 ; A^ullavagga V, 17, 1. Hina/i- kumbure spells the second word with an ordinary 1. 4 The text repeats the last paragraph. IV, 5, i8. OF MILINDA THE KING. 1 9 respect of the fruit that it brings about in a future life. Suppose, O king, that a madman had been guilty of a capital offence, what punishment would you inflict upon him ?' ' What punishment is due to a madman ? We should order him to be beaten and set free. That is all the punishment he would have/ ' So then, O king, there is no punishment accord- ing to the offence of a madman. It follows that there is no sin in the act done by a madman, it is a pardonable act. And just so, O king, is it with respect to Lomasa Kassapa, the Rishi, who at the mere sight of Aandavati, the princess, went out of his mind, and lost command of himself through love. It was when thus out of his mind, confused and agitated, that he, with his thoughts all perplexed, scattered and wandering, thus offered the great sacrifice, the i( Drink of Triumph/' — and mighty was the outpour of blood from the necks of the slaughtered beasts ! But when he returned again to his natural state, and recovered his presence of mind, then did he again renounce the world, and having regained the five powers of insight, became assured of rebirth in the Brahma world/
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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