Questions of King Milinda (Milindapañha)

' Certainly not. Sir.' ' Then it must have been to exalt the power of IddhI that he gave utterance to such a boast' ' Very good, Nagasena ! It is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma as to the three months.] Here ends the First Chapter. 202 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, i. Book IV. Chapter 2. *[tHE abolition of REGULATIONS.] 1. 'Venerable Nagasena, it has been said by the Blessed One : " It is by insight, O Bhikkhus, that I preach the law, not without insight \" On the Other hand he said of the regulations of the Vinaya : " When I am gone, Ananda, let the Order, if it should so wish, abolish all the lesser and minor precepts ^." Were then these lesser and minor precepts wrongly laid down, or established in ignorance and without due cause, that the Blessed One allowed them to be revoked after his death ? If the first statement had been true, the second would have been wronof. If the second statement were really made, [143] then the first was false. This too is a double-headed problem, fine, subtle, abstruse, deep, profound, and hard to expound. It is now put to you, and you have to solve it.'

2. ' In both cases, O king, the Blessed One said as you have declared. But in the second case it was to test the Bhikkhus that he said it, to try whether, if leave were granted them, they would, after his death, revoke the lesser and minor regulations, or still adhere to them. It runs as if a ^ Not traced as yet. ^ Mahaparinibbana Sutta VI, 3 (translated in my ' Buddhist Suttas,' p, 112). The incident is referred to in the A'ullavagga XI, I, 9, 10, and in his commentary on that passage Buddhaghosa mentions the discussion between Mihnda and Nagasena, and quotes it as an authority in support of his interpretation. king of kings were to say to his sons : " This great country, my children, reaches to the sea on every side. It is a hard thing to maintain it with the forces we have at our disposal. So when I am gone you had better, my children, abandon the outl)ing districts along the border." Now would the princes, O king, on the death of their father, give up those outlying districts, provinces already in their power ? ' ' No indeed, Sir. Kings are grasping. The princes might, in the lust of power, subjugate an extent of country twice or thrice the size of what they had, but they would never give up what they already possessed.'

'Just so was it, O king, that the Tathagata to test the Bhikkhus said : " When I am gone, Ananda, let the Order, if it should so wish, abolish all the lesser and minor precepts." But the sons of the Buddha, O king, in their lust after the law, and for emancipation from sorrow, might keep two hundred and fifty regulations \ but would never give up any one that had been laid down in ordinary course.' 3. ' Venerable Nagasena, when the Blessed One referred to " lesser and minor precepts," this people might therein [144] be bewildered, and fall into doubt, and find matter for discussion, and be lost in hesitation, as to which were the lesser, and which the minor precepts.' ' The lesser errors in conduct ^ O king, are the lesser precepts, and the lesser errors in speech ^ are the minor precepts : and these two together make up therefore " the lesser and minor precepts." The ^ The regulations in the Paiimokkha, which include all the most important ones, are only 220 in number. - Dukka/a;;/. » Dubbhasitaw. 204 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 4. leading Elders too of old, O king, were in doubt about this matter, and they were not unanimous on the point at the Council held for the fixing of the text of the Scriptures ^ And the Blessed One foresaw that this problem would arise.'

' Then this dark saying of the Conquerors, Nagasena, which has lain hid so long, has been now to-day uncovered in the face of the world, and made clear to all.' [Here ends the problem as to the revocation 4. ' Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the Blessed One : " In respect of the truths, Ananda, the Tathaofata has no such thingf as the closed fist of a teacher who keeps something back ^." But on the other hand he made no reply to the question put by the son of the Maluhkya woman ^. This problem, Nagasena, will be one of two ends, on one of which it must rest, for he must have refrained from answering either out of ignorance, or out of wish to conceal somethingf. If the first statement be true it must have been out of iofnorance. But ^ In the ^ullavagga XI, i, 10, it is one of the faults laid to Ananda's charge, at the Council of Ra^agaha, that he had not asked for a definition of these terms. ^ Mahaparinibbana Sutta II, 32 (another passage from the same speech is quoted below, IV, 2, 29). ^ See the two Maluhkya Suttantas in the 'Ma.gg/nmdi Nikaya (vol. i, pp. 426-437 of Mr. Trenckner's edition for the Pali Text Society), With regard to the spelling of the name, which is doubtful, it may be noticed that Hina/i-kumbure has Maluhka throughout.

IV, 2, r,- ESOTERIC TEACHING. 205 if he knew, and still did not reply, then the first statement must be false. This too is a doublepointed dilemma. It is now put to you, and you have to solve it.' 5. ' The Blessed One, O king, made that first Statement to Ananda, and he did not reply to Malurikya-putta's question. But that was neither out of ignorance, nor for the sake of concealing anything. There are four kinds of ways in which a problem may be explained. And which are the four ? There is the problem to which an explanation can be Sfiven that shall be direct and final. There is the problem which can be answered by going into details. There is the problem which can be answered by asking another. And there is the problem which can be put on one side. ' And which, O king, is the problem to which a direct and final solution can be given ? It is such as this — " Is form impermanent ? " [145] " Is sensation impermanent?" "Is idea impermanent?" "Are the Confections impermanent?" "Is consciousness impermanent ? " * And which is the problem which can be answered by going into details ? It is such as this — " Is form thus impermanent ? " and so on.

' And which is the problem which can be answered by asking another ? It is such as this — "What then? Can the eye perceive all things?" ' And which is the problem which can be put on one side? It is such as this — "Is the universe everlasting?" "Is it not everlasting?" "Has it an end ? " " Has it no end ? " " Is it both endless and unendinsf ? " " Is it neither the one nor the other ? " " Are the soul and the body the same 206 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 6. thing?" "Is the soul distinct from the body?" " Does a Tathagata exist after death ? " " Does he not exist after death ? " " Does he both exist and not exist after death ? " " Does he neither exist nor not exist after death ? " ' Now it was to such a question, one that ought to be put on one side, that the Blessed One gave no reply to Malunkya-putta. And why ought such a question to be put on one side ? Because there is no reason or object for answering it. That is why it should be put aside. For the Blessed Buddhas lift not up their voice without a reason and without an object.'

* Very good, Nagasena ! Thus it is, and I accept it as you say ? ' ____^___ [ Here ends the dilemma as to keeping some things back K] 6. ' Venerable Nagasena, this too was said by the Blessed One : " All men tremble at punishment, all are afraid of death -." But a^ain he said : " The Arahat has passed beyond all fear^" How then, Nagasena ? does the Arahat tremble with the fear of punishment ? [146] Or are the beings in purgatory, when they are being burnt and boiled and scorched and tormented, afraid of that death which would release them from the burning fiery pit of that awful place of woe ^ ? If the Blessed One, Nagasena, ^ See my note below on IV, 4, 8. ^ Dhammapada 129. ^ Not traced in these words, but identical in meaning with Dhammapada 39. * Maha-niraya X'avamana, 'when they are on the point of passing away from it.' For in Buddhism the time comes to each really said that all men tremble at punishment, and all are afraid of death, then the statement that the Arahat has passed beyond fear must be false. But if that last statement is really by him, then the other must be false. This double-headed problem is now put to you, and you have to solve it,'

7. ' It was not with regard to Arahats, O king, that the Blessed One spake when he said : " All men tremble at punishment, all are afraid of death." The Arahat is an exception to that statement, for all cause for fear has been removed from the Arahat ^ He spoke of those beings in whom evil still existed, who are still infatuated with the delusion of self, who are still lifted up and cast down by pleasures and pains. To the Arahat, O king, rebirth in every state has been cut off, all the four kinds of future existence have been destroyed, every re-incarnation has been put an end to, the rafters ^ of the house of life have broken, and the whole house completely pulled down, the Confections have altogether lost their roots, good and evil have ceased, ignorance has been demolished, consciousness has no longer any seed (from which it could be renewed), all sin has been burnt away ^, and all worldly conditions have been overcome *. Therefore is it that the Arahat is not made to tremble by any fear.' being in Niraya (often translated 'hell') when he will pass away from it.

' That is from him who attained Nirvana in this life. Compare I John iv. 18. ^ Phasu for Phasuka. Compare Dhammapada 154, INIanu VI, 79-81, and Sumahgala, p. 16. ' Hina/i-kumbure adds ' by the fire of tapas,' * Eight are meant — gain, loss, fame, dishonour, praise, blame, pleasures, pains. 208 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 8. 8, ' Suppose, O king, a king had four chief ministers, faithful, famous, trustworthy, placed in high positions of authority. And the king, on some emergency arising, were to issue to them an order touching all the people in his realm, saying : " Let all now pay up a tax, and do you, as my four officers, carry out what is necessary in this emergency." Now tell me, O king, would the tremor which comes from fear of taxation arise in the hearts of those ministers ? ' ' No, Sir, it would not.' ' But why not ? ' ' They have been appointed by the king to high office. Taxation does not affect them, they are beyond taxation. It was the rest that the king referred to when he gave the order : [147] " Let all pay tax." '

'Just so, O king, is it with the statement that all men tremble at punishment, all are afraid of death. In that way is it that the Arahat is removed from every fear.' 9. ' But, Nagasena, the w^ord " all " is inclusive, none are left out when it is used. Give me a further reason to establish* the point.' ' Suppose, O king, that in some village the lord of the village were to order the crier, saying : " Go, crier, bring all the villagers quickly together before me." And he in obedience to that order were to stand in the midst of the village and were thrice to call out : " Let all the villasfers assemble at once in the presence of the lord !" And they should assemble in haste, and have an announcement made to the lord, saying : " All the villagers. Sire, have assembled. Do now whatsoever you require." Now when the lord, O king, is thus summoning all the heads of houses, he issues his order to all the villaeers, but it is not they who assemble in obedience to the order ; it is the heads of houses. And the lord is satisfied therewith, knowing that such is the number of his villagers. There are many others who do not come — women and men, slave girls and slaves, hired workmen, servants, peasantry, sick people, oxen, buffaloes, sheep, and goats, and dogs — but all those do not count. It was with reference to the heads of houses that the order was issued in the words : " Let all assemble." Just so, O king, it is not of Arahats that it was said that all are afraid of death. [148] The Arahat is not included in that statement, for the Arahat is one in whom there is no longer any cause that could give rise to fear.'

lO. ' There is the non-inclusive expression, O king, whose meaning is non-inclusive, and the non-inclusive expression whose meaning is inclusive ; there is the inclusive expression whose meaning is non-inclusive, and the inclusive expression whose meaning is inclusive. And the meaning, in each case, should be accepted accordingly. And there are five ways in which the meaning should be ascertained — by the connection, and by taste, and by the tradition of the teachers, and by the meaning, and by abundance of reasons. And herein " connection " means the meaning as seen in the Sutta itself, " taste " means that it is in accordance with other Suttas, " the tradition of the teachers " means what they hold, " the meaning " means what they think, and " abundance of reasons " means all these four combined ^.' ^ This is much more obscure in Pali than in English. In the Pali the names of each of the five methods are ambiguous, ' Connection,' for instance, is in Pali aha/{'/('a-pada, which is only II. 'Very well, Nagasena ! I accept it as you say. The Arahat is an exception in this phrase, and it is the rest of beino-s who are full of fear. But those beings in purgatory, of whom I spoke, who are suffering painful, sharp, and severe agonies, who are tormented with burnings all over their bodies and limbs, whose mouths are full of lamentation, and cries for pity, and cries of weeping and wailing and woe, who are overcome with pains too sharp to be borne, who find no refuge nor protection nor help, who are afflicted beyond measure, who in the worst and lowest of conditions are still destined to a certainty to further pain, who are being burnt with hot, sharp, fierce, and cruel flames, who are giving utterance to mighty shouts and groans born of horror and fear, who are embraced by the garlands of flame which intertwine around them from all the six directions, and flash in fiery speed through a hundred leagues on every side — can those poor burning wretches be afraid of death ?'

' Yes, they can.' ' But, venerable Nagasena, is not purgatory a place of certain pain ? And, if so, why should the beings in it be afraid of death, which would release them from that certain pain ? What ! Are they fond of purgatory ? ' ' No, indeed. They like it not. They long to be released from it. It is the power of death of which they are afraid.' ' Now this, Nagasena, I cannot believe, that they, who want to be released, should be afraid of rebirth. found elsewhere (see A'ullavagga VI, 4, 3, and my note there) as the name of a kind of chair. And there is similar ambiguity in the other words. IV, 2, 13- THE FEAR OF DEATH. 2 I I [149] They must surely, Nagasena, rejoice at the prospect of the very condition that they long for. Convince me by some further reason ^' 12. ' Death, great king, is a condition which those who have not seen the truth- are afraid of. About it this people is anxious and full of dread. Whosoever is afraid of a black snake, or an elephant or lion or tiger or leopard or bear or hyena or wild buffalo or gayal, or of fire or water, or of thorns or spikes or arrows, it is in each case of death that he is really in dread, and therefore afraid of them. This, O king, is the majesty of the essential nature of death. And all being not free from sin are in dread and quake before its majesty. In this sense it is that even the beings in purgatory, who long to be released from it, are afraid of death.'

1 3. ' Suppose, O king, a boil were to arise, full of matter, on a man's body, and he, in pain from that disease, and wanting to escape from the danger of it, were to call in a physician and surgeon. And the surgeon, accepting the call, were to make ready some means or other for the removal of his disease — were to have a lancet sharpened, or to have sticks put into the fire to be used as cauterisers, or to have something ground on a grindstone to be mixed in a salt lotion. Now would the patient begin to be in dread of the cutting of the sharp lancet, or of the burning of the pair of caustic sticks, or of the application of the stinging lotion ? ' ' Yes, he would.' ^ KSrawena, perhaps he means 'by an example.' ^ Adi/^ka.-sa.kka.nzm. It may also mean 'who have not perceived the (Four Noble) Truths.' 2 T 2 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, T4. ' But if the sick man, who wants to be free from his ailment, can fall into dread by the fear of pain, just so can the beings in purgatory, though they long to be released from it, fall into dread by the fear of death.'

14. 'And suppose, O king, a man who had committed an offence against the crown, when bound with a chain, and cast into a dungeon, were to long for release. And the ruler, wishing to release him, were to send for him. Now would not that man, who had thus oft'ended, and knew it, be in dread [150] of the interview with the king ?' ' But if so, then can also the beings in purgatory, though they long to be released from it, yet be afraid of death.' ' Give me another illustration by which I may be able to harmonise ^ (this apparent discrepancy).' ' Suppose, O king, a man bitten by a poisonous snake should be afraid, and by the action of the poison should fall and struggle, and roll this way and that. And then that another man, by the repetition of a powerful charm, should compel that poisonous snake to approach to suck the poison back again ^. Now when the bitten man saw the poisonous snake coming to him, though for the object of curing him, would he not still be in dread of it ?' 'Well, it is just so with the beings in purgatory.

^ Okappeyya?;/. See the Old Commentary at Pa/?'ittiya I, 2, 6. ^ On this belief the 69th Gataka is founded. See FausboU, vol. i, pp. 310, 311 (where, as Mr. Trenckner points out, we must read in the verse the same word pa/^/^a/l'am as we have here). IV, 2, ig. PIRIT. 213 Death is a thing dishked by all beings. And therefore are they in dread of it though they want to be released from purgatory.' ' Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma as to the fear of death.] 15. 'Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the Blessed One : " Not in the sky, not in the ocean's midst, Not in the most secluded mountain cleft, Not in the whole wide world is found the spot Where standing one could 'scape the snare of death ^" But on the other hand the Pirit service was promulgated by the Blessed One - — that is to say, the Ratana Sutta and the Khanda-paritta and the Moraparitta and the Dha^agga-paritta [151] and the A/ana/Iya-paritta and the Anguli-mala-paritta. If, Nagasena, a man can escape death's snare neither by going to heaven, nor by going into the midst of the sea, nor by going to the summits of lofty palaces,

^ Either Dhammapada 127, which is the same except the last word (there ' an evil deed'), or Dhammapada 128, except the last line (which is there ' where standing death would not overtake one '). ^ This is a service used for the sick. Its use so far as the Pi/akas are known has been nowhere laid down by the Buddha, or by words placed in his mouth. This is the oldest text in which the use of the service is referred to. But the word Paritta (Pirit) is used in Alillavagga V, 6, of an asseveration of love for snakes, to be used as what is practically a charm against snake bite, and that is attributed to the Butldha. The particular Suttas and passages here referred to are all in the Pi/akas. 2 14 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, i6. nor to the caves or grottoes or declivities or clefts or holes in the mountains, then is the Pirit ceremony useless. But if by it there is a way of escape from death, then the statement in the verse I quoted is false. This too is a double-headed problem, more knotty than a knot. It is now put to you, and you have to solve it.'

16. ' The Blessed One, O king, said the verse you have quoted, and he sanctioned Pirit \ But that is only meant for those who have some portion of their life yet to run, who are of full age, and restrain themselves from the evils of Karma. And there is no ceremony or artificial means^ for prolonging the life of one whose allotted span of existence has come to an end. Just, O king, as with a dry and dead log of wood, dull ^, and sapless, out of which all life has departed, which has reached the end of its allotted period of life, — you might have thousands of pots of water poured over it, but it would never become fresh again or put forth sprouts or leaves. Just so there is no ceremony or artificial means, no medicine and no Pirit, which can prolong the life of one whose allotted period has come to an end. All the medicines in the world are useless, O king, to such a one, but Pirit is a protection and assistance to those who have a period yet to live, who are full of life, and restrain themselves from the evil of Karma. And

it is for that use that Pirit was appointed by the ^ See last note. Hina/i-kumbure renders ' preached Pirit,' which is quite in accordance with the Pi/akas, as the Suttas of which it is composed are placed in his mouth. ^ Upakkamo. Compare the use of the word at A'ullavagga VII, 3, 10; Sumahgala 69, 71. Utpatti-kramayek says the Si/«halese. ^ Ko/apa. See Gataka III, 495, and the commentary there. Blessed One. Just, O king, as a husbandman guards the grain when it is ripe and dead and ready for harvesting from the influx of water, but makes it grow by giving it water when it is young, and dark in colour like a cloud, and full of life — ^just so, O king, should the Pirit ceremony be put aside and neglected in the case of one who has reached his allotted term of life, [152] but for those who have a period yet to run and are full of vigour, for them the medicine of Pirit may be repeated, and they will profit by its use.' 17. ' But, Nagasena, if he who has a term of life yet to run will live, and he who has none will die, then medicine and Pirit are alike useless.'

* Have you ever seen, O king, a case of a disease being turned back by medicine ? ' ' Yes, several hundred times.' ' Then, O king, your statement as to the inefficiency of Pirit and medicine must be wrong.' ' I have seen, Nagasena, doctors administer medicines by way of draughts or outward applications, and by that means the disease has been assuaged.' 'And w^hen, O king, the voice of those who are repeating Pirit is heard, the tongue may be dried up, and the heart beat but faintly, and the throat be hoarse, but by that repetition all diseases are allayed, all calamities depart. Again, have you ever seen, O king, a man who has been bitten by a snake having the poison resorbed under a spell (by the snake who gave the bite ^) or destroyed (by an antidote) or having a lotion applied above or below the spot-?' * See above, IV, 2, 14. 2 All this sentence is doubtful. Dr. Morris has a learned note on the difiicult words used (which only occur here) in the ' Journal 2l6 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, i8. ' Yes, that is common custom to this day in the world.'

' Then what you said that Pirit and medicine are alike useless is wrong. And when Pirit has been said over a man, a snake, ready to bite, will not bite him, but close his jaws — the club which robbers hold aloft to strike him with will never strike ; they will let it drop, and treat him kindly — the enraged elephant rushing at him will suddenly stop — the burning fiery conflagration surging towards him will die out — the malignant poison he has eaten will become harmless, and turn to food — assassins who have come to slay him will become as the slaves who wait upon him — and the trap into which he has trodden will hold him not. 1 8. ' Again, have you never heard, O king, of that hunter who during seven hundred years failed to throw his net over the peacock who had taken Pirit, but snared him the very day [153] he omitted to do so ^ ? ' ' Yes, I have heard of it. The fame of it has gone through all the world.' ' Then what you said about Pirit and medicine being alike useless must be wrong. And have you never heard of the Danava - who, to guard his wife,

of the Pali Text Society' for 1884, p. 87. Hina/i-kumbure, p. 191, translates as follows: Maha ra^aneni, wisha winasa karannawii mantra padayakin wishaya baswana laddawu, wisha sanhinduwana laddawu, urddhadho bhagayehi awushadha ^alayen temana laddawu, nayaku wisin dash/a karana laddawu kisiwek topa wisin dakna ladde dceyi wi^ala seka. ^ This is the Mora-Gataka, Nos. 159, 491, or (which is the same thing) the Mora-Paritta. ^ An Asura, enemy of the gods, a Titan. Rakshasa says the Sinhalese. IV, 2, ip. PIRIT. 2 1 7 put her into a box, and swallowing it, carried her about in his stomach. And how a Vidyadhara ^ entered his mouth, and played games with his wife. And how the Danava when he became aware of it, vomited up the box, and opened it, and the moment he did so the Vidyadhara escaped whither he would ^ ? ' ' Yes, I have heard that. The fame of it too has eone throuohout the world.' 'Well, did not the Vidyadhara escape capture by the power of Pirit ?' ' Yes, that was so.' * Then there must be power in Pirit. And have you heard of that other Vidyadhara who got into the harem of the king of Benares, and committed adultery with the chief queen, and was caught, and then became invisible, and got away^?'

' Yes, I heard that story.' ' Well, did not he too escape capture by the power of Pirit?' ' Then, O king, there must be power in Pirit.' 19. 'Venerable Nagasena, is Pirit a protection to everybody ? ' ^ They are a kind of genii, with magical powers, who are attendants on the god Siva, (and therefore, of course, enemies of the Danavas). They are not mentioned in the Pi/akas. 2 I don't know where this story comes from. It is not in the Pi/akas anywhere. But Hina/i-kumbure gives the fairy tale al full length, and in the course of it calls the Vidyadharas by name Wayassa-putra, ' Son of the Wind.' He quotes also a gatha which he places, not in the mouth of the Bodisat, but of Buddha himself. I cannot find the tale cither in the G'atakabook, as far as published by Professor Fausboll, or in the Katha Sarit Sagara, though I have looked all through both. ^ See last note. 2l8 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 19. ' To some, not to others.' ' Then it is not always of use ? ' ' Does food keep all people alive ? ' " ' Only some, not others.'

' But why not ? ' ' Inasmuch as some, eating too much of that same food, die of cholera.* ' So it does not keep all men alive ? ' ' There are two reasons which make it destroy life — over-indulgence in it, and weakness of digestion. And even life-giving food may be made poisonous by an evil spell.' 'Just so, O king, is Pirit a protection to some and not to others. And there are three reasons [154] for its failure — the obstruction of Karma, and of sin, and of unbelief. That Pirit which is a protection to beings loses its protecting power by acts done by those beings themselves. Just, O king, as a mother lovingly nourishes the son who has entered her womb, and brings him forth with care \ And after his birth she keeps him clean from dirt and stains and mucus, and anoints him with the best and most costly perfumes, and when others abuse or strike him she seizes them and, full of excitement, drags them before the lord of the place. But when her son is naughty, or comes in late, she strikes him with rods or clubs on her knee or with her hands. Now, that being so, would she get seized and dragged along, and have to appear before the lord ? '

' But why not ? ' ^ Upa/^arena, which the Sinhalese repeats and construes with poseti. ' Because the boy was in fault.' 'Just in the same way, O king, will Pirit which is a protection to beings, yet, by their own fault, turn against them.' ' Very good, Nagasena ! The problem has been solved, the jungle made clear, the darkness made light, the net of heresy unravelled — and by you, O best of the leaders of schools !' [Here ends the dilemma as to Pirit.] [mar A, THE EVIL ONE.] 20. ' Venerable Nagasena, your people say thus : " The Tathagata was in the constant receipt of the things necessary for a recluse — robes, food, lodging, and the requisites for the sick." And again they say : " When the Tathagata entered the Brahman village called the Five Sala trees he received nothing, and had to return with his bowl as clean as before." If the first passage is true the second is false, and if the second passage is true [155] the first is false. This too is a double-headed problem, a mighty crux hard to unravel. It is now put to you. It is for you to solve it.'

21. 'Both statements are true, but when he received nothing that day, that was the work of Mara, the evil one.' ' Then, Nagasena, how was it that the merit laid up by the Blessed One through countless a^ons of time came to end that day ? How was it that Mara, who had only just been produced, could overcome the strength and influence of that merit ? In that case, Nagasena, the blame must fall in one of two 2 20 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 22. ways — either demerit must be more powerful than merit, or the power of Mara be greater than that of the Buddha. The root of the tree must be heavier than the top of it, or the sinner stronger than he who has heaped up virtue.' 22. 'Great king, that is not enough to prove either the one or the other of your alternatives. Still a reason is certainly desirable in this matter. Suppose, O king, a man were to bring a complimentary present to a king of kings — honey or honeycomb or something of that kind. And the king's doorkeeper were to say to him : " This is the wrong time for visiting the king. So, my good fellow, take your present as quickly as ever you can, and go back before the king inflicts a fine upon you." And then that man, in dread and awe, should pick up his present, and return in great haste. Now would the king of kings, merely from the fact that the man brought his gift at the wrong time, be less powerful than the doorkeeper, or never receive a complimentary present any more ? '

' No, Sir. The doorkeeper turned back the giver of that present out of the surliness of his nature, and one a hundred thousand times as valuable [156] might be brought in by some other device.' 'Just so, O king, it was out of the jealousy of his nature that Mara, the evil one, possessed the Brahmans and householders at the Five Sala trees. And hundreds of thousands of other deities came up to offer the Buddha the strength-giving ambrosia from heaven, and stood reverencing him with clasped hands and thinking to themselves that they would thus imbue him with vigour.' 23. ' That may be so, Nagasena. The Blessed One found it easy to get the four requisites of a recluse — he, the best in the world — and at the request of gods and men he enjoyed all the requisites. But still Mara's intention to stop the supply of food to the Blessed One was so far carried out. Herein, Sir, my doubt is not removed. I am still in perplexity and hesitation about this. My mind is not clear how the Tathagata, the Arahat, the supreme Buddha, the best of all the best in the world of gods and men, he who had so glorious a treasure of the merit of virtue, the unequalled one, unrivalled and peerless, — how so vile, mean, insignificant, sinful, and ignoble a being as Mara could put any obstacle in the way of gifts to Him.'

24. * There are four kinds, O king, of obstacles — the obstacle to a gift not intended for any particular person, to a gift set apart for some one, to the gift got ready, and to the enjoyment of a gift. And the first is when any one puts an obstacle in the way of the actual gift of a thing put ready to be given away, but not with a view to or having seen any particular donee, — an obstacle raised, for instance, by saying : " What is the good of giving it away to any one else ? " The second is when any one puts an obstacle in the way of the actual gift of food intended to be prepared to be given to a person specified. The third is when any one puts an obstacle in the way when such a gift has been got ready, but not yet accepted. And the fourth is when any one puts an obstacle in the way of the enjoyment of a gift already given (and so the property of the donee).' 25. * Now when Mara, the evil one, possessed the 22 2 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. TV, 2, 26.

Brahmans and householders at the Five Sala trees, the food in that case was neither the property of, nor got ready for, nor intended to be prepared specially for the Blessed One. [157] The obstacle was put in the way of some one who was yet to come, who had not arrived, and for whom no gift was intended. That was not against the Blessed One alone. But all who had gone out that day, and were coming to the village, failed to receive an alms. I know no one, O king, in the world of men and gods, no one among Maras or Brahmas, no one of the class of Brahmans or recluses, who could put any obstacle in the way of an alms intended for, or got ready for, or already given to the Blessed One. And if any one, out of jealousy, were to raise up any obstacle in that case, then would his head split into a hundred or into a thousand pieces.' 26. * There are four things, O king, connected with the Tathagatas, to which no one can do any harm. And what are the four ? To the alms intended for, and got ready for the Blessed One — to the halo of a fathom's length when it has once spread out from him — to the treasure of the knowledge of his omniscience — and to his life. All these things, O king, are one in essence — they are free from defect, immovable, unassailable by other beings, unchangeable by other circumstances \ And Mara, the evil one, lay in ambush, out of sight, when he possessed the Brahmans and householders at the Five Sala trees. It was as when robbers, O king,

^ Aphusani kiriyani, which I do not pretend to understand, and Mr. Trenckner says is unintelHgible to him. Hina/i-kumbure has: Anya kriyawak no woedaganna boewin apusana (sic) kriyayo ya. hiding out of sight in the inaccessible country over the border, beset the highways. But if the king caught sight of them, do you think those robbers would be safe ? ' * No, Sir, he might have them cut into a hundred or a thousand pieces with an axe.' ' Well, just so it was, hiding out of sight, that Mara possessed them. It was as when a married woman, in ambush, and out of sight, frequents the company of her paramour. [158] But if, O king, she were to carry on her intrigues in her husband's presence, do you think she would be safe ? ' ' No, Sir, he might slay her, or wound her, or put her in bonds, or reduce her to slavery.' ' Well. It was like that, hiding out of sight, that Mara possessed them. But if, O king, he had raised any obstacle in the case of an alms intended for, got ready for, or in possession of the Blessed One, then his head would have split into a hundred or a thousand pieces.'

' That is so, Nagasena. Mara, the evil one, acted after the manner of robbers, he lay in ambush, possessing the Brahmans and householders of the Five Sala trees. But if the same Mara, the evil one, had interfered with any alms mtended for, or made ready for the Blessed One, or with his partaking thereof, then would his head have been split into a hundred or a thousand pieces, or his bodily frame have been dissipated like a handful of chaff.' ' Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [ Here ends the dilemma as to Mara's interference 2 24 the questions of king milinda. iv, 2, 27. 27. 'Venerable Nagasena, your people say: "Whosoever deprives a living being of life, without knowing that he does so, he accumulates very serious demerit ^" But on the other hand it was laid down by the Blessed One in the Vinaya : " There is no offence to him who acts in ignorance^." If the first passage is correct, the other must be false ; and if the second is right, the first must be wrong. This too is a double-pointed problem, hard to master, hard to overcome. It is now put to you, and you have to solve it.'

28. ' Both the passages you quote, O king, were spoken by the Blessed One. But there is a difference between the sense of the two. And what is that difference ? [159] There is a kind of offence which is committed without the co-operation of the mind ^, and there is another kind which has that co-operation. It was with respect to the first of the ^ Not traced as yet, in so many words. And though there are several injunctions in the Vinaya against acts which might haply, though unknown to the doer, destroy life (such, for instance, as drinking water without the use of a strainer), when these are all subjects of special rule, and in each case there is an exception in favour of the Bhikkhu who acts in ignorance of there being living things which could be killed. (See, for instance, PaX'ittiya 62, on the drinking of water.) 2 A^anantassa napatti. Pa/('ittiya LXI, 2, 3 (in the Old Commentary, not ascribed to the Buddha). ^ Sa«;7a-vimokkha. I am not sure of the exact meaning of this difficult compound, which has only been found in this passage. Hina/i-kumbure (p. 199) has: Maha ra^aneni, X'ittangayen abhawayen midena boewin sa;7«a-wimoksha-namwu apattit atteya, &c. (mid = muj^).

two that the Blessed One said : " There is no offence to him who acts in io-norance ^" ' ' Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma as to sins in ignorance.] [the BUDDHA AND HIS FOLLOWERS.] 29. ' Venerable Nagasena, it w^as said by the Blessed One : " Now the Tathagata thinks not, Ananda, that is he who should lead the brotherhood, or that the Order is dependent upon him -." But on the other hand when describing the virtues and the nature of Metteyya, the Blessed One, he said thus : "He will be the leader of a brotherhood several thousands in number, as I am now the leader of a brotherhood several hundreds in number^." If the first statement be right, then the second is wrong. If the second passage is right, the first must be false. This too is a double-pointed problem now put to you, and you have to solve it' ;^o. ' You quote both passages correctly, O king. But in the dilemma that you put the sense in the one passage is inclusive, in the other it is not. It is not the Tathagata, O king, who seeks after a following, but the followers who seek after him.

^ The Si7;/halese has here a further page, giving examples of the two kinds of offences referred to, and drawing the conclusion for each. ^ Book of the Great Decease, II, 32 (translated in my ' Buddhist Suttas,' p. 37), just after the passage quoted above, IV, 2, 4. " Not in any of the published texts. Metteyya is, of course, the Buddha to come, the expected messiah. 2 26 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 30. [160] It is a mere commonly received opinion, O king, that " This is I," or " This is mine," it is not a transcendental truth \ Attachment is a frame of mind put away by the Tathagata, he has put away clineine, he is free from the delusion that " This is mine," he lives only to be a help to others '-. Just as the earth, O king, is a support to the beings in the world, and an asylum to them, and they depend upon it, but the broad earth has no longing after them in the idea that " These belong to me " — ^just so is the Tathagata a support and an asylum to all beings, but has no longing after them in the idea

that " These belong to me." And just as a mighty rain cloud, O king, pours out its rain, and gives nourishment to grass and trees, to cattle and to men, and maintains the lineage thereof, and all these creatures depend for their livelihood upon its rain, but the cloud has no feelings of longing in the idea that " These are mine " — ^just so does the Tathagata give all beings to know what are good qualities and maintains them in goodness, and all beings have their life in him, but the Tathagata has no feelines of lonorinor in the idea that " These are mine." And why is it so ? Because of his having abandoned all self-regard V ' Very good, Nagasena ! The problem has been well solved by variety of examples. The jungle has been made open, the darkness has been turned ^ Sammuti . . . . na paramattho. "^ Upadaya avassayo hoti. 3 Attanudi///^iya pahinatta. See the passages quoted by Dr. Morris in the 'Journal of the Pali Text Society,' 1886, pp. 113, 114. to light, the arguments of the adversaries have been broken down, insight has been awakened in the sons of the Conqueror.'

[Here ends the dilemma as to the Buddha and I . ' Venerable Nagasena, your people say : " The Tathagata is a person whose following can never be broken up." And again they say : " At one stroke Devadatta seduced five hundred of the brethren \" If the first be true the second is false, but if the second be correct then the first is wrong. [161] This too is a double-pointed problem, profound, hard to unravel, more knotty than a knot. By it these people are veiled, obstructed, hindered, shut in, and enveloped. Herein show your skill as against the arguments of the adversaries.' 32. ' Both statements, O king, are correct. But the latter is owing to the power of the breach maker. Where there is one to make the breach, a mother will be separated from her son, and the son will break with the mother, or the father with the son and the son with the father, or the brother from the sister and the sister from the brother, or friend from friend. A ship pieced together with timber of all sorts is broken up by the force of the violence of the waves, and a tree in full bearing and full of sap is broken down by the force of the violence of the wind, and gold of the finest sort is divided by

^ Neither of these phrases is to be foujjid in the published texts in these words. But the latter sums up the episode related in the A'ullavagga VII, 4, i. 228 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 2, 32. bronze. But it is not the intention of the wise, it is not the will of the Buddhas, it is not the desire of those who are learned that the following of the Tathagata should be broken up. And there is a special sense in which it is said that that cannot be. It is an unheard-of thing, so far as I know, that his following could be broken up by anything done or taken, any unkindly word, any wrong action, any injustice, in all the conduct, wheresoever or whatsoever, of the Tathagata himself. In that sense his following is invulnerable. And you yourself, do you know of any instance in all the ninefold word of the Buddha of anything done by a Bodisat which broke up the following of the Tathagata ?' ' No, Sir. Such a thing has never been seen or heard in the world. It is very good, Nagasena, what you say : and I accept it so.'

[Here ends the dilemma as to schism.] Here ends the Second Chapter. IV, 3jI- the dharma. 229 Book IV. Chapter 3. [precedence of the dharma.] I. 'Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the Blessed One : " For it is the Dhamma, O Vasettha, which is ' the best in the world ^,' as regards both what we now see, and what is yet to come ^." But again (according to your people) the devout layman who has entered the Excellent Way, for whom the possibility of rebirth in any place of woe has passed away, who has attained to insight, and to whom the doctrine is known, even such a one ought to salute and to rise from his seat in token of respect for, and to revere, any member of the Order, though a novice, and thoucrh he be unconverted ^. Now if the Dhamma be the best that rule of conduct is wrong, but if that be right then the first statement must be wrong. ^ This is a quotation from a celebrated verse, which is, as it were, the national anthem of those who, in the struggle for religious and ceremonial supremacy between the Brahmans and the nobles, took the side of the nobles (the Khattiyas). As might be expected it is not seldom found in the Buddhist Suttas, and is often put in the mouth of the Buddha, the most distinguished of these Khattiyas who were transcendental rather than military. It runs : ' The Khattiya is the best in the world of those who observe the rules of exogamous marriage, but of the whole race of men and gods he who has wisdom and righteousness is the best.' See, for instance, the Amba///;a Sutta, in the Digha Nikaya, and the Sumahgala Vilasini on that passage. By 'best in the world' is meant 'entitled to lake precedence before all others,' not best in the moral sense.

2 From the Agga77«a Sutta in the Digha Nikaya. ' I cannot give any authority for this, but it is no doubt correct Buddhism according to the spirit of the Pi/akas. 230 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 2. This too is a double-pointed problem. It is nowput to you, and you have to solve it.' [162] 2. ' The Blessed One said what you have quoted, and you have rightly described the rule of conduct. But there is a reason for that rule, and that is this. There are these twenty personal qualities, making up the Sama;^aship of a Sama;za, and these two outward signs \ by reason of which the Sama/^a is worthy of salutation, and of respect, and of reverence. And what are they ? The best form of self-restraint, the highest kind of self-control ^ right conduct, calm manners ^, mastery over (his deeds and words ^), subjugation (of his senses^), long-suffering'', sympathy ^ ^ Lihgani. See above, IV, i, 6i. ^ Aggo niyamo. Hma/i-kumbure takes agga in the sense of Arahatship : ' Niwan dena pratipattiyen yukta bawa.' Niyama is a self-imposed vow. ^ Vihara, which the Si7?ihalese glosses by: 'Sansun iriyapatha wihara?zayen yukta bawa,' ('because he continues in the practice of tranquil deportment.')

* Sa^yama. ' Kaya wak sawyaniayen yukta bawa.' ^ Sa;«varo. * Indriya sawzvarayen yukta bawa.' " Khanti, which the Sinhalese repeats. ■^ Sora/^/^a/?z. 'Because he is docile and pleasant of speech,' says the Sinhalese : ' Suwa/^a kikaru bhawayen yukta bawa.' It is an abstract noun formed from surata, and does not occur in Sanskrit, though Bohtlingk-Roth give one authority for it (under sauratya) from a Buddhist work, the Vyutpatti. It is one of the many instances in which the Buddhist ethics has put new and higher meaning into current phrases, for in Sanskrit literature surata (literally 'high pleasure') is used frequently enough, but almost without exception in an obscene sense. The commentary on G^ataka III, 442 only repeats the word. It is there, as here, and in the Vyutpatti, and at Ahguttara II, 15, 3, always allied with khanti. My translation follows Childers (who probably follows Bohtlingk-Roth) ; but the Si/«halese gloss here makes me very doubtful as to the exact connotation which the early Buddhists associated with ' high pleasure,' the practice of solitude \ love of solitude -, meditation ^ modesty and fear of doing wrong ^ zeal^ earnestness*', the taking upon himself of the precepts ^ recitation (of the Scriptures) ^ asking questions (of those wise in the Dhamma and Vinaya), rejoicing in the Silas and other (rules of morality), freedom from attachment (to the things of the world), fulfilment of the precepts — and the wearing of the yellow robe, and the being shaven. [163] In the practice of all these things does the member of the Order live. By being deficient in none of them, by being perfect in all, accomplished in all, endowed with all of them does he reach forward to the condition of Arahatship, to the condition of those who have nothing left to learn ; he is marching towards the highest of all lands ^ Thus it is because he sees him to be in the company of the Worthy Ones (the Arahats) that the layman who has already entered on the Excellent Way thinks it worthy in him ^*^ to

1 Ekatta->('ariya = 'Ekalawa hcesirimen yiikta bawa.' ^ Pa/isallawaw, not samadhi. A^ittekagrata says the Sinhalese. ^ Viriyaw, 'the zeal of the fourfold effort (pradhana) towards the making of Arahatship,' is the Sinhalese gloss. « Appamado, 'in the search for Arahatship,' says Hina/ikumbure. •^ Sikkha-samadanan. ' Learning them, investigating their meaning, love of the virtuous law laid down in them,' expands Hina/i-kumbur6. ** Uddero. There is a lacuna here in the Sinhalese. It has nothing more till we come to the shaven head. » Amr/ta maha avaka^a bhumiya/a says the Si^whalese (p. 205). 1" Arahati. I have endeavoured to imitate the play upon the 232 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 3. reverence and to show respect to the Bhikkhu, though be may be, as yet, unconverted. It is because he sees him to be in the company of those in whom all evil has been destroyed, because he feels that he is not in such society \ that the converted layman thinks it worthy of him to do reverence and to show respect to the unconverted Bhikkhu. It is because he knows that he has joined the noblest brotherhood, and that he himself has reached no such state, that the converted layman holds it right to do reverence and to show respect to the unconverted Bhikkhu — because he knows that he listens to the recitation of the Patimokkha, while he himself can not — because he knows that he receives men into the Order, and thus extends the teaching of the Conqueror, which he himself is incapable of doing — because he knows that he carries out innumerable precepts, which he himself cannot observe — because he knows that he wears the outward signs ofSama?2aship,and carries out the intention of the Buddha, while he himself is g-one away far from that — because he knows that he, though he has given up his hair and beard, and is unanointed and wears no ornaments, yet is anointed with the perfume of righteousness, while he is himself addicted to jewelry and fine apparel — that the converted layman thinks it right to do reverence, and to show respect to the unconverted Bhikkhu.'

3. ' And moreover, O king, it is because he knows that not only are all these twenty personal qualities which go to make a Sama/^a, and the two outward signs, found in the Bhikkhu, but that he carries them ^ N'atthi me so samayo ti: E samagri labhaya ma/a noetoeyi sita. on, and trains others in them, that the converted layman, realising that he has no part in that tradition ^, in that maintenance of the faith, thinks it .right to reverence and to show respect to the converted Ehikkhu. [164] Just, O king, as a royal prince who learns his knowledge, and is taught the duties of a Khattiya, at the feet of the Brahman who acts as family chaplain ^, when after a time he is anointed king, pays reverence and respect to his master in the thought of his being the teacher, and the carrier on of the traditions of the family, so is it right for the converted Bhikkhu to do reverence and to pay respect to the unconverted Bhikkhu.' 4. ' And moreover, O king, you may know by this fact the greatness and the peerless glory of the condition of the Bhikkhus — that if a layman, a disciple of the faith, who has entered upon the Excellent Way, should attain to the realisation of Arahatship, one of two results must happen to him, and there is no other — he must either die away on that very day, or take upon himself the condition of a Bhikkhu. For immovable, O king, is that state of renunciation, glorious, and most exalted — I mean the condition of being a member of the Order ! '

' Venerable Nagasena, this subtle problem has been thoroughly unravelled by your powerful and great wisdom. No one else could solve it so unless he were wise as you.' [Here ends the problem as to the precedence of the ^ Agamo, which the Siz'zhalese repeats. ^ Purohita, which the Sinhalese repeats. 2 34 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. TV, 3, 5. [the harm of PREACHING.] 5. ' Venerable Nagasena, you Bhikkhus say that the Tathagata averts harm from all beings, and does them good ^ And again you say that when he was preaching the discourse based on the simile of the burning fire ^ hot blood was ejected from the mouths of about sixty Bhikkhus. By his delivery of that discourse he did those Bhikkhus harm and not good. So if the first statement is correct, the second is false ; and if the second is correct, the first [165] is false. This too is a double-pointed problem put to you, which you have to solve.' 6. ' Both are true. What happened to them was not the Tathagata's doing, but their own.' ' But, Nagasena, if the Tathagata had not delivered that discourse, then would they have vomited up hot blood?'

' No. When they took wrongly what he said, then was there a burning kindled within them, and hot blood was ejected from their mouths.' ' Then that must have happened, Nagasena, through the act of the Tathagata, it must have been the Tathagata who was the chief cause ^ to destroy them. Suppose a serpent, Nagasena, had crept into an anthill, and a man in want of earth were to break into the anthill, and take the earth of it away. And by his doing so the entrance-hole to the anthill ^ I cannot give chapter and verse for the words, but the sentiment is common enough. 2 This is not the Adit t a- par iy ay a given in the Mahavagga I, 21, and the Aggikkhandiipama Sutta in the yth Book of the Afiguttara. 2 Adhikara. Pradhana is the Sinhalese translation. were closed up, and the snake were to die in consequence from want of air. Would not the serpent have been killed by that man's action ?' ' Yes, O king.' ' Just so, Nagasena, was the Tathagata the prime cause of their destruction.' 7. ' When the Tathagata delivered a discourse, O king, he never did so either in flattery or in malice. In freedom both from the one and from the other did he speak. And they who received it aright were made wise\ but they who received it wrongly, fell. Just, O king, as when a man shakes a mango tree or a jambu tree or a mee tree ^, such of the fruits on it as are full of sap and strongly fastened to it remain undisturbed, but such as have rotten stalks, and are loosely attached, fall to the ground — [166] so was it with his preaching. It was, O king, as when a husbandman, wanting to grow a crop of wheat, ploughs the field, but by that ploughing many hundreds and thousands of blades of grass are killed — or it was as when men, for the sake of sweetness, crush sugarcane in a mill, and by their doing so such small creatures as pass into the mouth of the mill are crushed also — so was it that the Tathagata making wise those whose minds were prepared, preached the Dhamma without flattery and without malice. And they who received it aright were made wise, but they who received it wrongly, fell.'

8. ' Then did not those Bhikkhus fall, Nagasena, just because of that discourse ? ' * Bu^^-^anti: unto Arahatship adds Hina/i-kumbure. 2 Madhuka. Sec Gataka IV, 434. The Si;«halese (p. 208) has migahak (Bassia Latifolia). 236 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 9. ' How, then, could a carpenter by doing nothing to a piece of timber, and simply laying it by ^ make it straiofht and fit for use ? ' ' No, Sir. He would have to get rid of the bends out of it, if he wanted it straight and ready for use.' 'Just so, O king, the Tathagata could not, by merely watching over his disciples, have opened the eyes of those who were ready to see. But by getting rid of those who took the word wrongly he saved those prepared to be saved. And it was by their own act and deed, O king, that the evil-minded fell ; just as a plantain tree, or a bambu, or a she-mule are destroyed by that to which they themselves give birth 2. And just, O king, as it is by their own acts that robbers come to have their eyes plucked out, or to impalement, or to the scaffold, just so were the evil-minded destroyed by their own act, and fell from the teaching of the Conqueror.'

9. ' And so [167] with those sixty Bhikkhus, they fell neither by the act of the Tathagata nor of any one else, but solely by their own deed ^. Suppose, O king, a man were to give ambrosia ^ to all the people, and they, eating of it, were to become healthy and long-lived and free from every bodily ill. But one man, on eating it, were by his own bad digestion, to ^ Rakkhanto, which Hina/i-kumbuie expands in the sense adopted above. ^ Plantains and bambus die when they flower. And it was popular belief in India that she-mules always died if they foaled. See A'ullavagga VI, 4, 3; VII, 2, 5; Vimana Vatthu 43, 8; Sa;/^yutta Nikaya VI, 2, 2. ^ Hina/i-kumbure here inserts a translation of the whole of the Sutta referred to. * A ma tarn, with reference, no doubt, to Arahatship, of which this is also an epithet. IV, Sjifr THE FOOLISH FELLOW. 237 die. Would then, O king, the man who gave away the ambrosia be guilty therein of any offence ?' * Just so, O king, does the Tathagata present the o-ift of his ambrosia to the men and aods in the ten thousand world systems ; and those beings who are capable of doing so are made wise by the nectar of his law, while they who are not are destroyed and fall. Food, O king, preserves the lives of all beings. But some who eat of it die of cholera ^ Is the man who feeds the hungry guilty therein of any offence ? '

' Just so, O king, does the Tathagata present the o-ift of his ambrosia to the men and orods in the ten thousand world systems ; and those beings who are capable of doing so are made wise by the nectar of his law, while they who are not are destroyed and fall.' * Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma on the harm resulting from preaching.] [the secrets of a tathagata.] II. [This dilemma treats of one of the thirty bodily signs of a ' great man ' (Mahapurusha) supposed to be possessed by every Tathagata, but as it deals with matters not usually spoken of in this century, it is best read in the original.] [the foolish fellow.] 15. [170] ' Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the Elder Sariputta, the commander of the faith : " The 1 Visu^ikaya, which Hina/i-kumbur6 renders: Agirna. wa wiwekabadhayen. So above, IV, 2, 18. 238 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 16. Tathagata, brethren, is perfect in courtesy of speech. There is no fault of speech in the Tathagata concerning which he should have to take care that no one else should know it \" And on the other hand the Tathagata, when promulgating the first Para^ika on the occasion of the offence of Sudinna the Kalanda ^ addressed him with harsh words, calling him a useless fellow ^. And that Elder, on being so called, terrified with the fear of his teacher*, and overcome with remorse, was unable to comprehend the Excellent Way '^. Now if the first statement be correct, the allegation that the Tathagata called Sudinna the Kalanda a useless fellow must be false. But if that be true, then the first statement must be false. [171] This too is a double-pointed problem now put to you, and 3^ou have to solve it.'

16. 'What Sariputta the Elder said is true, O kine. And the Blessed One called Sudinna a useless fellow on that occasion. But that was not out of rudeness of disposition ''\ it was merely pointing out the real nature (of his conduct) in a way that would do him no harm \ And what herein is meant by ' I don't know where such a phrase is put into Sariputta's mouth : but a similar one, as Mr. Trenckner points out, is ascribed to the Buddha at Ahguttara VII, 6, 5. - Kalanda-putto, where Kalanda (or Kalandaka as some MSS. of the Vinaya spell it) is the name of the clan (see Parao-ika I, 5, i), not of the father. ^ See the whole speech at Para^ika I, 5, 11. * Garuttasena. Taso is not in Childers, but occurs Cataka III, 177, 202. ^ There is nothing in the Vinaya account of this result. " Du///ia-/('ittena, which Hina/i-kumbure repeats. ■^ Asarambhena yathava-lakkhawena. For yathava, which is not in Childers, see Buddhaghosa in the Sumahgala Vilasini, p. 65, and Dhammapala on Theri Gatha, 387. Hina/i-kumbure " pointing out the real nature." If any man, O king, in this birth does not attain to the perception of the Four Truths, then is his manhood (his being born as a man) in vain \ but if he acts cHfferently he will become different. Therefore is it that he is called a useless fellow ^ And so the Blessed One addressed Sudinna the Kalanda with words of truth, and not with words apart from the facts.'

17. 'But, Nagasena, though a man in abusing another speaks the truth, still we should inflict a small" fine upon him. For he is guilty of an offence, inasmuch as he, although for something real, abused him by the use of words that might lead to a breach (of the peace) *.' ' Have you ever heard, O king, of a people bowing down before, or rising up from their seats in respect for, or showing honour to, or bringing the complimentary presents (usually given to officials) to a criminal .'*' * No, if a man have committed a crime of whatever sort or kind, if he be really worthy of reproof and punishment, they would rather behead him, or tor- translates: Upadra karawa sitakin ut no wanneya, swabhawa lakshawayen maya ehi wadala kisiwek cet nam. e swabhawa laksha^zaya maya. ^ M ogham. So at Cataka III, 24. ^ IMogha-puriso, the same word as I have translated elsewhere ' foolish fellow,' following Childers. But I never think that the word means always and only ' in vain, useless.' See Gataka I, 14; III, 24, 25; Sutta Nipata III, 7, 20; Mahavagga VIII, i, 5; A^uUavagga V, 1 1, 3 ; Ahguttara II, 5, 10 ; Sumahgala Vilasini, p. 55,

' Literally, 'a fine of a kahapawa,' a copper coin worth in our money about a penny. See my ' Ancient Coins and IMeasures,' p. 3. * Visum voharaw a/taranto. The Si;;/halese (p. 224) has Wen wu wa/{'ana wu wyawaharayekin hcesiremin. 240 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 18. tiire him \ or bind him with bonds, or put him to death, or deprive him of his goods ^' ' Did then the Blessed One, O king, act with justice or not ? ' ' With justice, Sir, and in a most fit and proper way. And when, Nagasena, they hear of it the world of men and o-ods will be made tender of conscience, and afraid of falling into sin, struck with awe at the sight of it, and still more so when they themselves associate with wrong-doers, or do wrong.' 18. [172] ' Now would a physician, O king, administer pleasant things as a medicine in a case where all the humours of the body were affected, and the whole frame was disorganised and full of disease ?' ' No. Wishing to put an end to the disease he would give sharp and scarifying drugs.' ' In the same way, O king, the Tathagata bestows admonition for the sake of suppressing all the diseases of sin. And the words of the Tathagata, even when stern, soften men and make them tender. Just as hot water, O king, softens and makes tender anything capable of being softened, so are the words of the Tathagata, even when stern, yet as full of benefit, and as full of pity as the words of a father would be to his children. Just, O king, as the drinking of evil-smelling decoctions, the swallowing of nasty drugs, destroys the weaknesses of men's bodies, so are the words of the Tathagata, even when stern, bringers of advantage and laden with pity. And

^ Hananti. But hi wsat kereti says the Si?«halese, ^ G'apenti. Dr. Edward Miiller thinks this a misprint for ^^apenti (Pali Grammar, p. 37). Dhanaya hanayen nird- dhanika kereti is the Si?/?halese version. just, O king, as a ball of cotton falling on a man raises no bruise, so do the words of the Tathaeata, even when stern, do no harm.' * Well have you made this problem clear by many a simile. Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [End of the dilemma as to the Buddha's harsh words 19. ' Venerable Nagasena, the Tathagata said : " Brahman ! why do you ask an unconscious thing. Which cannot hear you, how it does to-day ? Active, intelligent, and full of life, How can you speak to this so senseless thing — This wild Palasa tree^ ?" [173] And on the other hand he said : " And thus the Aspen tree then made reply : ' I, Bharadva^a, can speak too. Listen to me 2.' " ' Now if, Nagasena, a tree is an unconscious thing, it must be false that the Aspen tree spoke to Bharadva^a. But if that is true, it must be false to say that a tree is unconscious. This too is a double-edeed problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.'

20. ' The Master said, Nagasena, that a tree is unconscious. And the Aspen tree conversed with Bharadvac^a. But that last is said, O king, by a common form of speech. For though a tree being unconscious cannot talk, yet the word " tree " is used ^ Crataka III, 24. It is not the Tathagata, but the Bodisat^ who speaks. * Gataka IV, 210, where the verses are ascribed to the Buddha. 242 THE QUESTIONS OF KTNG MILINDA. IV, 3, 21. as a designation of the dryad who dwells therein, and in that sense that " the tree talks " is a wellknown expression. Just, O king, as a waggon laden with corn is called a corn-waggon. But it is not made of corn, it is made of wood, yet because of the corn being heaped up in it the people use the expression "corn-waggon." Or just, O king, as when a man is churning sour milk the common expression is that he is churning butter. But it is not butter that he is churning, but milk. Or just, O king, as when a man is making something that does not exist the common expression is that he is making that thing which all the while as yet is not, [174] but people talk of the work as accomplished before it is done. And the Tathagata, when expounding the Dhamma, does so by means of the phraseology which is in common use among the people.'

* Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma as to the talking tree.] [the Buddha's last illness.] 21. 'Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the Elders who held the Recitation ^ : " When he had eaten A'unda's alms, The coppersmith's, — thus have I heard, — The Buddha felt that sickness dire, That sharp pain even unto death ^ The Council of Ra^agaha is meant, at which the Pi/akas were recited. All the so-called Councils are exclusively ' Recitations ' (Sa7«gitiyo) in Buddhist phraseology. But 'Council' is the best rendering of the word, as Recitation implies so much that would be unintelligible to the ordinary reader. ^ Book of the Great Decease, IV, 23. IV, 3, 22. THE BUDDHA S LAST ILLNESS. 243 And afterwards the Blessed One said : " These two offerings of food, Ananda, equal, of equal fruit, and of equal result, are of much greater fruit and much greater result than any others ^" Now if sharp sickness fell upon the Blessed One, Nagasena, after he had partaken of A'unda's alms, and sharp pains arose within him even unto death, then that other statement must be wrong. But if that is right then the first must be wrong. How could that alms, Nagasena, be of great fruit when it turned to poison, gave rise to disease, [175] put an end to the period of his then existence, took away his life ? Explain this to me to the refutation of the adversaries. The people are in bewilderment about this, thinking that the dysentery must have been caused by his eating too much, out of greediness.'

2 2. 'The Blessed One said, O king, that there were two almsgivings equal, of equal fruit, and equal result, and of much greater fruit, and much greater result than any others, — that which, when a Tathagata has partaken of it, he attains to supreme and perfect Buddhahood (Enlightenment), and that when he has partaken of which, he passes away by that utter passing away in which nothing whatever remains behind ^. For that alms is full of virtue, full of advantage. The gods, O king, shouted in joy and gladness at the thought : " This is the last meal the Tathagata will take," and communicated a divine power of nourishment to that tender ^ Book of the Great Decease, IV, 57, but with a shghtly different reading. ^ Book of the Great Decease, loc. cit. The Si;;/halese gives the whole context in full. 244 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 22. pork \ And that was itself in good condition, light, pleasant, full of flavour, and good for digestion ^ It was not because of it that any sickness fell upon the Blessed One, but it was because of the extreme weakness of his body, and because of the period of life he had to live having been exhausted, that the disease arose, and grew worse and worse — just as when, O king, an ordinary fire is burning, if fresh fuel be supplied, it will burn up still more — or [176] as when a stream is flowing along as usual, if a

^ Sukara-maddava. There is great doubt as to the exact meaning of this name of the last dish the Buddha partook of, Maddati is 'to rub,' or 'to press,' or 'to trample,' and just as ' pressed beef is ambiguous, so is ' boar-pressed ' or 'pork-tender' capable of various interpretations. The exegetical gloss as handed down in the Maha Vihara in Anuradhapure, Ceylon, in the now lost body of tradition called the Maha A///^akatha, has been preserved by Dhammapala in his comment on Udana VIII, 5 (p. 8i of Dr. Steinthal's edition for the Pali Text Society). It means, I think, ' Meat pervaded by the tenderness and niceness of boar's (flesh).' But that is itself ambiguous, and Dhammapala adds that others say the word means not pork or meat at all, but ' the tender top sprout of the bambu plant after it has been trampled upon by swine' — others again that it means a kind of mushroom that grows in ground trodden under foot by swine — others again that it means only a particular kind of flavouring, or sauce. As Maddana is rendered by Childers 'withered,' I have translated it in my ' Buddhist Suttas ' (pp. 71-73) ' dried boar's flesh.' But the fact is that the exact sense is not known. (Maddavani pupphani at Dhammapada 377 is ' withered flowers,' according to Fausboll. But it may be just as well ' tender flowers,' especially as Mardava in Sanskrit always means 'tender, pitiful,' &c. This is the only passage where the word is known to occur in Pali apart from those in which sukara-maddava is mentioned.) The Siwhalese here (p. 230) repeats the word and adds the gloss : E taruwu wu ilru ma;;/sayehi.

2 G^atharaggi-te^assa hitam. On this curious old belief in an internal fire see my ' Buddhist Suttas,' p. 260. IV, 3>23. THE Buddha's last illness. 245 heavy rain falls, it will become a mighty river with a great rush of water — or as when the body is of its ordinary girth, if more food be eaten, it becomes broader than before. So this was not, O king, the fault of the food that was presented, and you can not impute any harm to it.' 23. 'But, venerable Nagasena, why is it that those two gifts of food are so specially meritorious ? ' ' Because of the attainment of the exalted conditions which resulted from them\' ' Of what conditions, Nagasena, are you speaking?' ' Of the attainment of the nine successive states which were passed through at first in one order, and then in the reverse order ^.' ' It was on two days, was it not, Nagasena, that the Tathagata attained to those conditions in the highest degree ? ' 'Yes, O king I' 'It is a most wonderful thing, Nagasena, and a most strange, that of all the great and glorious gifts which were bestowed upon our Blessed One ^ not one can be compared with these two almsgivings. Most marvellous is it, that even as those

^ Dhammanuma^^ana-samapatti-varena: which the Sinhalese merely repeats. For Anuma^^ana see the text above, p. 62, and Sumahgala Vilasini, p. 65. 2 See the full description in the Book of the Great Decease, VI, 11-13. (' Buddhist Suttas,' pp. 115, 116.) The Sinhalese is here greatly expanded (pp. 230-233). =* So our author must have thought that the nine Anupubbaviharas occurred also after the alms given to Gotama before he sat under the Bo Tree, but I know of no passage in the Pi/akas which would support this belief. Compare the note 2 in vol. i, p. 74 of the ' Vinaya Texts,' and the passages there quoted. * Buddha-khette danam, 'gifts which had the Buddha as the field in which they were bestowed, or sown.' 246 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILTNDA. IV, 3, 24. nine successive conditions are sflorious, even so are those gifts made, by their glory, [177] of greater fruit, and of greater advantage than any others. Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma as to the Buddha's 24. * Venerable Nagasena, the Tathagata said : " Hinder not yourselves, Ananda, by honouring the remains of the Tathagata \" And on the other

hand he said : " Honour that relic of him who is worthy of honour. Acting in that way you go from this world to heaven ^." * Now if the first injunction was right the second must be wrong, and if the second is right the first must be wrong. This too is a double-edged problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.' 25. ' Both the passages you quote were spoken by the Blessed One. But it was not to all men, it was to the sons of the Conqueror ^ that it was said : " Hinder not yourselves, Ananda, by honouring the {remains of the Tathagata^." Paying reverence is not the work of the sons of the Conqueror, [178] i, but rather the grasping of the true nature of all ^ Book of the Great Decease, V, 24. ^ Not found in any of the Pi/aka texts as yet published. ^ (?ina-puttanaTO. That is, the members of the Order. * Here again Hina/i-kumbure goes into a long account of the attendant circumstances (pp. 233, 234). IV, 3j 26. ADORATION OF RELICS. 247 compounded things, the practice of thought, contemplation in accordance with the rules of Satipa- ///^ana, the seizing of the real essence of all objects of thought, the struggle against evil, and devotion to their own (spiritual) good. These are things which the sons of the Conqueror ought to do, leaving to others, whether gods or men, the paying of reverence ^.'

26. ' And that is so, O king, just as it is the business of the princes of the earth to learn all about elephants, and horses, and chariots, and bows, and rapiers, and documents, and the law of property ^ to carry on the traditions of the Khattiya clans, and to fi^ht themselves and to lead others in war, while husbandry, merchandise, and the care of cattle are the business of other folk, ordinary Vessas and Suddas. — Or just as the business of Brahmins and their sons is concerned with the Rig-veda, the Ya^ur-veda, the Sama-veda, the Atharva-veda, with the knowledge of lucky marks (on the body), of legends ■', Pura;ms, lexicography ^ prosody, phonology, "verses, grammar, etymology, astrology, interpretation of omens, and of dreams, and of signs, study of the six Vedaiigas, of eclipses of the sun and moon, of the prognostications to be drawn from the flight of comets, the thunderings of the gods, the junctions of planets, the fall of meteors, earthquakes, conflagrations, and signs in the heavens and on the earth, the study of arithmetic, of cas- ^ This is really only an expansion and a modernisation of the context of the passage quoted.

^ Lekha-mudda. See the note above on I, i, 10. 2 Itihasa, 'the Bharata and the Ramayawa,' says the Si;«halese. * ' Of names of trees and so on,' says Hina/i-kumbure. 248 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 27. uistry, of the interpretation of the omens to be drawn from dogs, and deer, and rats, and mixtures of liquids, and the sounds and cries of birds — while husbandry, merchandise, and the care of cattle are the business of other folk, ordinary Vessas and Suddas. So it was, O king, in the sense of " Devote not yourselves to such things as are not your business, but to such things as are so " that the Tathagata was speaking [179] when he said : " Hinder not yourselves, Ananda, by honouring the remains of the Tathagata." And if, O king, he had not said so, then would the Bhikkhus have taken his bowl and his robe, and occupied themselves with paying reverence to the Buddha through them ^ ! ' ' Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma as to reverence to relics.] [the splinter of rock.] 27. 'Venerable Nagasena, you Bhikkhus say that : " When the Blessed One walked alone, the earth, unconscious though it is, filled up its deep places, and made its steep places plain ^." And on the other hand you say that a splinter of

^ This certainly looks as if our author did not know anything of the worship paid to the supposed bowl of the Buddha, or of the feast, the Patta-maha, held in its honour. The passage may therefore be used as an argument for the date of the book. FaHien saw this bowl-worship in full force at Peshawar about 400 A. D. See Chapter xii of his travels (Dr. Legge's translation, pp. ^ Not found as yet in the Pi/akas. rock grazed his foot ^ When that splinter was falHng on his foot why did it not, then, turn aside ? If it be true that the unconscious earth makes its deep places full and its steep places plain for him, then it must be untrue that the splinter of rock hurt his foot. But if the latter statement be true, then the first must be false. This too is a doubleedged problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.' 28. ' Both statements, O king, are true. But that splinter of rock did not fall of itself^, it was cast down through the act of Devadatta. Through hundreds of thousands of existences, O king, had Devadatta borne a grudge against the Blessed One -^ It was through that hatred that he seized hold of a mighty mass of rock, and pushed it over with the hope that it would fall upon the Buddha's head. But two other rocks came together, and intercepted it before it reached the Tathagata, and by the force of their impact a splinter was torn off, and fell in such a direction that it struck [180] the Blessed One's foot.'

29, ' But, Nagasena, just as two rocks intercepted that mighty mass, so could the splinter have been intercepted.' ' But a thing intercepted, O king, can escape, slip through, or be lost — as water does, through the fingers, when it is taken into the hand — or milk, or buttermilk, or honey, or ghee, or oil, or fish curry, ' A'ullavagga VII, 3, 9. Compare the Sawyulta Nikaya I, 4, 8 ; IV, 2, 3 (pp. 27 and no of M. Ldon Peer's edition for the Pali Text Society). ^ So above, IV, 2, 64, and below, IV, 4, 41. 250 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 30. or gravy — or as fine, subtle, minute, dusty grains of sand do, through the fingers, if you close your fist on them — or as rice will escape sometimes when you have taken it into your fingers, and are putting it into your mouth.' 30. ' Well, let that be so, Nagasena. I admit that the rock was intercepted. But the splinter ought at least to have paid as much respect to the Buddha as the earth did.' ' There are these twelve kinds of persons, O king', who pay no respect — the lustful man in his lust, and the angry man in his malice, and the dull man in his stupidity, and the puffed-up man in his pride, and the bad man in his want of discrimination, and the obstinate man in his want of docility, and the mean man in his littleness, and the talkative man in his vanity, and the wicked man in his cruelty, and the wretched man in his misery, and the gambler [181] because he is overpowered by greed, and the busy man in his search after gain. But that splinter, just as it was broken off by the impact of the rocks, fell by chance ^ in such a direction that it struck against the foot of the Blessed One — ^just as fine, subtle, and minute grains of sand, when carried away by the force of the wind, are sprinkled down by chance in any direction they may happen to take. If the splinter, O king, had not been separated from the rock of which it formed a part, it too would have been intercepted by their meeting together. But, as it was, it was neither fixed on the earth, nor did it remain stationary in the air, but fell whithersoever

^ Animitta-kata-disa, which the Sinhalese (p. 238) merely repeats. IV, 3, 3^- THE SAMAiVA. 25 1 chance directed it, and happened to strike against the Blessed One's foot — ^just as dried leaves might fall if caught up in a whirlwind. And the real cause of its so striking against his foot was the sorrowworking deed ^ of that ungrateful, wicked, Devadatta.' * Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma as to the splinter grazing the Buddha's foot] 31. 'Venerable Nagasena, the Blessed One said : " A man becomes a Sama^za by the destruction of the Asavas^." But on the other hand he said : " The man who has these dispositions four Is he whom the world knows as Sama;^a^" And in that passage these are the four dispositions referred to — long-suffering, temperance in food, renunciation ^, and the being without the attachments^ (arising from lust, ill-will, and dulness). Now these four dispositions are equally found in those who are still defective, in whom [182] the ^ Dukkhanubhavana — the sorrow being Devadatta's subsequent existence in purgatory. ^ That is ' of sensuality, individuality, delusion, and ignorance.' I don't know which is the passage referred to.

^ Also not traced as yet in the texts. * Vippahana, not in Childers, but see Sutta Nipata V, 14, 4, 5. Hina/i-kumbure (p. 239) renders it alaya hoerima. ^ Akinka77;7a, not having the three ki?lX-anas mentioned. Hina/i-kumbure (p. 239) takes it to mean the practice of the Aki«/C'ayatana meditation. But if so that would surely have been the word used. 252 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 32. Asavas have not yet been completely destroyed. So that if the first statement be correct, the second is wrong, and if the second be right the first must be wrong. This too is a double-edged problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.' 32. ' Both statements, O king, were made by the Blessed One. But the second was said of the characteristics of such and such men ; the first is an inclusive statement — that all in whom the Asavas are destroyed are Sama?/as. And moreover, of all those who are made perfect by the suppression of evil, if you take them in regular order one after the other, then the Sama;^a in whom the Asavas are destroyed is acknowledged to be the chief — ^just, O king, as of all flowers produced in the water or on the land, the double jasmine ^ is ackowledged to be the chief, all other kinds of flowers of whatever sort are merely flowers, and taking them in order it is the double jasmine that people most desire and like. Or just, O king, as of all kinds of grain, rice is acknowledged to be the chief, all other kinds of grain, of whatever sort, [183] are useful for food and for the support of the body, but if you take them in order, rice is acknowledged as the best.'

* Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the dilemma as to what constitutes ^ Varsika (Dcfesaman mal, jasminum zambac). 33. 'Venerable Nagasena, the Blessed One said : " If, O Bhikkhus, any one should speak in praise of me, or of our religion (Dhamma), or of the Order, you should not thereupon indulge in joy, or delight, or exultation of mind ^ ". And on the other hand the Tathagata was so delighted, and pleased, and exultant at the deserved praise bestowed on him by Sela the Brahman, that he still further magnified his own goodness in that he said : " A king am I, Sela, the king supreme Of righteousness. The royal chariot wheel In righteousness do I set rolling on — That wheel that no one can turn back again ^ ! " Now if the passage first quoted be right then must the second be wrong, but if that be right then must the first be wrong. This too is a double-edged problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.' 34. [184] ' Both your quotations, O king, are correct. But the first passage was spoken by the Blessed One with the intention of setting forth truthfully, exactly, in accordance with reality, and fact, and

^ From the Brahma-^ala Sutta in the Digha Nikaya (I, i, 5). 2 From the Sela Sutta in the Sutta Nipata (III, 7, 7). Professor FausboU in his translation of this stanza (at vol. x, p. 102 of the ' Sacred Books of the East ') draws attention to the parallel at John xviii. 37. ' Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born. And for this cause came 1 into the world that I should bear witness unto the truth ' — where ' truth,' if one translated the verse into Pali, would be correctly rendered by Dhamma, 'righteousness, religion, truth, essential quality.' Professor Fausboll's version of the stanza runs : ' I am a king, O Sela, an incomparable religious (Dhamma-ra^^a) king, with justice (Dhamma). I turn the wheel, a wheel that is irresistible.' 2 54 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 35. sense, the real nature, and essence, and characteristic marks of the Dhamma. And the second passage was not spoken for the sake of gain or fame, nor out of party spirit, nor in the hist of winning over men to become his followers. But it was in mercy and love, and with the welfare of others in view, conscious that thereby three hundred young Brahmans would attain to the knowledge of the truth, that he said : " A king am I, Sela, the king supreme of righteousness.

' Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say,' [Here ends the problem as to exultation of mind.] 35. 'Venerable Nagasena, the Blessed One said: " Doing no injury to any one Dwell full of love and kindness in the world ^" And on the other hand he said : " Punish him who deserves punishment ^, favour him who is worthy of favour." [185] Now punishment, Nagasena, means the cutting off of hands or feet, flogging ^ casting into bonds, torture^, execution, degradation in rank^ ^ From the 521st Gataka. 2 The crux Hes in the ambiguity of this phrase as will be seen below. ^ Vadha, which is ambiguous, and means also 'killing.' The Siwzhalese repeats the word. * Kara«a, which Hina/i-kumbure renders toelimaya, ' flogging.' ^ Santati-vikopana?//, literally ' breach of continuity.' Hina/ikumbure explains it to mean ' injury to the duration of Ufe,' and this may be the author's meaning, as he is fond of heaping together a string of words, some of which mean the same thing. But as Such a saying is therefore not worthy of the Blessed One, and he ought not to have made use of it. For if the first injunction be right then this must be wrong, and if this be right then the injunction to do no injury to any one, but to dwell full of love and kindness in the w'orld, must be wrong. This too is a double-edged problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.'

36. ' The Blessed One, great king, gave both the commands you quote. As to the first, to do no injury to any one, but to live full of love and kindness in the world — that is a doctrine approved by all the Buddhas. And that verse is an injunction, an unfolding of the Dhamma, for the Dhamma has as its characteristic that it works no ill. And the saying is thus in thorough accord with it. But as to the second command you quote that is a special use of terms [w^hich you have misunderstood. The real meaning of them is : " Subdue that which ought to be subdued, strive after, cultivate, favour what is worthy of effort, cultivation, and approval "]. The proud heart, great king, is to be subdued, and the lowly heart cultivated — the wicked heart to be subdued, and the good heart to be cultivated — carelessness of thought is to be subdued, and exactness of thought to be cultivated — [186] he who is given over to wrong views is to be subdued, and he who has attained to right views is to be cultivated — he who is not noble ^ is to be subdued, and the noble one is

santati means also 'lineage, descent,' the phrase may equally well refer to the sort of punishment I have ventured to put into the text. ' Ariyo and anariyo used technically in the sense of one who has not, and one who has, entered upon the Noble Eightfold Path. 256 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 37, to be cultivated — the robber ^ is to be subdued, and the honest brother is to be cultivated.' 2,^]. ' Let that be so, Nagasena. But now, in that last word of yours, you have put yourself into my power, you have come round to the sense in which I put my question. For how, venerable Nagasena, Is the robber to be subdued by him who sets to work to subdue him ? ' * Thus, great king — if deserving of rebuke let him be rebuked, if of a fine let him be fined, if of banishment let him be banished, if of death let him be put to death.' * Is then, Nagasena, the execution of robbers part of the doctrine laid down by the Tathagatas ?' * Certainly not, O king.' ' Then why have the Tathagatas laid down that the robber is to be taught better ?'

* Whosoever, great king, may be put to death, he does not suffer execution by reason of the opinion put forth by the Tathagatas. He suffers by reason of what he himself has done. But notwithstanding that the doctrine of the Dhamma has been taught (by the Buddhas) ", would it be possible, great king, for a man who had done nothing wrong, and was walking innocently along the streets, to be seized and put to death by any wise person ?' ^ Coro probably here used figuratively of a member of the Order who is unworthy of it, and injures believing laymen. So the word is used, for instance, in the introductory story (in the Sutta Vibhahga) to the fourth Para^ika — where four sorts of such religious * robbers ' are distinguished (compare our ' wolf in sheep's clothing '). But the king takes it literally. ^ The three words in brackets are Hina/i-kumbur^'s gloss. ' But why ? ' ' Because of his innocence.' 'Just so, great king, since the thief is not put to death through the word of the Tathagata, but only through his own act, how can any fault be rightly found on that account with the Teacher ? '

' It could not be. Sir,' ' So you see the teaching of the Tathagatas is a righteous teaching.' ' Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the problem as to kindness and [the dismissal of the elders.] 38. * Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the Blessed One : " Anger I harbour not, nor sulkiness \" But on the other hand the Tathagata dismissed the Elders Sariputta and Moggallana, together with the brethren who formed their company of disciples -. ^ From the Dhaniya Sutta in the Sutta Nipata (I, 2,2). ^ The episode here referred to will be found in the Ma^^/;ima Nikaya, No. 67. Hina/i-kumbure gives it in full. The Buddha was staying at the Amalaki garden near the Sakya town called -STatuma. There the two elders with their attendant 500 disciples came to call upon him. The resident Bhikkhus received them with applause, and a great hubbub arose. The Buddha enquired what that noise was, like the chattering of fishermen when a net full of fishes was drawn to shore. Ananda told him. Thereupon the Buddha called the brethren together, made a discourse to them on the advantages of quiet, and ' sent away ' the visitors. They went to the public rest-house in the town. The town's folk enquired why, and

How now, Nagasena, [187] was it in anger that the Tathagata sent away^ the disciples, or was it in pleasure ? Be so good as to explain to me how this was ^. For if, Nagasena, he dismissed them in anger, then had the Tathagata not subdued all liability to anger in himself. But if it was in pleasure, then he did so ignorantly, and without due cause. This too Is a double-edged problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.' 39. ' The Blessed One did say, O king : " Anger I harbour not, nor sulkiness." And he did dismiss the Elders with their disciples. But that was not in anger. Suppose, O king, that a man were to stumble against some root, or stake, or stone, or potsherd, or on uneven ground, and fall upon the broad earth. Would it be that the broad earth, angry with him, had made him fall ? ' ' No, indeed, Sir. The broad earth feels neither anger against any man nor delight. It is altogether when they heard the reason, went to the Buddha, and obtained his forgiveness for the offending brethren. The incident is the basis of another question below, IV, 4, 41.

^ Pawamesi means, in the technical legal phraseology of the Buddhist canon law, ' formally dismissed, sent away, did not allow them any more to be his disciples.' On this technical meaning of the term, compare Mahavagga I, 2, 27, and ^ullavagga XII, 2, 3. (Childers does not give this use of the word.) But it is difficult to imagine the circumstances under which the Buddha could so have dismissed his two principal disciples. So I think we must take the word in a less formal sense — such, for instance, as we find in Thera Gatha 511, 557. ^ Eta;« tava^anahi irmm namati. I follow Hina/i-kumbure's rendering (p. 244) of this difficult phrase, according to which there ought to be a full stop in the text after pawamesi, and these words are supposed to be addressed to Nagasena by Milinda. But I am not at all satisfied that he is right, and the text may be corrupt. free from ill-will, neither needs it to fawn on any one. It would be by reason of his own carelessness that that man stumbled and fell.' ' Just so, great king, do the Tathagatas experience neither anger against, nor pride in any man. Altogether free are the Tathagatas, the Arahat-Buddhas, alike from ill-will, and from the need to fawn on any one. And those disciples were sent away by reason of what they themselves had done. So also the great ocean endures not association with any corpse. Any dead body there may be in it that does it promptly cast up, and leave high and dry on the shore \ But is it in anger that it casts it up ? '

* Certainly not, Sir. The broad ocean feels neither anger against any, nor does it take delight in any. It seeks not in the least to please any, and is altogether free from the desire to harm.' 'Just so, great king, do the Tathagatas feel neither anger against any man, nor do they place their faith in any man. The Tathagatas, the Arahat-Buddhas, are quite set free from the desire either to gain the goodwill of any man, or to do him harm. And it was by reason of what they themselves had done that those disciples were sent away. Just as a man, great king, who stumbles against the ground is made to fall, so is he who stumbles in the excellent teaching of the Conqueror made to go away. Just as a corpse in the great ocean is cast up, [188] so is he who stumbles in the excellent teaching of the Conqueror sent away. And when the Tathagata sent those disciples away it was for their good, and their ^ This supposed fact is already the ground of a comparison in the A'ullavagga IX, i, 3, 4 (' Vinaya Texts,' III, 303). 260 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 3, 39,

gain, their happiness, and their purification, and in order that in that way they should be deHvered from birth, old age, disease, and death.' ' Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the problem as to the dismissal of Here ends the Third Chapter. Book IV. Chapter 4. [the murder of MOGGALLANA.] 1. 'Venerable Nagasena, it has been said by the Blessed One : " This is the chief, O Bhikkhus, of those of my disciples in the Order who are possessed of the power of Iddhi, I mean Moggallana \" But on the other hand they say his death took place by his being beaten to death with clubs, so that his skull was broken, and his bones ground to powder, and all his flesh and nerves bruised and pounded together 2. Now, Nagasena, if the Elder, the great Moggallana, had really attained to supremacy in the magical power of Iddhi, then it cannot be true that he was beaten to death with clubs ^ But if his death was on that wise, then the saying that he was chief of those possessed of Iddhi must be wrong. How could he who was not even able, by his power of Iddhi, to prevent his own murder, be worthy nevertheless to stand as succour to the world of gods and men ? This too is a double-edged problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.'

2. ' The Blessed One did declare, O king, that Moggallana was chief among the disciples in power ^ From the Anguttara Nikaya I, xiv, i (page 23 of Dr. Morris's edition for the PaU Text Society). 2 Parikatto, which the Sinhalese version renders garha wemin. 3 ' By robbers,' adds Plina/i-kumbure, so there is no question of martyrdom. 2 62 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILTNDA. IV, 4, 3. of Iddhi. And he was nevertheless beaten to death by clubs. But that was through his being then possessed by the still greater power of Karma \' 3. ' But, venerable Nagasena, [189] are not both of these things appurtenant to him who has the power of Iddhi — that is the extent of his power, and the result of his Karma — both alike unthinkable ? And cannot the unthinkable be held back by the unthinkable ? Just, Sir, as those who want the fruits will knock a wood apple ^ down with a wood apple, or a mango with a mango, so ought not the unthinkable in like manner to be subject to restraint by the unthinkable ? ' * Even among things beyond the reach of the imagination, great king, still one is in excess above the other, one more powerful than the other. Just, O king, as the monarchs of the world are alike in kind, but among them, so alike in kind, one may overcome the rest, and bring them under his command— just so among things beyond the grasp of the imagination is the productive effect of Karma by far the most powerful. It is precisely the effect of Karma which overcomes all the rest, and has them under its rule ; and no other influence is of any avail to the man in whom Karma is working out its inevitable end^ It is as when, O king, any man has committed an offence against the law*.

^ Kammadhigahitenapi, which the Si;«halese merely repeats. Compare the use of adhigawhati at Anguttara Nikaya V, 31 (adhigawhati taw tena, ' surpasses him in that'), and see below. ^ Kapittham (Feronia Elephantum), which the Siwihalese renders Diwul gefl'i. ^ ' No good action has an opportunity at the time when evil Karma is in possession of a man,' says Hina/i-kumbure (p. 250). * Pakarawe apara^^^^ati, literally 'against the book,' the book Neither his mother nor his father, neither his sisters nor his brother, neither his friends nor his intimate associates can protect him then. He has fallen therein under the power of the king who will issue his command respecting him. And why is that so ? Because of the wrong that he has done. So is it precisely the effect of Karma which overcomes all other influences, and has them under its command, and no other influence can avail the man in whom Karma is workinsf out its inevitable end. It is as when a jungle fire has arisen on the earth, then can not even a thousand pots of water avail to put it out, but the conflagration overpowers all, and brings it under its control. And why is that so ? Because of the fierceness of its heat. So is it precisely the effect of Karma which overcomes all other influences, and has them under its command ; and no other influence can avail the man in whom Karma is working out its inevitable end. That is why the venerable one, great king, the great Moggallana, when, at a time when he was possessed by Karma, he was being beaten to death with clubs, was yet unable to make use of his power of Iddhi ^'

' Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the problem as to the murder of Moggallana.] of the law being, no doubt, understood. But the Si/«halese has ' against any one.' ^ Iddhiya samannaharo naho si. See the use of this word, which is not in Childers, at p. 123 of the Sumahgala (on Digha I, 3, 24). The Siwhalcse goes on to much greater length than the Pali, giving the full religious life history of the famous disciple (pp. 250, 251). 264 the questions of king milinda. iv, 4, 4. 4. [190] ' Venerable Nagasena, it was said by the Blessed One : " The Dhamma and the Vinaya (Doctrine and Canon Law) proclaimed by the Tathagata shine forth when they. are displayed, and not when they are concealed ^" But on the other hand the recitation of the Patimokkha and the whole of the Vinaya Pi/aka are closed and kept secret 2. So that if, Nagasena, you (members of the Order) carried out what is just, and right, and held of faith in the teaching of the Conqueror then would the Vinaya shine forth as an open thing. And why would that be so ? Because all the instruction therein, the discipline, the self-control, the regulations as to moral and virtuous conduct, are in their essence full of truth and righteousness, and redounding to emancipation of heart. But if the Blessed One really said that the Dhamma and Vinaya proclaimed by the Tathagata shine forth when displayed and not when kept secret, then the saying that the recitation of the Patimokkha and the whole of the Vinaya must be kept secret must be wrong. And if that be right, then the saying of the Blessed One must be wrong. This too is a double-edged problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.'

5. *It was said, O king, by the Blessed One that the Dhamma and Vinaya proclaimed by the Tatha- ^ From the Afiguttara Nikaya III, 124 (vol. i, p. 283 of Dr. Morris's edition for the Pali Text Society). ^ In the Vinaya (Mahavagga II, 16, 8) it is laid down that the Patimokkha (the rules of the Order) is not to be recited before laymen. I know of no passage in the Pi/akas which says that it, or the Vinaya, is to be kept secret. lY, 4, 6. ESOTERIC DOCTRINE. 26' gata shine forth when displayed, and not when kept secret. And on the other hand the recitation of the Patimokkha and the whole of the Vinaya Pi/aka are kept close and secret \ But this last is not the case as regards all men. They are only kept secret up to a certain limit. And the recitation of the Patimokkha is kept secret up to that certain limit on three grounds — firstly because that is the traditional custom^ of previous Tathagatas, secondly out of respect for the Truth (Dhamma), and thirdly out of respect for the position of a member of the Order ^.' 6. ' And as to the first it was the universal custom, O king, of previous Tathagatas for the recitation of the Patimokkha to take place in the midst of the members of the Order only, to the exclusion of all others. Just, O king, as the Kshatriya secret formulas (of the nobles) are handed down among the nobles alone, and that this or that is so is common tradition among the nobles ^ of the world and kept secret from all others — [191] so was this the universal custom of previous Tathagatas, that the recitation of the Patimokkha should take place among the

^ This is, so far as I" know, the earliest mention of this being the case. There is nothing in the Patimokkha itself (see my translation of this list of offences against the rules of the Order in vol. i of the ' Vinaya Texts ' in the S. B. E.) as to its recitation taking place in secret, and nothing in the Vinaya as to its being kept secret. But the regulations in the Vinaya as to the recitation of the Patimokkha forbade the actual presence of any one not a member of the Order, and as a matter of fact any one not such a member is excluded in practice during its recitation now in Ceylon. But it would be no offence in a layman to read the Vinaya, and learned laymen who have left the Order still do so. ^ Vawsa (repeated in the Si///halese). ^ Bhikkhu-bhumiya (also repeated in the Si?«halese, p. 252). * Kha//iyana7/i (but the Si;;^halese has Sakyayange). 2 66 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 7. members of the Order only, and be kept secret from all others. And again, just as there are several classes of people, O king, known as distinct in the world — such as wrestlers, tumblers, jugglers, actors, ballet-dancers, and followers of the mystic cult of the sun and moon, of the goddess of fortune and other gods ^ And the secrets of each of these sects are handed on in the sect itself, and kept hidden from all others. Just so with the universal custom of all the Tathao^atas that the recitation of the Patimokkha should take place before the members of the Order only, and be kept secret from all others. This is why the recitation of the Patimokkha is, up to that extent, kept secret in accordance with the habit of previous Tathagatas.'

7. ' And how is it that the Patimokkha is kept secret, up to that extent, out of reverence for the Dhamma ? The Dhamma, great king, is venerable and weighty. He who has attained to proficiency in it may exhort another in this wise : " Let not this Dhamma so full of truth, so excellent, fall into the hands of those unversed in it, where it would be despised and contemned, treated shamefully, made a eame of, and found fault with. Nor let it fall into the hands of the wicked who would deal with it in all respects as badly as they." It is thus, O king, that the recitation of the Patimokkha is, up to that ^ There are twenty classes of these people mentioned in the text, and the meaning of most of the names is obscure. The Sinhalese simply repeats them all, adding only the word bhaktiyo, 'believers in,' to the names of the various divinities. The classing together of jugglers, ballet-dancers, and followers of the numerous mystic cults, so numerous in India, is thoroughly Buddhistic, and quite in the vein of Gotama himself — as, for instance, in the Maha Sila (see my 'Buddhist Suttas,' p. 196).

extent, kept secret out of reverence for the Dhamma. For if not, then it would be Hke the best, most costly, and most rare red sandal wood of the finest kind, which when brought to Savara {that city of the outcast /Candaiss '^) is despised and contemned, treated shamefully, made game of, and found fault with.' 8. [192] ' And how is it that the Patimokkha is kept secret, up to that extent, out of reverence for the position of a member of the Order ? The condition of a Bhikkhu, great king, is in glory beyond the reach of calculation by weight, or measure, or price. None can value it, weigh it, measure it. And the recitation of the Pitimokkha is carried on before the Bhikkhus alone, lest any one who has occupied that position should be brought down to a level with the men of the world. Just, O king, as if there be any priceless thing, in vesture or floor covering, in elephants, chargers, or chariots, in gold or silver or jewels or pearls or women, or in unsurpassable strong drink ^, all such things are the appanage of kings — just so, O king, whatever is most priceless in the way of training, of the traditions of the Blessed One, of learning, of conduct, and of the virtues of righteousness arid self-control — all these are the appanages of the Order of Bhikkhus. This is why the recitation of the Patimokkha is, to that extent, kept secret ^.'

^ Added from the Sinhalese. ^ Ni^^ita-kamma-sura, rendered in the Sinhalese (p. 254), ^aya-gr?'hita-kr/tya-sura-panayen. ' It will be noticed that there is no mention here (in a connection where, if it had then existed, it would almost certainly have been referred to) of any Esoteric Buddhism. So above, at 268 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 9. ' Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the problem as to the secrecy in which the Vinaya is kept.] [the two kinds of falsehood.] 9. ' Venerable Nagasena, it has been said by the Blessed One that a deliberate lie is an offence of the greatest kind (involving exclusion from the Order ^). IV, I, 8, it is stated that a good Buddhist teacher should keep nothing secret from his pupih And even in so old a text as the ' Book of the Great Decease ' (Chap. II, § 32, p. 36 of my translalation in the ' Buddhist Suttas '), it is said of the Buddha himself that he had ' no such thing as the closed fist of a teacher who keeps some things back.' This passage is itself quoted above at IV, 2, 4, as the basis of one of MiKnda's questions ; and is entirely accepted by Nagasena, that is, by our author. The fact is that there has never been any such thing as esoteric teaching in Buddhism, and that the modern so called esoteric Buddhism is neither esoteric nor Buddhism. Its tenets, so far as they are Indian at all, are perfectly accessible, are well known to all those who choose to study the books of Indian mysticism, and are Hindu, not Buddhist. They are, indeed, quite contradictory to Buddhism, of which the authors of what they ignorantly call Esoteric Buddhism know but very little — that little bemg only a portion of those beliefs which have been common ground to all religious teachers in India. If one doctrine — more than any other — is distinctive of Buddhism, it is the ignoring, in ethics, of the time-honoured beUef in a soul — that is, in the old sense, in a separate creature inside the body, which flies out of it, like a bird out of a cage, when the body dies. Yet the Theosophists, who believe, I am told, in seven souls inside each human body (which would be worse according to true Buddhism than seven devils), still venture to call themselves Buddhists, and do not see the absurdity of their position !

^ Sampa^^ana-musavada para^ika. This is curious as according to the Patimokkha it is Pa/('ittiya, not Pdra^ika, Compare Para^ika 4 with Pa-('ittiya i. ('Vinaya Texts,' S. B. E., vol. iii, pp. 5 and 32.) IV, 4» lo- FALSEHOOD. 269 And again he said : " By a deliberate lie a Bhikkhu commits a minor offence, one that ought to be the subject of confession made before another (member of the Order)\" Now, venerable Nagasena, what is herein the distinction, what the reason, that by one lie a Bhikkhu is cast out of the Order, and by another he is guilty only of an offence that can be atoned for. If the first decision be right, then the second must be wrong ; but if the second be right, then the first must be wrong. This too is a doubleedged problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.' 10. [193] 2 'Both your quotations, O king, are correct ^. But a falsehood is a light or heavy offence according to the subject matter. For what do you think, great king ? Suppose a man were to give another a slap with his hand, what punishment would you inflict upon him ? '

' If the other refused to overlook the matter, then neither should we be able to pardon his assailant ^, but should mulct him in a penny or so ^' ' But on the other hand, suppose it had been you ^ I cannot trace these identical words in the Pi/aka texts. But the general sense of them is exactly in agreement with the first Pa-^ittiya rule. 2 Hina/i-kumbure here inserts a summary of the Introductory Story (in the Sutta Vibhahga) to the 4th Para^ika. All this (pp. 254-256) stands in his version for lines 1-3 on p. 193 of the Pali text. ^ The Pali repeats them word for A\ord. As I have pointed out above, they are not really correct. * So Hina/i-kumburS, who must have had a different reading, and I think a better one, before him. ^ A kahapawa. See the discussion of the value of this coin in my * Ancient Coins and Measures,' pp. 3, 4. 270 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 11. yourself that he had given the blow to, what would then be the punishment ? ' ' We should condemn him to have his hands cut off, and his feet cut off, and to be skinned alive ^ and we should confiscate all the goods in his house, and put to death all his family to the seventh generation on both sides.'

' But, great king, what is the distinction ? Why is it that for one slap of the hand there should be a gentle fine of a penny, while for a slap given to you there should be so fearful a retribution ? ' 'Because of the difference in the person (assaulted).' ' Well ! just so, great king, is a falsehood a light or a heavy offence according to the attendant circumstances/ * Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the problem as to the degree of offence in falsehood.] II. 'Venerable Nagasena, it has been said by the Blessed One in the discourse on the essential conditions ^ : " Long ago have his parents been destined for each Bodisat, and the kind of tree he is to select for his Bo tree, and the ^ Yava sisaw 'kz.lhdikkheggTifn X7zedapeyyama, which the Si»/halese merely repeats. It is hterally ' We should have him " bambu-sprout-cut " up to his head.' What this technical term may mean is not exactly known — possibly having slits the shape of a bambu sprout cut all over his body. ^ Dhammata-dhamma-pariyaye. I don't know where this is to be found.

IV, 4j II- THE BODISAT. 27I Bhikkhus who are to be his two chief disciples, and the lad who is to be his son, and the member of the Order who is to be his special attendant." But on the other hand he said : " When yet in the condition of a god in the Tusita heaven the Bodisat makes the eight Great Investigations — he investigates the time (whether the right moment had come at which he ought to be re-born as a man), and the continent (in which his birth is to take place), and the country (where he is to be re-born), and the family (to which he is to belong), and the mother (who is to bear him), and the period (during which he was to remain in the womb), and the month (in which his birthday shall come), and his renunciation (when it shall be) \ [194] Now, Nagasena, before knowledge is ripe there is no understanding, but when it has reached its summit there is no longer any need to wait for thinking a matter over\ for there is nothing outside the ken of the omniscient mind. Why then should the Bodisat investigate the time, thinking to himself: "In what moment shall I be born- ?" And for the same reason why should he investigate the family, thinking to him-

' These eight Investigations (Vilokanani) have not yet been found in the Pi/aka texts. But, when relating the birth of the historical Buddha, the Gataka commentary (vol. i, p. 48, of Professor Fausboll's edition) mentions the first six of them (substituting okasa for desa), and calls them, oddly enough, the Five Great Investigations. In the corresponding passage in the Lalita Vislara only the first four are mentioned. The last two of the above eight seem very forced. 2 Nimesantaram na agameti, for which Hina/i-kumbure (p. 256 at the end) has nivesantara. Neither word occurs elsewhere. 272 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 12. self: " In what family shall I be born?" And if, Nagasena, it is a settled matter who shall be the parents of the Bodisat, then it must be false that he " investigated the family." But if that be true, then must the other saying be wrong. This too is a double-edged problem now put to you, and you have to solve it/ 12. ' It was both a settled matter, O king, who should be the parents of the Bodisat, and he did investigate into the question as to which family he was to be born into. But how did he do so ? He thought over the matter as to whether his parents should be nobles or Brahmans. With respect to eight things, O king, should the future be investigated before it comes to pass. A merchant, O king, should investigate goods before he buys them — an elephant should try with its trunk a path It has not yet trod — a cartman should try a ford he has not yet crossed over — a pilot should test a shore he has not yet arrived at, and so guide the ship — a physician should find out the period of life which his patient has lasted^ before he treats his disease — a traveller should test the stability of a bambu bridge ^ before he mounts on to it — a Bhikkhu should find out how much time has yet to run before sun turn before he begins to eat his meal — and Bodisats, before they are born, should investigate the question whether it would be right for them to be born in the family of a noble or of a Brahman.

^ Ayum oloketva, which the Siwzhalese (p. 257) repeats. This implied meaning is doubtful. 2 Uttara-setu, a word which does not occur elsewhere. Hina/ikumbure renders it He-da??</a, which Clough explains as a footbridge usually made of a single tree. These are the eight occasions 011 which investigation ought to precede action.' ' Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the problem as to the Bodisat's consideration.] 13. [195] 'Venerable Nagasena, it has been said by the Blessed One : " A brother is not, O Bhikkhus, to commit suicide. Whosoever does so shall be dealt with accordins: to the law \" And on the other hand you (members of the Order) say : " On whatsoever subject the Blessed One was addressing the disciples, he always, and with various similes, preached to them in order to bring about the destruction of birth, of old age, of disease, and of death. And whosoever overcame birth, old age, disease, and death, him did he honour with the highest praise ^." Now if the Blessed One forbade suicide that saying of yours must be wrong, but if not then the prohibition of suicide must be wrong. This too is a double-edged problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.'

14. 'The regulation you quote, O king, was laid down by the Blessed One, and yet is our saying you refer to true. And there is a reason for this, a ^ Literally ' is not to throw himself down,' and I think ' from a precipice ' is to be understood, especially as the nearest approach to the words quoted, that is the passage in the Sutta Vibhahga on the 3rd Para^ka (III, 5, 13), has that meaning. "^ Here again the passage referred to is not known. 2 74 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 14. reason for which the Blessed One both prohibited (the destruction of Hfe), and also (in another sense) instigated us to it.' * What, Nagasena, may that reason be ? ' ' The good man, O king, perfect in uprightness, is like a medicine to men ^ in being an antidote to the poison of evil, he is like water to men in laying the dust and the impurities of evil dispositions, he is like a jewel treasure to men In bestowing upon them all attainments in righteousness, he is like a boat to men inasmuch as he conveys them to the further shore of the four flooded streams (of lust, individuality, delusion, and ignorance) ^, he is like a caravan owner to men in that he brings them beyond the sandy desert of rebirths, he is like a mighty rain cloud to men in that he fills their hearts with satisfaction, he is like a teacher to men in that he trains them in all good, he is like a good guide to men in that he points out to them the path of peace. It was in order that so good a man as that, one whose good qualities are so many, so various, so immeasurable, [196] in order that so great a treasure mine of good things, so full of benefit to all beings, might not be done away with, that the Blessed One, O king, out of his mercy towards all beings, laid down that injunction, when he said : " A brother is not, O Bhikkhus, to commit suicide. Whosoever does so shall be dealt with according to the law." This is the reason for which the Blessed One prohibited (self-slaughter). And it was said, O king,

^ Sattanaw, in which gods are included. The four oghas; also called Asavas. The former term is used of them objectively, the latter subjectively. by the Elder Kiimara Kassapa, the eloquent, when he was describing to Payasi the Ra^anja the other world : " So long as Sama;2as and Brahmans of uprightness of life, and beauty of character, continue to exist — however long that time may be — just so long do they conduct themselves to the advantage and happiness of the great masses of the people, to the good and the gain and the weal of gods and It"' men '■ ! 15. 'And what is the reason for which the Blessed One instigated us (to put an end to life) ? Birth, O king, is full of pain, and so is old age, and disease, and death. Sorrow is painful, and so is lamentation, and pain, and grief, and despair. Association with the unpleasant is painful, and separation from the pleasant -. The death of a mother is painful, or of a father, or a brother, or a sister, or a son, or a wife, or of any relative. Painful is the ruin of one's family, and the suffering of disease, and the loss of

wealth, and decline in goodness, and the loss of in- ^ This Kumara Kassapa is said at Ahguttara I, xiv, 3 to have been the most eloquent of the early disciples. Another eloquent little outburst of his is preserved for us in verses 201 and 202 of the Thera Gatha. ' O for the Buddhas, and their doctrines ! O for the achievements of our Master ! Thereby may the disciple realise the Truth. Through coundess aeons of time has Selfness followed on Selfness. But this one is now the last. This aggregation (of mental and material qualities which forms me now again into an individuality) is at last the end, the end of the coming ami going of births and deaths. There will be no rcbirih for me!' But where the verses are so full of allusions to the deepest Buddhist psychology, it is impossible to reproduce in English the vigour of the original Pali. Selfness (Sakkaya) is the condition of being a separate individual. 2 All this is from the celebrated discourse, the ' Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousriess ' (in ' Buddhist Suttas,' p. 148). sight. Painful is the fear produced by despots, or by robbers, or by enemies, or by famine, or by fire, or by flood, or by the tidal wave, or by earthquake, or by crocodiles or alligators. Painful is the fear of possible blame attaching to oneself, or to others, the fear of punishment, the fear of misfortune. Painful is the fear arising from shyness in the presence of assemblies of one's fellows, painful is anxiety as to one's means of livelihood, painful the foreboding of death. [197] Painful are (the punishments inflicted on criminals), such as being flogged with whips, or with sticks, or with split rods, having one's hands cut off, or one's feet, or one's hands and feet, or one's ears, or one's nose, or one's ears and nose. Painful are (the tortures inflicted on traitors) — being subjected to the Gruel Pot (that is, having boiling gruel poured into one's head from the top of which the skull bone has been removed ^) — or to the Chank Crown ^ (that is, having the scalp rubbed with gravel till it becomes smooth like a polished shell) — or to the Rahu's Mouth ^ (that is, having one's mouth held open by iron pins, and oil put in it, and a wick lighted therein) — or to the Fire Garland^ or to the Hand Torch ^ (that is, being made a living torch, the whole body, or the arms only, being wrapped up in oily cloths, and set on fire) — or to the Snake Strips ^ (that is, being skinned in strips from the neck to the hips, so that the skin falls in strips round the legs) — or to the Bark Dress "^ (that is, being skinned alive from the neck downwards, and having each strip of

^ Bilanga-thalika;«. ^ Rahu-mukhaw2. ° Hattha-pa^^otikaw. ^ A^iraka-vasika?//. ^ Sankha-mu«</ikaw. * Goti-ma\aka.?fi. ° Eraka-vattikaOT. IV, 4, ifi. SUICIDE. 277 skin as soon as removed tied to the hair, so that these strips form a veil around one) — or to the Spotted Antelope ^ (that is, having one's knees and elbows tied together, and being made to squat on a plate of iron under which a fire is lit) — or to the . Flesh-hooks- (that is, being hung up on a row of iron hooks) — or to the Pennies '-^ (that is, having bits cut out of the flesh, all over the body, of the size of pennies) — or to the Brine Slits* (that is, having cuts made all over one's body by means of knives or sharp points, and then having salt and caustic liquids poured over the wounds) — or to the Bar Turn^ (that is, being transfixed to the ground by a bar of iron passing through the root of the ear, and then being dragged round and round by the leg) — or to the Straw Seat'' (that is, being so beaten with clubs that ^ Balisa-maMt;ikaw (so the Sinhalese, IMr. Trenckner reads

=* Kahapa;;akaw. ^ Kharapati/('X'//akaOT. ^ Palala-pi///akaw/. I follow throughout Hina/i-kumbures interpretation (pp. 260, 261) of these pretty names, which could be well matched in the West. That some Indian kings were cruel in the extreme is no doubt true. But it must not be supposed that this list gives the names of well-know^n punishments. It is merely a string of technical terms which is repeated by rote whenever tortures have to be specified. And the meaning of its terms was most likely unknown to the very people who so used them. For the whole list (which is taken by our author from the Pali Pi/akas) is explained by Buddhaghosa in his commentary, the Manoratha Pura«i, on Ahguttara II, i, i, as edited by Dr. Morris at pp. 113, 114 of the first edition of his Ahguttara for the Pali Text Society, 1884. But Buddhaghosa's explanations differ from Ilina/i-kumburc's in several details; and to nearly half the names he gives alternative meanings, quite contradictory to those that he gives first. So the list had its origin some centuries (say 400-500) B.C., and was certainly 278 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 15. the bones are broken, and the body becomes Hke a heap of straw) — or to be anointed with boihng oil, or to be eaten by dogs, or to be impaled alive, or to be beheaded. Such and such, O king, are the manifold and various pains which a being caught in the whirlpool of births and rebirths has to endure. Just, O king, as the water rained down upon the Himalaya mountain flows, in its course along the Ganges, through and over rocks and pebbles and gravel, whirlpools and eddies and rapids \ and the stumps and branches of trees which obstruct and oppose its passage, — ^just so has each being caught in the succession of births and rebirths to endure such and such m.anifold and various pains. Full of pain, then, is the continual succession of rebirths, a joy is it when that succession ends. And it was in pointing out the advantage of that end, the disaster involved in that succession, that the Blessed One, great king, instigated us to get beyond birth, and old age, and disease, and death by the realisation of the final end of that succession of rebirths. This is the sense, O king, which led the Blessed One to instigate us (to put an end to life).'

'Very good, Nagasena ! Well solved is the puzzle (I put), well set forth are the reasons (you alleged). That is so, and I accept it as you say.' [Here ends the problem as to suicide,] not understood in the fifth century a. d. ; and was probably therefore unintelligible also, at least in part, to our author. ^ Umika-vahka->^adika. I don't pretend to understand this last word. Dr. Morris, at p. 92 of the ' Pali Text Society's Journal ' for 1884, suggests velika. Perhaps it was simply adika after all, with or without m euphonic. IV, 4, i6. LOVE. 279 16. [198] 'Venerable Nagasena, it has been said by the Blessed One : " Eleven advantages, O brethren, may be anticipated from practising, making a habit of, enlarging within one, using as a means of advancement, and as a basis of conduct, pursuing after, accumulating, and rising well up to the very heights of the emancipation of heart, arising from a feeling of love (towards all beings) \ And what are these eleven ? He who does so sleeps in peace, and in peace does he awake. He dreams no sinful dreams. He becomes dear to men, and to the beino-s who are not men ^. The o-ods watch over him. Neither fire, nor poison, nor sword works any harm to him. Quickly and easily does he become tranquillised. The aspect of his countenance is calm. Undismayed does he meet death, and should he not press through to the Supreme Condition (of Arahatship), then is he sure of rebirth in the Brahma world ■*." But on the other hand you (members of

^ This same string of words, except the first, is used of the Iddhi-padas in the Book of the Great Decease, III, 3 (p. 40 of vol. xi of the S. B. E.). The words ' towards all beings ' are not in the text. But this is the meaning of the phrase used, and not love to men only, as would be understood if they were not inserted in the translation. ^ Amanussa. This means, not the gods, but the various spirits on the earth, nayads, dryads, fairies, &c. &c. As here, so again below, IV, 4, 41, the amanussa are opposed to the devata, mentioned in the next clause here. In older texts the devata include the amanussa. ^ From the Ahguttara Nikaya, Ekadasa Nipata ; quoted in full, with the context, in the Introductory Story to the 169th Gataka (vol. ii, pp. 60, 61 of Professor FausboU's edition). 28o THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. IV, 4, 16. the Order) say that " Sama the Prince, while dwelling in the cultivation of a loving disposition toward all beings, and when he was (in consequence thereof) wandering in the forest followed by a herd of deer, was hit by a poisoned arrow shot by Piliyakkha the king, and there, on the spot, fainted and felP." Now, venerable Nagasena, if the passage I have quoted from the words of the Blessed One be right, then this statement of yours must be wrong. But if the story of Prince Sama be right, then it cannot be true that neither fire, nor poison, nor sword can work harm to him who cultivates the habit of love to all beings. This too is a double-edged problem, so subtle, so abstruse, so delicate, and so profound, that the thought of having to solve it might well bring out sweat over the body even of the most subtle-minded of mortals. This problem is now put to you. Unravel this mighty knot-. Throw light upon this matter^ to the accomplishment of the desire of those sons of the Conqueror who shall arise hereafter *.'

' The Blessed One spake, O king, as you have quoted. And Prince Sama dwelling in the cultivation of love, and thus followed by a herd of deer when he was wandering in the forest, was hit by the poisoned arrow shot by king Piliyakkha, and then and there fainted and fell. But there is a reason for that. [199] And what is the reason ? Simply that those virtues (said in the passage you quoted ^ Mr. Trenckner points out that this story is given in the 54oih 6'ataka. ^ See p. 105 of the text. ■^ A'akkhuw dehi. So also p. 95 of the text. * Nibbahana; not in Childers, but see p. 119 of the text. to be in the habit of love) are virtues not attached to the personahty of the one who loves, but to the actual presence of the love that he has called up in his heart \ And when Prince Sama was upsetting the water-pot, that moment he lapsed from the actual feeling of love. At the moment, O king, in which an individual has realised the sense of love, that moment neither fire, nor poison, nor sword can do him harm. If any men bent on doing him an injury come up, they will not see him, neither will they have a chance of hurting him. But these virtues, O king, are not inherent in the individual, they are in the actual felt presence of the love that he is calling up in his heart.'

' Suppose, O king, a man were to take into his hand a Vanishing Root of supernatural power ; and that, so long as it was actually in his hand, no other ordinary person would be able to see him. The virtue, then, would not be in the man. It would be in the root that such virtue would reside that an object in the very line of sight of ordinary mortals could, nevertheless, not be seen. Just so, O king, is it with the virtue inherent in the felt presence of love that a man has called up in his heart.' 'Or it is like the case of a man [200] who has entered into a w^ell-formed mighty cave. No storm of rain, however mightily it might pour down, would be able to wet him. But that would be by no virtue inherent ^ Bhanana is really more than 'cultivation.' It is the actual, present, felt sense of the particular moral state that is being cultivated (in this case, of love). I have elsewhere rendered it ' meditation ' : but as the ethical doctrine, and practice, are alike unknown to us, we have no word that exactly reproduces the connotation of the Pali phrase.