Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - Rebirth

Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - Rebirth

The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala

Chapter 2
Rebirth
1.“He who is reborn, Nàgasena, is he the
same person or another?”
“Neither the same nor another.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“In the case of a pot of milk that turns first
to curds, then to butter, then to ghee; it would not be right
to say that the ghee, butter and curds were the same as the
milk but they have come from that, so neither would it be
right to say that they are something else.”
2.“Is the man who will not be reborn aware of the fact?”
“Yes, O king.”
“How does he know it?”
“By the cessation of all that is cause or condition of
rebirth. As a farmer who does not plough or sow or reap
would know that his granary is not getting filled up.”
3.“In one, Nàgasena, in whom knowledge (¤àõa) arises
does wisdom (pa¤¤à) also arise?”
“Yes, O king.”
“Is knowledge the same as wisdom?”
“Yes, O king.”
“Then would he with his knowledge and wisdom be
in ignorance about anything?”

“He would still be in ignorance about the things he
had not yet learnt but regarding what had been accom-
plished by wisdom — that is the perception of imperma-
nence, unsatisfactoriness and soullessness — he would not
be ignorant.”
“Then what would have happened to his delusions
on those points?”
“From the moment when knowledge arises, delusion
passes away. As when the light comes, darkness dis-
appears.”
“But then what has become of his wisdom?”
“When wisdom has accomplished its task then it dis-
appears; but his understanding of impermanence, unsatis-
factoriness and soullessness does not disappear.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“As a man who wants to write a letter at night would
have a lamp lit and then write the letter. Then he would put
out the lamp, but though the lamp had been put out the
letter would remain.”
4.“Does he who will not be reborn feel any painful
feeling?”
“He may feel physical pain, O king, but not mental
pain.”
“If he feels painful feelings then why doesn’t he just
die and attain the extinction of grasping, and put an end to
suffering?”
“The arahant has no fondness for or aversion to life.
He does not shake down the unripe fruit but awaits the
time of its maturity. For this was said by Venerable

Sàriputta, the Buddha’s chief disciple:
“It is not death, nor life I cherish;
As the hireling his wage,
so I bide my time.
It is not death nor life I long for,
Mindful and clearly comprehending,
I bide my time.”32
5.“Is a pleasant feeling wholesome, unwholesome or
neutral?”
“It may be any one of the three.”
“But surely, venerable sir, if wholesome conditions
are not painful and painful ones are not wholesome, then
there can be no wholesome condition that is at the same
time painful.”33
“What do you think, O king? If a man were to hold in
one hand a hot iron ball and in the other a ball of ice, would
they both hurt him?”
“Indeed they would.”
“Then your hypothesis must be wrong. If they are not
both hot but the heat hurts, and they are not both cold but
the cold hurts then the pain does not come from the heat or
the cold.”
“I am not able to argue with you. Please explain the
matter.”
32.Thag. 1002, 1003.
33.Wholesome deeds are not painful in result but we may find them hard to do because of
our attachment and aversion. It is the defilements that cause us to suffer, not the good
deeds. Unwholesome deeds are painful in result but we may enjoy doing them due to
delusion. When the result comes we have to suffer.

Then the elder taught the king the Abhidhamma:
“There are six pleasures connected with the world and six
of renunciation; six worldly sorrows and six of renuncia-
tion; and six neutral feelings in each case, altogether thirty-
six. Then there are thirty-six feelings in the past, present
and future so altogether there are one hundred and eight
feelings.”
6.“What is it, Nàgasena, that is reborn?”
“Mind and matter.”
“Is it this very mind and matter that is reborn?”
“No, it is not, but by this mind and matter deeds are
done and because of those deeds another mind and matter
is reborn; but that mind and matter is not thereby released
from the results of its previous deeds.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“It is like a fire that a man might kindle and, having
warmed himself, he might leave it burning and go away.
Then, if that fire were to set light to another man’s field and
the owner were to seize him and accuse him before the
king, and he were to say, ‘Your majesty, I did not set this
man’s field on fire. The fire that I left burning was different
to that which burnt his field. I am not guilty’. Would he
deserve punishment?”
“Indeed, yes, because whatever he might say the
latter fire resulted from the former one.”
“Just so, O king, by this mind and matter deeds are
done and because of those deeds another mind and matter
is reborn; but that mind and matter is not thereby released
from the results of its previous deeds.”

7.“Will you, Nàgasena, be reborn?”
“What is the use of asking that question again? Have
I not already told you that if I die with attachment in my
mind I shall be reborn, if not I shall not.”
8.“You were explaining just now about mind and
matter. Therein, what is mind and what is matter?”
“Whatever is gross is materiality, whatever is subtle
and mind or mental-states is mentality.”
“Why are they not born separately?”
“These conditions are related like the yolk of an egg
and its shell, they always arise together and thus they have
been related through time immemorial.”34
9.“Nàgasena, when you say, ‘Time immemorial’, what
does time mean? Is there any such thing?”
“Time means past, present and future. There are some
for whom time exists and some for whom it doesn’t. Where
there are beings who will be reborn, for them time exists;
where there are beings who will not be reborn, for them
time does not exist.”
“Well put, Nàgasena, you are clever in reply.”
—}{—
34.Rhys Davids and Miss Horner, using the Sinhalese text, both read this sentence as:
evametaü dãghamaddhànaü saübhàvitaü, which Miss Horner translates, “Thus is
produced this long. (saüsàric) time”. However, the Burmese text has: sandhàvitaü, and
so I have translated accordingly.