(from
“Buddhist Studies” http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/dharmadata/fdd66.htm)
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION TO THE TEXT:
The Milinda Panha is a
work composed in Pali
[an Indian dialect] that purports to be the record of a dialogue between the
Buddhist monk Nagasena and the Greek King Milinda
[Menander, see below]. Milinda asks a series of
questions highlighting what seem to be anomalies and contradictions in Buddhist
doctrine, to each of which Nagasena gives clear, even
ingenious answers. The effectiveness of these answers is enhanced by the
numerous similes and analogies that are included within them. Although there is
no doubt that the two protagonists of the Milindapanha
really existed and that they held discussions with each other, it is not a
verbatim record of the discussions as such but a work of literature. Despite
this, it may well have captured something of the personalities of the two men. Nagasena comes across as dignified but accessible,
confident of his abilities to convince, intellectually alert, learned and witty.
Milinda on the other hand, appears to be appears to
be interested in Buddhism but by no means prepared to accept its tenets without
good reasons. The Milindapanha is the most important
book of Theravada Buddhist
doctrine outside the Pali Tipitaka
and is still widely studied. A translation of it is also included in the Chinese Tipitaka.
N. Mendis, The Questions of King Milinda,
Menander I ( also known as Milinda
in Sanskrit, Pali), was one of the Greek
kings of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in northern India from 155 or 150 to 130 BC.
His territories covered the
eastern dominions of the divided Greek empire of Bactria(from the areas of the Panjshir and Kapisa) and extended to the
modern Pakistani province of Punjab with diffuse tributaries to the south and east,
probably as far as Mathura. His capital is supposed to have been Sagala, a very properous city in northern Punjab (modern Sialkot).
He is one of the few Bactrian
kings mentioned by Greek authors, among them Apollodotus of Artemita, who claim that he was an even greater conqueror
than Alexander the Great. Strabo (XI.II.I) says Menander was one of the two
Bactrian kings who extended their power farthest into
In
the West, Menander seems to have repelled the invasion of the Greco-Bactrian usurper Eucratides, and pushed him
back as far as the Paropamisadae, thereby consilidating the rule of the Indo-Greek kings in the
northern part of the Indian Subcontinent. His reign was long and successful.
Generous findings of coins testify to the prosperity and extension of his
empire, but the boundaries of his reign are vague; between 155 BC and 80 BC.
Guesses
among historians are that he was either a nephew or a former general of the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius, but his predecessor in Bactria seems to
have been the king Apollodotus.
Menander was the first Bactrian king to strike coins
with legends in both Greek and Sanskrit; according to tradition he also embraced the Buddhist faith, as described in the Milinda Pañha,
a classical Pali Buddhist text on the discussions between Milinda and the Buddhist sage Nāgasena.
In the Milindanpanha,
Menander is introduced as
"King of the city of
Buddhist tradition relates that, following his
discussions with Nāgasena, Menander adopted the
Buddhist faith:
"May
the venerable Nâgasena accept me as a supporter
of the faith, as a true convert from to-day onwards as long as life shall last!" (The Questions of King Milinda, Translation by T. W. Rhys Davids,
1890).
He then handed over his kingdom to his son and retired
from the world:
"And
afterwards, taking delight in the wisdom of the Elder, he handed over his
kingdom to his son, and abandoning the household life for the houseless state,
grew great in insight, and himself attained to Arahatship!" (The
Questions of King Milinda, Translation by T. W. Rhys Davids, 1890)
According to an ancient Indian source, the Mahavamsa, Greek monks seem
to have been active prozelitisers of Buddhism during
the time of Menander: the Yona (Greek) Mahadhammarakkhita (Sanskrit: Mahadharmaraksita)
is said to have come from “Alasandra”
(thought to be Alexandria-of-the-Caucasus, the city founded by Alexander the Great, near today’s Kabul) with 30,000 monks for the foundation ceremony
of the Maha Thupa
("Great stupa") at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, during the 2nd century BCE:
"From
Alasanda the city of the Yonas
came the thera Yona Mahadhammarakkhita with
thirty thousand bhikkhus." (Mahavamsa, XXIX)
These elements tend to indicate the importance of
Buddhism within Greek communities in northwestern
Plutarch (Praec. reip. ger. 28, 6) reports that
Menander died in camp while on campaign, thereby differing with the version of
the Milindapanha. He describes however that all his
subject towns disputed about the honour of his
burial, ultimately sharing his ashes among them and placing them in stuppas, in a manner reminescent
of the funerals of the Buddha.
Menander's empire survived him in a fragmented manner
until the last Greek king Hermaeus disappeared around 10 AD.
In Antiquity, from at least the 1st century CE, the
"Menander Mons", or "Mountains of Menander", came to
designate the mountain chain at the extreme east of the Indian subcontinent,
today's Arakan, as indicated in the Ptolemy world map of the 1st century CE geographer Ptolemy.
Excerpts
from the Milinda Pañha
THE CHARIOT
And King Milinda asked him: "How is Your
Reverence known, and what is your name, sir?"
"As Nagasena I am known, O Great King, and as Nagasena do my fellow religious habitually address me. But
although parents give name such as Nagasena, or Surasena, or Virasena, or Sihasena, nevertheless, this word "Nagasena"
is just a denomination, a designation, a conceptual term, a current
appellation, a mere name. For no real person can here be apprehended."
But King Milinda explained: "Now listen, you 500
Greeks and 80,000 monks, this Nagasena tells me that
he is not a real person! How can I be expected to agree with that!"
And to Nagasena he said: "If, Most Reverend Nagasena, no person can be apprehended in reality, who
then, I ask you, gives you what you require by way of robes, food, lodging, and
medicines? Who is it that guards morality, practises
meditation, and realizes the [Four] Paths and their Fruits, and thereafter
Nirvana? Who is it that killing living beings, takes what is not given, commits
sexual misconduct, tell lies, drinks intoxicants? Who is it that commits the Five
Deadly Sins? For, if there were no person, there could ne
no merit and no demerit; no doer of meritorious or demeritorious
deeds, and no agent behind them; no fruit of good and evil deeds, and no reward
or punishment for them. If someone should kill you, O Venerable Nagasena, would not be a real teacher, or instructor, or
ordained monk! You just told me that your fellow religious habitually address
you as "Nagasena". Then, what is this
"Nagasena"? Are perhaps the hairs of the
head "Nagasena?"
"No, Great King!"
"Or perhaps the nails, teeth, skin, muscles, sinews, bones, marrow,
kidneys, heart, liver, serous membranes, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery,
stomach, excrement, the bile, phlegm, pus, blood, grease, fat, tears, sweat,
spittle, snot, fluid of the joints, urine, or the brain in the skull-are they
this "Nagasena"?"
"No, Great King!"
"Or is "Nagasena" a form, or
feelings, or perceptions, or impulses, or consciousness?"
"No, Great King!"
Then is it the combination of form, feelings, perceptions, impulses, and
consciousness?"
"No, Great King!"
"Then is it outside the combination of form, feelings, perceptions,
impulses, and consciousness?"
"No, Great King!"
"Then, ask as I may, I can discover no Nagasena
at all. This "Nagasena" is just a mere
sound, but who is the real Nagasena? Your Reverence
has told a lie, has spoken a falsehood! There is really no Nagasena!"
Thereupon, the Venerable Nagasena said to King Milinda: "As a king you have been brought up in great
refinement and you avoid roughness of any kind. If you would walk at midday on
this hot, burning, and sandy ground, then your feet would have to trend on the
rough and gritty gravel and pebbles, and they would hurt you, your body would
get tired, your mind impaired, and your awareness of your body would be
associated with pain. How then did you come on foot, or on a mount?"
"I did not come, Sir, on foot, but on a chariot."
"If you have come on a chariot, then please explain to me what a chariot
is. Is the pole the chariot?"
"No, Reverend Sir!"
"Is then the axle the chariot?"
"No, Reverend Sir!"
"Is it then the wheels, or the framework, of the flag-staff, or the yoke,
or the reins, or the goad-stick?"
"No, Reverend Sir!"
"Then is it the combination of poke, axle, wheels, framework, flag-staff,
yoke, reins, and goad which is the "chariot"?"
"No, Reverend Sir!"
"Then, is this "chariot" outside the combination of poke, axle,
wheels, framework, flag-staff, yoke, reins and goad?"
"No, Reverend Sir!"
"Then, ask as I may, I can discover no chariot at all. This
"chariot" is just a mere sound. But what is the real chariot? Your
Majesty has told a lie, has spoken a falsehood! There is really no chariot!
Your Majesty is the greatest king in the whole of
The 500 Greeks thereupon applauded the Venerable Nagasena
and said to King Milinda: "Now let You Majesty
get out of that if you can!"
But King Milinda said to Nagasena:
"I have not, Nagasena, spoken a falsehood. For
it is in dependence on the pole, the axle, the wheels, the framework, the
flag-staff, etc, there takes place this denomination "chariot", this
designation, this conceptual term, a current appellation and a mere name."
"Your Majesty has spoken well about the chariot. It is just so with me. In
dependence on the thirty-two parts of the body and the five Skandhas,
there takes place this denomination "Nagasena",
this designation, this conceptual term, a current appellation and a mere name.
In ultimate realtiy, however, this person cannot be
apprehended. And this has been said by our sister Vajira
when she was face to face with the Lord Buddha:
"Where all constituent parts are present, the word "a chariot"
is applied. So, likewise, where the skandhas are, the
term a "being" commonly is used."
"It is wonderful, Nagasena, it is astonishing, Nagasena! Most brilliantly have these questions been
answered! Were the Lord Buddha Himself here, He would approve what you have
said. Well spoken, Nagasena! Well spoken!"
Personal Identity and Rebirth
The king asked: "When someone is reborn, Venerable Nagasena,
is he the same as the one who just died, or is he another?"
The elder replied: "He is neither the same nor another."
"Give me an illustration!"
"What do you think, Great King? When you were a tiny infant, newly born
and quite soft, were you then the same as the one who is now grown up?"
"No, that infant was one, I, now grown up, am
another."
"If that is so, then, Great King, you have had no mother, no father, no
reaching, no schooling! Do we then take it that there
is one mother for the embryo in the first stage, another for the second stage,
another for the third, another for the fourth, another for the baby, another
for the grown-up man? Is the school-boy one person, and the one who has
finished school another? Does one commit a crime, but the hands and feet of
another are cut off?"
"Certainly not! But what would you say, Reverend Sir, to all that?"
The elder replied: "I was neither the tiny infant, newly born and quite
soft, nor am I now the grown-up man; but all these are comprised in one unit
depending on this very body."
"Give me a simile!"
"If a man were to light a lamp, could it give light
throughout the whole night?"
"Yes, it could."
"Is now the flame which burns in the first watch of the night the same as
the one which burns in the second?"
"It is not the same."
"Or is the flame which burns in the second watch the same as the one which
burns in the last one?"
"It is not the same."
"Do we then take it that there is one lamp in the first watch of the
night, another in the second, and another again in the third?"
"No, it is just because of the light of the lamp shines throughout the
night."
"Even so must we understand the collocation of a series of successive dharmas.
At rebirth one dharma arises, while another stops; but the two processes take
place almost simultaneously (i.e. they are continous).
Therefore, the first act of consciousness in the new existence is neither the same
as the last act of consciousness in the previous existence, nor it is the another."
"Give me another simile!"
"Milk, once the milking is done, turns after sometimes into curds; from
curds it turns into fresh butter; and from fresh butter into ghee. Would it now
be correct to say that the milk is the same thing as the curds, or the fresh
butter, or the ghee?"
"No, it would not. But they have been produced because of it."
"Just so must be understood the collocation of a series of successive dharmas."
Personal Idenitity and
Karma
The king asked: "Is there, Venerable Nagasena,
any being which passes on from this body to another body?"
"No, Your Majesty!"
"If there were no passing on from this body to another, would not one then
in one's next life be freed from the evil deeds committed in the past?"
"Yes, that would be so if one were not linked once again with a new
organism. But since, Your Majesty, one is linked once again with a new organism, therefore one is not freed from one's evil
deeds."
"Give me a simile!"
"If a man should steal another man's mangoes, would he deserve a thrashing
for that?"
"Yes, of course!"
"But he would not have stolen the very same mangoes as the other one had
planted. Why should he deserve a thrashing?"
"For the reason that the stolen mangoes had grown
because of those that were planted."
"Just so, Your Majesty, it is because of the deeds one does,
whether pure or impure, by means of this psycho-physical organism, that one is
once again linked with another psycho-physical organism, and is not freed from
one's evil deeds."
"Very good, Venerable Nagasena!"
The king said: "Is it through wise attention that people become exempt
from further rebirth?"
"Yes, that is due to wise attention, and also to wisdom, and the other
wholesome dharmas."
"But is not wise attention the same as wisdom?"
"No, Your Majesty! Attention is one thing, and
wisdom another. Sheep and goats, oxen and buffaloes, camels and asses have
attention, but wisdom they have not."
"Well put, Venerable Nagasena!"
The king asked: "What is the mark of attention, and what is the mark of
wisdom?"
"Consideration is the mark of attention, cutting off that of wisdom."
"How is that? Give me a simile!"
"You know barley-reapers, I suppose?"
"Yes, I do."
"How then do they reap the barley?"
"With the left hand they seize a bunch of barley, in the right hand they
hold a sickle, and they cut off the barley with that sickle."
"Just so, Your Majesty, the yogin seizes his
mental processes with his attention, and by his wisdom he cuts off the
defilements."
"Well put, Venerable Nagasena!"
The king said: "When you just spoke of the other wholesome dharmas, which one did you mean?"
"I meant morality, faith, vigour, mindfulness, and
concentration."
"And what is the mark of morality?"
"Morality has the mark of providing a basis for all wholesome dharmas, whatever they may be. When based on morality, all
the wholesome dharmas will not dwindle away."
"Give me an illustration!"
"As all plants and animals which increase, grow, and prosper, do so with
the earth as their basis, just so the yogin, with
morality as his support, with morality as basis, develops the five cardinal
virtues, i.e. faith, vigour, mindfulness,
concentration, and wisdom."
"Give me an illustration!"
"As the builder of a city when constructing a town, first of all clears
the site, removes all stumps and thorns, and levels it; and only after that he
lays out and marks off the roads and cross-roads, and so builds the city. Even
so the yogin develops the five cardinal virtues with
morality as his support, with morality as his basis."
The king said: "What is the mark of faith?"
"Faith makes serene, and it leaps forward."
"And how does faith make serene?"
"When faith arises it arrests the [Five] Hindrances,
and the heart becomes free from them, clear, serene and undisturbed."
"Give me an illustration!"
"A universal monarch might on his way, together with his fourfold army,
cross over a small stream. Stirred up by the elephants and horses, by the
chariots and infantry, the water would become disturbed, agitated and muddy.
Have crossed over, the universal monarch would order his men to bring some
water to drink. But the king would possesses a
miraculous water-cleaning gem, and his men, in obedience to his command, would
throw it into the stream. Then at once all fragments of vegetation would float
away, the mud would settle at the bottom, the stream would become clear, serene
and undisturbed, and fit to be drunk by the universal monarch. Here the stream
corresponds to the heart, the monarch's men to the yogin,
the fragments of vegetation and the mud to the defilements, and the miraculous
water-clearing gem to faith."
"And how does faith leap forward?"
"When the yogin sees that the hearts of other
have been set free, he leaps forward, by way of aspiration, to the various
fruits of a holy life, and he makes efforts to attain the yet unattained, to
find the yet unfound, to realize the yet unrealized."
"Give me an illustrated!"
"Suppose that a great cloud were to burst over a hill-slope. The water
then would flow down the slope, would first fill all the hill's clefts,
fissures, and gullies, and would then run into the river below, making its bank
overflow on both sides. Now suppose further a great crowd of people had come
along, and unable to size up either the width or the depth of the river, should
stand frightened and hesitating on the bank. But then the some man would come
along, who, conscious of his own strength and power,
would firmly tie on his loin-cloth and jump across the river. And the great
crowd of people, seeing him on the other side, would cross likewise. Even so
the yogin, when he has seen that the hearts of others
have been set free, leaps forward, by aspiration, to the various fruits of the
holy life, and he makes efforts to attain the yet unattained, to find the yet
unfound, to realise the yet unrealized. And this is
what the Lord Buddha has said in the Samyutta Nikaya:
"By faith the flood is crossed,
By wakefulness the sea;
By vigour ill is passed;
By wisdom cleansed is he."
The king asked: "And what is the mark of vigour?"
"Vigour props up, and
when propped up by vigour, all the wholesome dharmas do not dwindle away."
"Give me a simile!"
"If a man's house were falling down, he would prop it up with a new place
of wood, and so supported, that house would not collaspe."
The king asked: "And what is the mark of mindfulness?"
"When mindfulness arises, one calls to mind the dharmas
which participate in what is wholesome and unwholesome, blameable
and blameless, inferior and sublime, dark and light, i.e. these are the four
applications of mindfulness, there are the four applications of mindfulness,
these are the four right efforts, these are the four roads to psychic power,
these are the five cardinal virtues, these are the five powers, these are the
seven limbs of enlightenment, this is the holy eightfold path, this is calm,
this is insight, this is knowledge and this is emancipation. Thereafter, the yogin tends those dharmas which
should be tended, and he does not tend those which should not be tended; he
partakes of those dharmas which should be followed,
and he does not partake of those which should not be followed. It is in this
sense that calling to mind is a mark of mindfulness."
"Give me a simile!"
"It is like the treasurer of a universal monarch, who each morning and
evening reminds his royal master of his magnificent assets: So many elephants
you have, so many horses, so many chariots, so much infantry, so many gold
coins, so much bullion, so much property; may your majesty bear in this mind!
In this way he calls to mind his master's wealth."
"And how does mindfulness take up?"
"When mindfulness arises, the outcome of beneficial and harmful dharmas is examined in this way: These dharmas
are beneficial, these harmful, these dharmas are
helpful, these unhelpful. Thereafter, the yogin
removes the harmful dharmas, and takes up the
beneficial ones; he removes the unhelpful dharmas,
and takes up the helpful ones. It is in this sense that mindfulness takes
up."
"Give me a comparison!"
"It is like the invaluable adviser of a universal monarch who knows what
is beneficial and what harmful to his royal master, what is helpful and what is
unhelpful. Thereafter what is harmful and unhelpful can be removed, what is
beneficial and helpful can be taken up."
The king asked: "And what is the mark of concentration?"
"It stands at the head. Whatever wholesome dharmas
there may be, they all are headed by concentration, they bend towards
concentration, lead to concentration, incline to concentration."
"Give me a comparison!"
"It is as with a building with a pointed roof: Whatever rafters they are,
they all converge on the top, and bend towards the top, meet at the top, and
the top occupies the most prominent place. So with
concentration on relation to the other wholesome dharmas."
"Give me a further comparison!"
"If a king were to enter a battle with his fourfold
army. then all his troops: The elephants,
cavalry, chariots, and infantry, would be handed by him, and would be ranged
around him. Such is the position of concentration in relation to the other
wholesome dharmas."
The king then asked: "Then, what is the mark of wisdom?"
"Cutting off is, as I said before, one mark of wisdom. In addition, it
illuminates."
"And how does wisdom illuminate?"
"When wisdom arises, it dispels the darkness of ignorance, generates the
illumination of knowledge, sheds the light of cognition, and makes the holy
truths stand out clearly. Thereafter the yogin, with
his correct wisdom, can see impermanence, ill, and not self."
"Give me a comparison!"
"It is like a lamp which a man would take into a dark house. It would
dispel the darkness, would illuminate, shed light, and make the forms in the
house stand out clearly."
"Well put, Nagasena!"
Problems of Nirvana
The king asked: "Is cessation Nirvana?"
"Yes, your majesty!"
"How is that, Nagasena?"
"All the foolish common people take delight in the senses and their
objects, are impressed by them, are attached to them.
In that way, they are carried away by the flood and are not set free from
birth, old age and death, from grief, lamentation, pain, sadness, and despair -
they are, I say, not set free from suffering. But the well-informed holy
disciples do not take delight in the senses and their objects, are not
impressed by them, are not attached to them, and in consequence their craving
ceases; the cessation of craving leads successively to that of grasping, of
becoming, of birth, of old age and death, of grief, lamentation, pain, sadness,
and despair - that is to say, to the cessation of all this mass of ill. It is
thus that cessation is Nirvana."
"Very good, Nagasena!"
The king asked: "Do all win Nirvana?"
"No, they do not. Only those win Nirvana who, progressing correctly, know
by their super knowledge those dharmas which should
be known by super knowledge, comprehend those dharmas
which should be comprehended, forsake those dharmas
which should be forsaken, develop those dharmas which
should be developed, and realize those dharmas which
should be realized."
"Very good, Nagasena!"
The king asked: "Do those who have not won Nirvana know how happy a state
it is?"
"Yes, they do."
"But how can one know this about Nirvana without having attained it?"
"Now, what do you think, your majesty? Do those
who have not had their hands and feet cut off know how hard it is to have them
cut off?"
"Yes, they do."
"And how do they know it?"
"From hearing the sound of the lamentations of those whose hands and feet
have been cut off."
"So it is by hearing the words of those who have seen Nirvana that one
knows it to be comforted."
"Well said, Nagasena!"
The Nature of Nirvana
King Milinda said: "I will grant you, Nagasena, that Nirvana is absolute ease, and that
nevertheless one cannot point to its form or shape, its duration or size,
either by simile or explanation, by reason or by argument. But is there perhaps
some quality of Nirvana which it shares with other things, and which lends
itself to a metaphorical explanation?"
"Its form, O King, cannot be elucidated by similes, but its qualities
can."
"How good to hear that, Nagasena! Speak then,
quickly, so that I may have an explanation of even one of the aspects of
Nirvana! Appease the fever of my heart! Allay it with the cool sweet breezes of
your words!"
"Nirvana shares one quality with the lotus, two with water, three with
medicine, ten with space, three with the wishing jewel, and five with a
mountain peak. As the lotus is unstained by water, so is Nirvana unstained by
all the defilements. As cool water allays feverish heat, so also Nirvana is
cool and allays the fever of all the passions. Moreover, as water removes the
thirst of men and beasts who are exhausted, parched,
and thirsty, and overpowered by heat, so also Nirvana removes the craving for
sensuous enjoyments, the craving for further becoming, the craving for the
cessation of becoming. As medicine protects from the torments of poisons, so
Nirvana protects from the torments of the poisonous passions. Moreover, as
medicine puts an end to sickness, so Nirvana puts an end to all sufferings.
Finally, Nirvana and medicine both give security. And these are the ten
qualities which Nirvana shares with space. Neither is born, grows old, dies,
passes away, or is reborn; both are unconquerable, cannot be stolen, are
unsupported, are roads respectively for birds and Arhats to journey on, are unobstructed and infinite. Like
the wishing jewel, Nirvana grants all one can desire, brings joy, and sheds
light. As a mountain peak is lofty and exalted, so is Nirvana. As a mountain
peak is unshakeable, so is Nirvana. As a mountain is inaccessible, so is
Nirvana inaccessible to all the passions. As no seeds can grow on a mountain
peak, so the seeds of all the passions cannot grow in Nirvana. And finally, as
a mountain peak is free from all desire to please or displease, so is
Nirvana!"
"Well said, Nagasena! So it is, and as much I
accept it."
The Realization of Nirvana
King Milinda said: "In the world one can see
things produced of karma, things produced from a cause, things produced by
nature. Tell me, what in the world is not born of karma, or a cause, or of
nature?"
"There are two such things, space and Nirvana."
"Do not, Nagasena, corrupt the Jina (Buddha)'s words, do not answer the question
ignorantly!"
"What did I say, Your Majesty, that you speak thus to me?"
"What you said about space not being born of karma, or from a cause, or
from nature, that was correct. But with many hundreds of arguments has the Lord
Buddha proclaimed to His disciples the way to the realization of Nirvana, and
then you say that Nirvana is not born of a cause!"
"It is true that the Lord has with many hundreds of arguments proclaimed
to His disciples the way to the realization of Nirvana, but that does not mean
that He has spoken of a cause for the production of Nirvana."
"Here, Nagasena, we do indeed enter from
darkness into greater darkness, from a jungle into a deeper jungle, from a
thicket into a denser thicket, in as much as we are given a cause for the
realization of Nirvana, but no cause for the production of that same dharma
(Nirvana). If there is a cause for the realization of Nirvana, we would also
expect one for its production. If there is a son's father, one would for that
reason also expect the father to have had a father; if there is a pupil's
teacher, one would for that reason also expect the teacher to have had a
teacher; if there is a seed for a sprout, one would for that reason also expect
the seed to have had a seed. Just so, if there is cause for the realization of
Nirvana, one would for that reason it must have also expect a cause for its
production. If a tree or creeper has a top, then for that reason it must also
have a middle and a root. Just so, if there is a cause
for the realization of Nirvana, one would for that reason also expect a cause
for its production."
"Nirvana, O King, is not something that should be produced. That is why no
cause for its production has been proclaimed."
"Please, Nagasena, give me a reason, convince me
by an argument, so that I can understand this point!"
"Well then, O King, attend carefully, listen closely and I will tell you
the reason for this. Could a man with his natural strength go up from here to
the Himalaya mountains?"
"Yes, he could."
"But could that man with his natural strength bring the
"No, he could not."
"Just so, it is possible to point out the way to the realization of
Nirvana, but impossible to show a cause for its production. Could a man, who
with his natural strength has crossed in a boat over the great ocean, get to
the farther shore?"
"Yes, he could."
"But could that man with his natural strength bring the farther shore of
the great ocean shore here?"
"No, he could not."
"Just so, one can point out the way to the realization of Nirvana, but one
cannot show a cause for its production. And what is the reason for that?
Because that dharma (Nirvana) is unconditioned."
"Then, Nagasena, is Nirvana unconditioned?"
"So it is, O King, unconditioned is Nirvana, not made by anything. Of
Nirvana one cannot say that it is produced, or unproduced,
or that it should be produced; that it is past, or present, or future; or that
one can become aware of it by the eye, or the ear, or the nose, or the tongue,
or the body."
"In that case, Nagasena, you indicate Nirvana as
a dharma which is not, and Nirvana does not exist."
"Nirvana is something which is recognizable by the mind. A holy disciple,
who has followed the right road, sees Nirvana with a mind which is pure,
sublime, straight, unimpeded and disinterested."
"But what then is that Nirvana like? Give me a simile, and convince me by
arguments. For a dharma which exists can surely be illustrated by a
simile!"
"Is there, Great King, something called wind?"
"Yes, there is such a thing."
"Please, will Your Majesty show me the wind, its colour
and shape, and whether it is thin or thick, long or short?"
"One cannot point to the wind like that for the wind does not lend itself
to being grasped with the hands, or to being untouched. But nevertheless there
is such a thing called 'wind'."
"If one cannot point to the wind, one might concluded that there is no
wind at all."
"But I know, Nagasena, that there is wind, I am
quite convincted of it, in spite of the fact that I
cannot point it out."
"Just so, Your Majesty, there is Nirvana, but one cannot point to Nirvana,
either by its colour or its shape."
"Very good, Nagasena. Clear is the simile,
convincing is the argument. So it is, and so I accept it: There is a
Nirvana."
The Arhats and their Bodies
The king asked: "Does someone who is no more
reborn feel any unpleasant feelings?"
The elder replied: "Some he feels, and others not."
"Which one does he feel, and which one not?"
"He feels physical, but not any mental pain."
"How is that?"
"The causes and conditions which produce feelings of physical pain have
not ceased to operate, whereas those which produce feelings of mental pain
have. And so it has been said by the Lord Buddha: Only one kind of feelings he
feels, physical, and not mental."
"And when he feels a physical pain, why does he not escape into Final
Nirvana, by dying quickly?"
"An Arhat has no more likes or dislikes. Arhats do not shake down the unripe fruit, the wise wait
for it to mature. And so it has been said by the elder Sariputra,
the Dharma's General:
"It is not death, it is not life I cherish.
I bide my time, as a servant waiting for his wage.
It is not death, it is not life I cherish.
I bide my time, in mindfulness and wisdom steeped."
"Well put, Nagasena!"
The king asked: "Is the body dear to you recluses?"
"No, it is not."
"But then, why do you look after it, and cherish it so?"
"Has Your Majesty somewhere and at some time in the course of a battle
been wounded by an arrow?"
"Yes, that has happened."
"In such cases, is not the wound anointed with salve, smeared with oil,
and bandaged with fine linen?"
"Yes, so it is."
"Then, is this treatment a sign that the wound is dear to Your
Majesty?"
"No, it is not dear to me, but all this is done to it so that the flesh
may grow again."
"Just so the body is not dear to the recluses. Without being attached to
the body they take care of it for the purpose of making a holy life possible.
The Lord Buddha has compared the body to a wound, and so the recluses take care
for the body as for a wound, without being attached to it. For the Lord Buddha
said:
"A damp skin hides it,
But it is a wound,
Large with nine openings.
All around it ozzes impure
And evil smelling matter."
"Well answered, Nagasena!"
The king asked: "What is the difference between someone with greed and
someone without greed?"
"The one is attached, the other unattached."
"What does that mean?"
"The one covets, the other does not."
"As I see it, the greedy person and the one who is free from greed both
wish for agreeable food, and neither of them wishes for bad food."
"But the one who is not free from greed eats his food while experiencing
both its taste and some greed for tastes; the one who is free from greed eats
his food while experiencing its taste, but without having any greed for
it."
"Very good, Nagasena!"
The king asked: "For what reason does the common worlding
suffer both physical and mental pain?"
"Because his thought is so undeveloped. He is like a hungry and excited
ox, who has been tied up with a weak, fragile and short piece of straw or
creeper, and who, when agitated, rushes off, taking his tender with him. So,
someone whose thought is undeveloped, gets agitated in his mind when a pain
arises in him, and his agitated mind bends and contorts his body, and makes it
writhe. Undeveloped in his mind, he trembles, shrieks, and cries with terror.
This is reason why the common worlding suffers both
physical and mental pain."
"And what is the reason why Arhats feel only one
kind of feelings, physical and not mental?"
"The thought of the Arhats is developed, well
developed, it is tamed, well tamed, it is obedient and disciplined. When
invaded by a painful feeling, the Arhat firmly grasps
at the idea of its impermanence, and ties his thought to the post of
contemplation. And his thought, tied to the post of contemplation, does not
tremble or shake, remains steadfast and undisturbed. But the disturbing
influence of the pain, nevertheless, makes his body bend, contorts it, makes it
writhe."
"That Nagasena, is indeed a most wonderful thing
in this world, that someone's mind should remain unshaken when his body is
shaken. Tell me the reason for that!"
"Suppose, Your Majesty, that there is a gigantic tree, with trunk, branches,
and leaves. If it were hit by the force of the wind, its branches would shake,
but would the trunk also shake?"
"No, Venerable Sir!"
"Just so the thought of the Arhat does not
tremble or shake, like the trunk of the gigantic tree."
"Wonderful, Nagasena, most admireable,
Nagasena!"
Conclusion
The king, as a result of his discussions with the Venerable Nagasena,
was overjoyed and humbled. He saw the value in the Buddha's religion, gained
confidence in the Triple Gem, lost his spikiness and obstinacy, gained faith in
the qualities of the elder, in his observation of the monastic rules, his
spiritual progress and his general demeanour; became
trusting and resigned, free from conceit and arrogance. Like a cobra whose
fangs have been drawn, he said: "Well said, well said, Nagasena!
You have answered my questions, which would have given scope to a Buddha, you
have answered them well! Apart from the elder Sariputra,
the supreme General of the Dharma, there is no one in this religion of Buddha
who can deal with questions as well as you do. Forgive my transgressions, Nagasena! May the Venerable Nagasena
accept me as a lay-follower, as one who takes his refuge
the Triple Gem from today onwards, as long as I shall live!"
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