Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - The Solving of Dilemmas V

Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - The Solving of Dilemmas V

The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala

Chapter 12
The Solving of Dilemmas (V)
41. On Dwelling Places
“It was said by the Blessed One:
“Fear is born from intimacy,
Dust is from a house arisen.
Homeless, free from intimacy,
This is the sage’s vision.”155
“Yet he also said:
“Let the wise man have dwellings built and lodge
learned men therein.”156
“If the former statement was made by the Blessed One then
the latter must be wrong.”
“Both statements were made by the Tathàgata, O
king, but the first was an inclusive statement as to the
nature of things and as to what it is proper for recluses to
desire. However, the second statement was said concern-
ing two matters only. The gift of a dwelling place has been
highly praised by the Buddhas because those who have
made such a gift will be delivered from birth, old age, dis-
ease and death. Secondly, if there is a dwelling place it is
easy for those who wish to listen to the Dhamma to visit the
155.Sn. v 207.
156.Vin. ii. 147; S. i. 100

bhikkhus, whereas if they stayed in the forest it would not
be. However, it does not follow that the bhikkhus have a
longing for a dwelling place.”
42. Restraint of the Stomach
“The Blessed One said, ‘Do not be heedless in standing for
alms, be restrained regarding the stomach.’
157
However,
he also said, ‘There were times, Udàyi, when I ate a full
bowl of food or even more.’
158 This too is a double-edged
problem.”
“Both statements are correct, O king, but the former
statement is inclusive and cannot be proved wrong. He
who has no restraint as regards the stomach will kill living
beings or steal for the sake of his stomach. It was bearing
this in mind that the Blessed One said, ‘Do not be heedless
in standing for alms, be restrained regarding the stomach.’
He who has self-control gains a clear insight into the Four
Noble Truths and fulfils the life of a recluse. Didn’t a mere
parrot, O king, by his restraint as to his stomach shake the
heaven of the thirty-three and bring down Sakka to wait on
him?159
However, when the Blessed One said, ‘There were
times, Udàyi, when I ate a full bowl of food or even more’
it was concerning himself. He had accomplished all that
can be accomplished by restraint, and like a perfect gem
that needs no more polishing, he needed no more training.”
157.Dhp. v 168. When the Buddha returned to his birth place, he went for alms since his
relatives had not yet invited him for the meal.
158.M. ii. 7.
159.Jà. No. 429

43. The Best of Men
“The Blessed One said, ‘I, monks, am a Brahman, one to ask
a favour of, always ready to give; this body that I bear will be
my last, I am the supreme healer and physician.’
160 Yet on
the other hand he said, ‘The chief among my disciples as re-
gards physical health is Bakkula.’
161 Now it is well known
that the Blessed One suffered several times from diseases
whereas Bakkula was always healthy. If the first statement is
true then why was the Buddha less healthy than Bakkula?”
“Although it is true that Bakkula surpassed the Buddha
in the matter of health and other disciples also surpassed
him in other aspects yet the Blessed One surpassed them all
in respect of virtue, concentration and wisdom; and it was
in reference to this that he spoke the verse, ‘I, monks, am a
Brahman, one to ask a favour of, always ready to give; this
body that I bear will be my last, I am the supreme healer
and physician’.”
“The Blessed One, O king, whether he is sick or not;
whether he is practising the ascetic practices or not — there
is no other being comparable to him. For this, O king, was
said in the Saüyutta Nikàya, ‘Just as, monks, of all creatures;
whether footless, or having two, four or many feet; whether
having form or formless; whether conscious or uncon-
scious, or neither conscious nor unconscious — of these the
Tathàgata, the arahant, the Fully Enlightened One, is reck-
oned as the chief…’.”162
160.Iti. 101.
161.As a result of treating Buddhas Anomadassã and Vipassã. A. i. 24.
162.S. v. 41.

44. The Ancient Path
“It was said by the Blessed One, ‘The Tathàgata is the
discoverer of a way that was unknown.’
163 Yet he also said,
‘Now I perceived, O monks, the ancient path along which
the previous Buddhas walked.’
164 This too is a double-
edged problem.”
“It was because the path shown by previous Buddhas
had long since disappeared and was not known by anyone,
man or god, that the Buddha said, ‘The Tathàgata is the dis-
coverer of a way that was unknown.’ Though that way had
disintegrated, become impassable and lost to view — the
Tathàgata, having gained a thorough knowledge of it, saw
by his eye of wisdom that it was the path used by previous
Buddhas. Therefore he said; ‘Now I perceived, O monks, the
ancient path along which the previous Buddhas walked.’ It
is as when a man clears the jungle and sets free a piece of
land it is called his land, though he did not make the land.”
45. The Bodhisatta’s Weakness
“It was said by the Blessed One, ‘Already in former births
when I was a man I had acquired the habit of not inflicting
harm on living beings.’
165 However, when he was an
ascetic called Lomasa Kassapa he had hundreds of animals
killed and offered as a sacrifice.
166 Why was he not com-
passionate then?”
163.S. iii. 66; cf. S. i. 190.
164. i.e. The Path leading to nibbàna. S. ii. 105.
165.D. iii. 166

“That sacrifice, O king, was done when Lomasa
Kassapa was out of his mind through infatuation with
Princess Candavati; not when he was conscious of what he
was doing. Just as a madman, when out of his senses, will
step into a fire or catch hold of a venomous snake or run
naked through the streets, so it was only because the
Bodhisatta was out of his mind that he performed the great
sacrifice. Now an evil act done by a madman is not
considered a grievous offence, nor is it grievous in respect
of the fruit that it brings in a future life. Suppose, O king,
that a madman had been guilty of a capital offence, what
punishment would you inflict upon him?”
“What punishment is due to a madman? We should
order him to be beaten and set free, that is all.”
“So then, O king, it follows that the offence of one
who is mad is pardonable.
167 Just so was it in the case of
Lomasa Kassapa who, after he regained his senses, re-
nounced the world and became assured of rebirth in the
Brahmà realm.”
46. Respect for the Robe
“Even when the Bodhisatta was an elephant he had respect
for the yellow robe168 but you also say that when he was the
Brahman youth Jotipàla, even though he was then
endowed with the discernment of a human being, he
166.Jà. iii. 30ff, 514ff. In the Jàtaka story, Kassapa ordered the animals brought for slaughter
but when they were all tied down at the stake he came to his senses and set them free.
167. cf. Vin. iii. 32, where there is no offence for one who is mad.
168.Jà. v. 49.

reviled and abused the Buddha Kassapa, calling him a
shaveling and good-for-nothing monk.
169 How can both of
these statements be true?”
“O king, the Bodhisatta’s rudeness when he was the
Brahman youth Jotipàla was due to his birth and upbring-
ing; all his family were unbelievers who worshipped Brah-
mà and thought that Brahmans were the highest among
men. Just, O king, as even the coolest water will become
warm when in contact with fire so, Jotipàla, though he was
full of merit, yet when he was reborn into a family of un-
believers he became as if blind and reviled the Tathàgata.
However, when he went to the presence of the Buddha Kas-
sapa he realised his virtue and became his devoted disciple.”
47. The Merit of the Potter
“It was said by the Blessed One, ‘For three whole months
the dwelling place of Ghatãkàra the potter remained open
to the sky but no rain fell on it.
170 Yet it was said that rain
fell on the hut of Buddha Kassapa.
171
Why did the hut of the
Tathàgata get wet? If rain fell on the hut of the Buddha,
who had so much merit, then it must be false that no rain
fell on the hut of Ghatãkàra because of his great merit.”
“O king, Ghatãkàra was a good man, full of virtue and
rich in merit, who supported his blind parents by his
humble trade. While he was away from the house, the
monks, having confidence in the unstinting generosity of
169.M. ii. 47, Sta. 81.
170.M. ii. 53.
171.M. ii. 54

Ghatãkàra, took away some thatch from the roof of his house
to repair the hut of Buddha Kassapa. When Ghatãkàra
returned he was neither angry nor disappointed but was
full of joy because he had gained so much merit by giving
something to the Tathàgata and ecstatic at the thought, ‘The
Blessed One has full confidence in me.’ So great was his
merit that it brought forth its result in this very life. The
Tathàgata on the other hand, was not short of merit because
the rain fell on his hut but he had considered, ‘Let people
not find fault saying that the Buddhas gain a livelihood by
the use of supernormal powers.’ Therefore the rain fell on
his hut as it did on all the others except that of Ghatãkàra.”
48. King or Brahman?
“The Blessed One said, ‘I, monks, am a Brahman, one to ask
a favour of.’
172 However, he also said, ‘A king, Sela, am I.’
173
If, Nàgasena, he was a king, then he must have spoken
falsely when he said he was a Brahman, for he must have
been either a Khattiya (a warrior) or a Brahman, he could
not have belonged to both castes.”
“It was not on account of his birth that he called him-
self a Brahman but because he was free from defilements,
had attained to the certainty of knowledge and because he
was one who maintained the ancient traditions of teaching
and learning by heart, self-control and discipline.
174
As a
172.Iti. 101.
173.Sn. v 554.
174. See Dhp. Bràhmaõavagga.

king rules the people with the law, the Buddha rules the
people by teaching Dhamma; bringing joy to those who live
rightly and reproving those who transgress the noble law.
Like a king who rules justly rules for a long time, the
Buddha’s religion endures for a long time because of his
special qualities of righteousness.”
49. Right Livelihood
“You say that the Blessed One did not accept alms received
by chanting verses175 but when preaching to laymen he
generally spoke first of the benefits of giving and accepted
the gifts offered.
176 If the first is true then why did he accept
gifts gained by preaching?”
“It is the custom of the Tathàgatas to preach first of the
benefits of giving to soften men’s hearts before going on to
preach of morality and higher matters but not on account of
that could they justly be accused of hinting to get gifts. There
is hinting that is improper and there is hinting that is blame-
less. Herein, if a bhikkhu begs for alms standing in an in-
convenient place or making signs this is improper hinting;
177
but if he stands in the proper place where there are people
who want to give and moves on if they do not want to give
then this is proper and does not amount to hinting. That meal
of the ploughman was offered in order to refute the subject of
the verse recited, therefore the Tathàgata rejected it.”
175.S. i. 167, Sn. v 81.
176. cf. D. i. Sta. 5.
177.Vism. 28.

50. The Reluctance of the Buddha
“You say that for four aeons (asaïkheyya) and 100,000 world-
cycles (kappa) the Bodhisatta practised the perfections in
order to gain omniscience,
178 yet after he had gained omnis-
cience his mind inclined to not teaching the Dhamma.
179
Like an archer who had practised for many days might hesi-
tate when the day for battle had come, even so did the Bless-
ed One hesitate to teach the Dhamma. Was it then because
of fear, or lack of clarity, or weakness, or because he was not
omniscient that he hesitated?”
“No, great king, it was for none of those reasons. It
was due to the profound nature of the Dhamma and to the
exceedingly strong passion and delusion of beings that the
Blessed One hesitated and considered to whom he should
teach it and in what manner so that they would under-
stand. Just, O king, as a king when he calls to mind the
many people who gain their livelihood in dependence on
him — the body-guards, courtiers, merchants, soldiers,
messengers, ministers and nobles — he might be exercised
at the thought; ‘How can I conciliate them all?’ Just so,
Oking, when the Tathàgata called to mind the strong pas-
sion and delusion of beings that he inclined rather to inac-
tion than to preaching. It is also in the natural order of
things that the Buddha should teach the Dhamma at the re-
quest of Brahmà, for at that time all men were worshippers
of Brahmà and placed their reliance on him. Therefore, if
one so high and mighty as Brahmà should incline to hear-
178.M. 1 53.
179.M. ii. 54.

ing Dhamma then the whole world of gods and men would
become inclined to it and so for that reason too the Buddha
waited to be asked before preaching the Dhamma.”
51. The Buddha’s Teachers
“The Blessed One said, ‘I have no teacher, one like me does
not exist. In the world with its gods no one equals me.’
180
Again he said, ‘In this way, monks, did âëàra the Kàlàma,
being my teacher, set me, his pupil, on exactly the same
level as himself and honour me with the highest honour.’
181
This too is a double-edged problem.”
“O king, when the Blessed One spoke of âëàra the
Kàlàma as his teacher he referred to the time when he was
still a Bodhisatta and before he had attained Buddhahood.
He was merely a teacher of worldly wisdom. It was in
regard to transcendental matters such as knowledge of the
Four Noble Truths and nibbàna that he said, ‘I have no
teacher, one like me does not exist. In the world with its
gods no one equals me’.”
—}{—
180.Vin. i. 8; M. i. 171.
181.M. i. 165.