Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - The Buddha

Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - The Buddha

The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala

Chapter 5
The Buddha
1.“Have you or your teachers seen the
Buddha?”
“No, great king.”
“Then, Nàgasena, there is no Buddha!”
“Have you or your father seen the River
æhà40 in the Himalayas?”
“No venerable sir.”
“Then would it be right to say there is no river æhà?”
“You are dexterous, Nàgasena, in reply.”
2.“Is the Buddha incomparable?”
“Yes he is.”
“But how can you know if you have never seen him?”
“Just as those who have never seen the ocean can
know how great it is because the five great rivers flow into
it but thereby it does not rise; so do I know that the Buddha
is incomparable when I think of those great teachers, whom
I have seen, who are only his disciples.”
3.“How can others know that the Buddha is incompar-
able?”
“Long ago there was a master of writing named Tissa
Thera.
41
How can people know about him?”
40.The source of the Ganges.
41.Possibly a reference to Moggalliputta Tissa Thera, the convenor of the Third Council
and author of the Kathàvatthu, ‘Points of Controversy

“By his writing.”
“Just so, O king, whosoever the sees the Dhamma
taught by Blessed One can know that he is incomparable.”
4.“Have you, Nàgasena, seen what the truth is?”
“We disciples, O king, have to conduct ourselves
according to the rules laid down by the Buddha.”42
5.“Can there be any rebirth where there is no trans-
migration?”
“Yes there can, just as a man can light one oil-lamp
from another but nothing moves from one lamp to the
other; or as a pupil can learn a verse by heart from a teacher
but the verse does not transmigrate from teacher to pupil.”
6.Then Milinda asked again, “Is there such a thing as
‘The one who knows’, (vedagå)?”
“Not in the ultimate sense.”43
7.“Is there any being who transmigrates from this body
to another?”
“No there is not.”
“If so, would there not be an escape from the result of
evil deeds?”
“Yes there would be an escape if they were not to be
reborn but there would not be if they were to be reborn.
42.There is a training rule (Pàcittiya No. 8) preventing monks from disclosing any spiritual
attainments.
43.There are two levels of truth; conventional truth and ultimate truth. In the conventional
sense it would be wrong to say that a person does not exist; but in the ultimate sense it
is right. In reality there is only a continuously changing stream of mind and matter,
which we mistake for a person. (Editor’s Note)

This mind and body process commits deeds either pure or
impure, and because of that kamma another mind and body
process is reborn. Therefore this mind and body is not free
from its evil deeds.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“If a thief were to steal another man’s mangoes,
would he deserve punishment?”
“Indeed he would.”
“But the mangoes he stole were not those that the
owner had planted; why should he deserve punishment?”
“Because those that he stole resulted from the others.”
“Just so, O king, this mind and body process commits
deeds either pure or impure, and because of that kamma
another mind and body process is reborn. Therefore this
mind and body is not free from its evil deeds.”
8.“When deeds are committed by one mind and body
process, where do they remain?”
“The deeds follow them, O king, like a shadow that
never leaves. However, one cannot point them out saying,
‘Those deeds are here or there’, just as the fruits of a tree
cannot be pointed out before they are produced.”
9.“Would he who is about to be reborn know it?”
“Yes he would, just as a farmer who puts seed into the
ground, seeing it rain well, would know that a crop will be
produced.”44
10.“Is there such a person as the Buddha?”
44. cf. Question 2 in Chapter Two.

“Yes.”
“Can he be pointed out as being here or there?”
“The Blessed One has passed away and nothing
remains to form another individual. He cannot be pointed
out as being here or there just as the flame of a fire that has
gone out cannot be pointed out as being here or there. Yet
his historical existence45 can be known by pointing out the
body of the doctrine46 preached by him.”
—}{—
45.As well as the existence of more Buddhas in the future.
46. Dhammakàya.