Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - The Beginning of Time

Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - The Beginning of Time

The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala

Chapter 3
The Beginning of Time
1.“What is the root, Nàgasena, of past,
present and future time?”
“Ignorance. By ignorance are conditioned
formations; by formations, relinking con-
sciousness; by consciousness, mind and
matter; by mind and matter, the six sense bases; by the six
sense bases, contact; by contact, feeling; by feeling, craving;
by craving, attachment; by attachment, becoming; by
becoming, birth; by birth are conditioned old age, death,
grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow and despair.”
2.“You say that the ultimate beginning of things is not
apparent. Give me an illustration.”
“The Blessed One said, ‘By reason of the sense bases
and the sense objects there arises contact; by reason of
contact, feeling; by reason of feeling, craving; and by reason
of craving, action (kamma). Then, from action, sense bases
are once more produced.’ Now could there be any end to
this series?”
“No.”
“Just so, O king, the ultimate beginning of things
cannot be comprehended.”35
35.To search for the origins of life in Super Novae or in DNA is to search in vain, for the root
cause lies in the mind. The Buddha said:
“For countless births I wandered in saüsàra, seeking, but not finding the builder of this
house. Painful is repeated birth! House builder you are seen! You shall build no house
again! All your rafters [defilements] are broken! Your ridge-pole [ignorance] is shattered!
My mind has gone to nibbàna. Achieved is the end of craving.” Dhammapada vv153–4.

3.“Is the ultimate beginning of everything unknown?”
“Partly so and partly not.”
“Then which is so and which not?”
“Whatever condition preceded this birth, that is to us
as if it had not been. In reference to that, the ultimate begin-
ning is not known. However, that which has not been
comes into existence, and as soon as it has arisen it disap-
pears again. With reference to that the ultimate beginning
can be known.”
4.“Are there any formations that are produced?”
“Certainly, O king. Where there is an eye and also
forms there is sight; where there is sight there is contact;
where there is contact there is feeling; where there is feeling
there is craving; where there is craving there is attachment;
where there is attachment there is becoming; where there is
becoming there is birth, old age, death, grief, lamentation,
pain, sorrow and despair. However, where the eye and
forms are not, sight is not; contact is not, feeling is not,
craving is not, attachment is not, becoming is not; and
where there is no becoming there is no birth, old age, death,
grief, pain, sorrow or despair.”
5.“Are there any formations that are not produced?”
“There are not, O king, for it is just by a process of
becoming that they are produced.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“Was this house where you are sitting produced by a
process of becoming?”
“There is nothing here that was not. This wood was in

the forest and this clay was in the ground and it was
through the effort of men and women that this house came
to exist.”
“Just so, O king there are no formations that are not
produced.”
6.“Is there, Nàgasena, such a thing as ‘The one who
knows’ (vedagå)?”36
“What is this thing?”
“The living principle within that sees, hears, tastes,
smells, feels and discerns things; just as we, sitting here, can
look out of any window we wish to.”
“If, O king, the living principle within can see, hear,
taste, smell and feel things like you say, can it not also see
forms through the ear and so on?”
“No, venerable sir.”
“Then, O king, the living principle within cannot
make use of whichever sense it pleases as you suggested. It
is, O king, by reason of the eye and forms that sight and
those other conditions arise, namely; contact, feeling, per-
ception, intention, one pointedness, vitality and attention.
Each arises simultaneously with its cause and herein ‘The
one who knows’ cannot be found.”
7.“Does mind-consciousness arise wherever eye-
consciousness arises?”
“Yes, O king, where the one is there the other is.”
“Which arises first?”
36.Elsewhere vedagå is used as an epithet of the Buddha meaning ‘One attained to
knowledge’.

“First eye-consciousness then mind-consciousness.”
“Does eye-consciousness issue a command to mind
consciousness or vice versa?”
“No, there is no communication between them.”
“Then why is it, Nàgasena, that mind-consciousness
arises wherever there is eye-consciousness?”
“Because, O king, there is a tendency, an opening, a
habit and an association.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“If a king’s border town had a strong wall and only
one gateway and a man wanted to leave the town, which
way would he go?”
“Through the gateway.”
“And if another man left, which way would he go?”
“Through the same gateway.”
“But does the first man issue a command to the
second saying, ‘Go out the same way as I do’, or does the
second man tell the first, ‘I will go out the same way as you
do’?”
“No venerable sir, there is no communication
between them.”
“In the same way mind-consciousness arises wherever
there is eye-consciousness but there is no communication
between them.”
8.“Where there is mind-consciousness, Nàgasena, is
there always contact and feeling?”
“Yes, where there is mind-consciousness there is
contact and feeling. And also perception, intention, initial
application and sustained application.”

“What is the characteristic mark of contact?”
“Touching.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“As when two rams butt together; the eye is like one
ram, visible object is like the other and the butting together
of the two is contact.”
9.“What is the characteristic mark of feeling?”
“The being experienced, O king, and enjoyed.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“As a man, who has been of service to a king and has
been granted an official post, afterwards enjoys the benefits
of being in office.”
10.“What is the characteristic mark of perception?”
“Recognising,
37 O king, of blueness, yellowness or
redness.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“It is as the king’s treasurer recognises the king’s
goods on seeing their colour and shape.”
11.“What is the characteristic mark of intention?”
“Conceiving, O king, and preparing.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“As a man having prepared poison and having drunk
it would suffer pain, so one having thought out some evil
deed and having done it, afterwards has to suffer in hell.”
37. Sa¤¤à, vi¤¤àõa and pa¤¤à can be compared respectively to a child, a man and a money-
changer who see a gold coin. The child knows it is round and bright but that is all. The
man knows that it has a value too. The money-changer knows everything about it. See
Vism. 437.

12.“What is the characteristic mark of consciousness?”
“Knowing, O king.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“As a watchman in the city square would know some-
one was coming, whichever direction he came from; so,
when a man sees an object, hears a sound, smells an odour,
tastes a savour, feels a touch or knows an idea; it is by con-
sciousness that he knows it.”
13.“What is the characteristic mark of initial
application?”
“Fixing, O king.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“As a carpenter fixes an accurately cut tenon into a
mortice, thus fixing is the characteristic of initial
application.”
14.“What is the characteristic mark of sustained
application?”
“Examining again and again.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“Like the striking of a gong is initial application; like
the reverberation is sustained application.”
15.“Is it possible to separate these conditions; saying,
‘This is contact, this feeling, this perception, this intention,
this consciousness, this initial application, and this
sustained application’?”
“No, great king, this cannot be done. If one were to
prepare a soup containing curds, salt, ginger, cumin seeds

and pepper, one could not take out the flavour of the curds
and show it saying, ‘This is the flavour of the curds’ or take
out the flavour of the salt and say, ‘This is the flavour of the
salt’, yet each flavour would be distinctly present by its
characteristic sign.”
16.Then the elder said, “Is salt, O king, recognisable by
the eye?”
“Yes, your reverence, it is.”
“Be careful, O king, what you say.”
“Then it is recognisable by the tongue.”
“Yes, that is right.”
“But, Nàgasena, is it only by the tongue that every
kind of salt is recognisable?”
“Yes, every kind.”
“Then why do bullocks bring whole cartloads of it?”
“It is impossible to bring salt by itself. For example,
salt also has mass but it is impossible to weigh salt, one can
only weigh the mass.”
“You are dexterous, Nàgasena, in argument.”