Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - The Solving of Dilemmas I
The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Chapter 8
The Solving of Dilemmas (I)
After pondering the whole night on the
discussions he had had with Nàgasena, the
king took upon himself eight vows: “For
these seven days I will decide no case of
law, I will harbour no thought of desire,
hatred or delusion. Towards all servants and dependants I
shall be humble. I shall watch carefully over every bodily
act and my six senses. I shall fill my mind with loving-
kindness for all beings.”
Then he desired to talk with Nàgasena alone saying,
“There are eight places to be avoided by him who wants to
discuss deeply: uneven ground where the matter consid-
ered becomes scattered, verbose, diffuse and comes to
nothing; unsafe places where the mind is disturbed by fear
and so does not perceive the meaning clearly; windy places
where the voice is indistinct; in secluded places there may
be eavesdroppers; in sacred places the subject of discussion
may be diverted to the serious surroundings; on a road it
may become banal; on a bridge it may become unsteady
and wavering; and at a public bathing place it would be-
come a matter of common talk.
“Again there are eight kinds of people, Nàgasena,
who are apt to spoil the discussion; the lustful, the angry or
deluded man, the proud, the covetous, the sluggard, the
man of one idea, and the poor fool — these eight are the
spoilers of high argument.
“There are eight causes, Nàgasena, of the develop-
ment and maturing of intelligence: the advance of years,
the growth of reputation, frequent questioning, association
with a spiritual guide, one’s own reasoning, discussion,
association with the virtuous and dwelling in a suitable
place. This spot is free from objections to talking matters
over and I am a model pupil; I am discreet and my insight
is mature.
“These, Nàgasena, are the twenty-five duties of a
teacher towards his worthy pupil: he must always protect
his pupil, let him know what to cultivate and what to avoid,
what he should be earnest about and what neglect. He
should instruct him as to sleep, keeping in health, what
food to accept or reject, teach him moderation in food, and
share with him what he gets in his own almsbowl. He
should encourage him when he is discouraged and advise
him as to suitable company, villages and monasteries to
frequent. He should never indulge in joking or foolish talk
with him. Having seen any defect he should be patient with
him. He should be diligent, one who fulfils the precepts,
worthy of respect and open-hearted. He should regard him
as a son, strive to bring him forward, make him strong in
knowledge, love him, never desert him in need, never
neglect any duty and help him back onto the right path
when he stumbles.”
“O king, there are these ten qualities of a lay disciple.
He should share the joy and sorrow of the Order, take the
Dhamma as his guide, delight in giving as far as he is able and
should strive to revive the religion if it is in decay. He holds
right views and, being one free from the excitement of
celebrating festivals,
57 he does not run after another teacher
even for the sake of his life. He keeps watch over his thoughts,
words and deeds, delights in harmony and is unbiased. As he
is no hypocrite he takes refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and
Saïgha. All of these qualities are present in you, hence it is
proper and becoming in you that, seeing the decay in the
religion of the conqueror, you desire its prosperity. I give you
leave to ask me whatever you wish.”
1. On Honours Paid to the Buddha
Then, when leave had been granted, Milinda paid homage
and, with his hands joined in reverence, began by asking:
“Venerable Nàgasena, the leaders of other sects say, ‘If
the Buddha agrees to honour and gifts then he is not entirely
free from the world. Therefore any service rendered to him
becomes empty and vain.’ Tear apart this tangle of wrong-
views, solve this dilemma and give insight to the future
sons of the Buddha with which to refute their adversaries.”
“The Blessed One, O king, is entirely set free and has
no attachment to either gifts or honour paid to him.”
“Nàgasena, a son may speak in praise of his father, or
a father in praise of his son but that is not sufficient grounds
to silence the critics.”
57. cf. A. iii. 206. One of five qualities which lead to one being an outcaste. He is not one who
believes in the performance of rituals, or in omens; but he believes in deeds, so he
celebrates festivals by observing the eight precepts, listening to the Dhamma and
practising meditation
“Even though the Blessed One has now passed away
and cannot be said to accept gifts and honours paid to him
yet deeds done in his name are of value and bear great fruit.
As a great and mighty wind that blew, even so the Blessed
One has blown over the world with his love, so soothing, so
gentle and so pure. Like men tormented by heat and fever
are soothed by a cool wind, so, too, beings tormented by the
heat of desire, hatred and delusion are pacified by the sub-
lime teaching of the Blessed One. Although, great king, the
Blessed One has entirely passed away, he has left behind
his doctrine, his discipline and his precious relics whose
value derives from his virtue, concentration, wisdom and
freedom. Beings afflicted by the sorrows of becoming can
still receive the benefits of these things, as those who have
fans can still make a breeze although the wind has subsid-
ed. This was foreseen by the Blessed One when he said, ‘It
may be, ânanda, that some of you may think, “The word of
the master is ended; we have no teacher any more”, but you
should not regard it so. The Dhamma that has been
preached by me and the rules that I have laid down, let
them be your teachers when I am gone’.
58
“Hear another reason, O king. Did you ever hear that
the ogre Nandaka, who dared to strike the Elder Sàriputta,
was swallowed up by the earth?”
“Yes, venerable sir, that is common knowledge.”
“Did Venerable Sàriputta acquiesce in that?”
“Venerable Sàriputta would never agree to any pain
being inflicted on a fellow creature, for he had rooted out
all anger.”
58.D. ii. 154.
“Then, if Sàriputta did not consent to it, why was
Nandaka swallowed up by the earth?”
“It was because of the power of his evil deed.”
“How many, O king, are those who have been
swallowed up by the earth?”
“There are five, venerable sir; Ci¤ca the Brahmin
woman,
59 Suppabuddha the Sàkyan,
60 Devadatta,
61 Nandaka
the ogre62 and Nanda the Brahman63 — these have been
swallowed up by the earth.”
“And whom, O king, had they wronged?”
“The Blessed One or his disciples.”
“Therefore, O king, an act done to the Tathàgata, not-
withstanding his having passed away, is nevertheless of
value and bears fruit.”
“Well has this deep question been explained by you,
Nàgasena. You have disclosed that which was hidden,
undone the knot, cleared the thicket, refuted the false view
and the sectarians have been shrouded in darkness by you,
the best of all the leaders of schools.”
2. The Omniscience of the Buddha
“Nàgasena, was the Buddha omniscient?”
“Yes, O king, but the insight of knowledge was not
59.DhA. iii. 178, Commentary on Dhp. v 176. She was persuaded by the Buddha’s
opponents to accuse him of being her lover.
60.DhA. iii. 44 f, Commentary on Dhp. v 128. He was the father of Yasodharà and
Devadatta and while drunk stood in the road obstructing the Buddha.
61.DhA. i. 147 f, Commentary on Dhp. v 17. He attempted to kill the Buddha.
62.Vism. 380. He was the yakkha who struck Sàriputta on the head.
63.DhA. ii. 49, Commentary on Dhp. 69. He was a youth who raped the beautiful nun
Upalavaõõa, who was an arahant.
always with him. It depended on reflection.”
“Then, Nàgasena, the Buddha could not have been
omniscient if his knowledge was reached through re-
flection.”
“I will explain further. There are seven classes of men-
tal ability. Firstly, there are ordinary people (puthujjana)
who are full of desire, hatred and delusion; untrained in
their action, speech and thought; their thinking acts slowly
and with difficulty.
“Secondly, there are stream-winners who have
attained to right view and rightly grasped the Master’s
teaching. Their thinking powers are quick and function
easily as far as the first three fetters are concerned but
beyond that they function slowly and with difficulty.
“Thirdly, there are once-returners in whom desire
and hatred are reduced. Their thinking powers work
quickly and easily as far as the five lower fetters are
concerned but slowly and with difficulty beyond that.
“Fourthly, there are non-returners in whom desire
and hatred are eliminated. Their thinking powers work
quickly and easily as far as the ten fetters but slowly and
with difficulty beyond that.
“Fifthly, there are the arahants in whom the floods of
sensual desire, desire for rebirth, personality-belief and
ignorance have ceased, who have lived the holy life and
reached their final goal. Their thinking powers work
quickly as far as the range of a disciple is concerned but
slowly and with difficulty beyond that.
64
64.There is no lack in their wisdom, but as regards knowledge of former lives or
knowledge of the spiritual faculties of beings there is
“Sixthly, there are Solitary Buddhas who are depend-
ent on themselves alone, needing no teacher. Their thinking
powers work quickly as far as their own range is concerned
but as regards that which is exclusively the range of the
Perfectly Enlightened Ones their thinking works slowly
and with difficulty. Like a man who would readily cross a
small river that was on his own property but would hesi-
tate to cross the great ocean.
“Lastly, there are Perfectly Enlightened Buddhas who
have all knowledge, are endowed with the ten powers, the
four modes of fearlessness, and the eighteen characteristics
of a Buddha. Their thinking powers are quickly exercised
without sluggishness in any area of knowledge. As a sharp
bolt on a powerful crossbow would easily pass through a
thin cloth, just so their knowledge is unimpeded and easily
outclasses the other six. It is because their minds are so clear
and agile that the Buddhas can display the Twin Miracle.
65
From that we may only guess how clear and active their
powers are. For all these wonders there is no reason other
than reflection that can be asserted.”
“Nevertheless, Nàgasena, reflection is carried out for
the purpose of seeking out what was not already clear
before the reflection began.”
“A rich man would not be called poor just because
there was no food prepared when a traveller arrived at his
house unexpectedly; nor would a tree be called barren
when it was fully laden just because no fruit had yet fallen
65.A feat of supernormal power where fountains of fire and water issue simultaneously
from each pore of his body
on the ground. So too the Buddha is indeed omniscient
although his knowledge is gained through reflection.”
3. Devadatta’s Ordination
“If the Buddha was both omniscient and full of compassion
why did he admit Devadatta to the Order, since by causing
a schism66 [which only a bhikkhu can do] he was thereby
consigned to hell for an aeon?67 If the Buddha did not know
what Devadatta would do then he was not omniscient and
if he knew then he was not compassionate.”
“The Blessed One was both omniscient and full of
compassion. It was because he foresaw that Devadatta’s
suffering would become limited that he admitted him to
the Order. As a man of influence might have a criminal’s
sentence mitigated from execution to the cutting off of
hands and feet but would not thereby be responsible for the
pain and suffering that that man had to undergo, or as a
clever physician would make a critical disease lighter by
giving a powerful purgative, so did the Buddha reduce the
future suffering of Devadatta by admitting him to the
Order. After he has suffered for the rest of the aeon in
purgatory Devadatta will be released and become a
Solitary Buddha by the name of Aññhissara.”
“Great is the gift bestowed, Nàgasena, by the Blessed
One on Devadatta. The Tathàgata pointed out the road to
him when he was lost in the jungle, he gave him a firm
66.Schism occurs when two groups of four or more monks living within the same
boundary recite the Pàtimokkha separately.
67. Kappa, or Kalpa, see footnote to Dilemma 10.
foothold when he was falling down a precipice. Yet the
reason and meaning for this could only have been pointed
out by one as wise as you!”
4. Causes of Earthquakes
“The Buddha said, Nàgasena, that there are eight causes of
a great earthquake.
68 Yet we find that there is a ninth cause
also mentioned in the texts. When the Bodhisatta Ves-
santara fulfilled the perfection of generosity by giving
away his wife and children as servants then, too, did the
great earth shake. If the former statement of the Buddha is
true then the latter is false.”
“Both statements, O king, are correct. The gift of Ves-
santara was not mentioned as a ninth cause of a great earth-
quake because it is an extremely rare occurrence. Just as the
dried up creek that does not usually hold water is not called
a river, but in times of exceptional rainfall it becomes a
river, so too the largesse of Vessantara was an isolated and
extraordinary occurrence, and for that reason one distinct
from the eight usual causes of a great earthquake.
“Have you ever heard, O king, in the history of our
religion of any act of devotion that gave its result in this
very life?”
“Yes, venerable Nàgasena, there are seven such cases:
Sumana the garland maker,
69
Ekasàñaka the brahman,
70
68.D. ii. 107; A iv. 312.
69.DhA. ii. 40f, Dhp. v 68.
70.DhA. iii. 1, Dhp. v 116.
Puõõa the farm worker,
71 Mallikà the queen,
72 the queen
known as the mother of Gopàla,
73 Suppiyà the devoted
woman74 and Puõõà the slave-girl.”75
“But have you ever heard, O king, of the earth shak-
ing even once or twice when a gift had been given?”
“No, venerable sir, I have never heard of that.”
“I too, O king, have never heard of such a thing,
though I have been devoted to study and ready to learn,
except for this case of the splendid gift of Vessantara. It is
by no common effort, O king, that the great earth is moved.
It is when overburdened by the weight of righteousness,
overpowered by the burden of the goodness of acts that
testify to absolute purity; that, unable to support it, the
broad earth quakes and trembles. When Vessantara gave
his gift, O king, he was giving things away not for the sake
of a glorious rebirth, nor for future wealth, nor to receive
gifts in return, nor for flattery, nor for any other personal
gain, but only for the sake of supreme wisdom.”
5. Asseveration of Truth
“King Sãvi gave his eyes to someone who begged for them
and new eyes arose in their place.
76 How is this possible?”
71.DhA. iii. 302f, Dhp. v 223.
72.Jà. iii. 405, Dhp. v 177.
73.AA. i. 207f.
74.Vin. i. 217-8. Having promised meat broth to a monk she was unable to buy any meat
so she cut a piece from her own thigh prepared broth and offered it to the monk. When
the Buddha met her the wound healed miraculously. See also Dilemma 73.
75.DhA. iii. 321, Dhp. v 226.
76.Jà. No. 499.
“It was by the power of the truth that it happened. As
when mystics recite the truth they can make the rain fall,
drive back fire or neutralize poison.
“When Asoka the righteous ruler stood one day among
the townsfolk of Pàñaliputta he said to his ministers; ‘Is there
anyone who could make this great Ganges flow backwards
and upstream?’ Then a certain courtesan, named Bindumatã,
was in the crowd and she performed an act of truth. At that
very moment the mighty Ganges, roaring and raging, rolled
back upstream in sight of everyone. The king, awestruck,
sought out the woman who was the cause of this and asked
her, ‘What is the act of truth by which you did this?’ She re-
plied, ‘Whoever pays me, whether he is a brahmin, a noble, a
tradesman or a servant, I regard them all alike. Free from bias
I do service to him who has paid me. This is the basis of the
act of truth77 by which I turned the Ganges back.’
“There is no ordinary cause for those things to
happen but the power of truth is itself the cause. And there
is no reason for the realisation of the Four Noble Truths
other than the power of truth.”
6. The Dilemma Regarding Conception
“The Blessed One said, Nàgasena, that there is conception
in a womb with the coincidence of three causes; coitus of
the parents,
78 the mother’s season and a being to be born.
79
77.There are many examples in the Jàtaka, e.g. Jà. i. 214, 215. It is not necessary for the truth
averred to be commendable. cf. Jà. iv. 31-33.
78. See Ja. Nos. 497, 523, 526; and Vin. iii. 205f for examples of conception without sexual
intercourse.
79.M. i. 265, M. ii. 157.
However, he also said that when the ascetic Dukàla
touched the navel of the ascetic woman Pàrikà with his
thumb the boy Sàma was conceived.
80 If the first statement
is true then the latter must be false.”
“Both statements are true, O king, but you should not
think that there was any transgression in the latter case.
Sakka, the king of the gods, having seen that those virtuous
ascetics would become blind, entreated them to have a son.
However, they would not consent to intercourse even to
save their lives, so Sakka intervened by instructing Dukàla
and thus Sàma was conceived.”
7. The Duration of the Religion
“After the ordination of women, the Blessed One said that
the pure doctrine would only last for five hundred years.
81
However, to Subaddha he said, ‘So long as the brethren live
the perfect holy life then this world will not be bereft of
arahants.’ These statements are contradictory.”
“O king, the Blessed One did make both statements,
but they are different in the spirit and in the letter. One
deals with the duration of the pure doctrine whereas the
other deals with the practice of the religious life, two things
widely distinct. In saying five hundred years he was fixing
a limit to religion but in speaking to Subaddha he was de-
claring in what religion consisted. If the sons of the Buddha
continue to exert themselves in the five factors of striving,
82
80.Jà. No. 540.
81.The Sri Lankan text gives an alternative reading of 5,000 years.
82. Padhàna — Confidence, good health, honesty, energy and wisdom
have a sincere desire for the three trainings,
83 perfecting
themselves in conduct and virtue; then the glorious teach-
ing of the Conqueror will long endure and stand more and
more steadfast as the years roll on. The teaching of the Mas-
ter, O king, has its root in practice, practice is its essence,
and it stands as long as practice does not decline.
There are three modes of disappearance of a teaching.
The decline of the attainment to a clear insight into it, of
practice in accordance with it, and decline in the outward
form of it. When the intellectual grasp ceases then even the
man who conducts himself rightly has no clear understand-
ing of it. By the decline of practice, promulgation of the
Vinaya rules ceases and only the outward form of the reli-
gion remains. When the outward form ceases then the suc-
cession of the tradition is cut off.”
8. Purity of the Buddha
“If the Tathàgata destroyed all unwholesomeness in him-
self when he gained omniscience why did he get hurt by a
splinter of rock that was thrown by Devadatta? If he did
get hurt then he cannot have been free from all evil, for
there is no feeling without kamma. All feeling has its root
in kamma and it is only on account of kamma that feeling
arises.”
“No, great king, not all feeling has its root in kamma.
There are eight causes of the arising of feelings. Excess of
wind, of bile and of phlegm, the mixture of the three bodily
fluids, variations in temperature, stress of circumstances,
83. Sãla, samàdhi, pa¤¤à (Virtue, concentration and wisdom).
external agency and kamma. Whoever says, ‘It is only kam-
ma that oppresses beings’, thereby excludes the other seven
reasons and that statement of theirs is wrong.
“When one’s wind is disturbed it happens in one of
ten ways; by cold, by heat, by hunger, by thirst, by over-
eating, by standing too long, by over exertion, by running,
by medical treatment, or as a result of kamma. When the bile
is disturbed it is in one of three ways; by cold, by heat or by
unsuitable food. When the phlegm is disturbed it is in one
of three ways; by cold, by heat or by eating and drinking.
When these three disturbed fluids are mixed it brings about
its own distinctive pain. Then there are pains arising from
variations in temperature, stress of circumstances and by
external agencies. There is also that pain which has kamma
as its cause. So the pain that is due to kamma is much less
than that due to other causes. The ignorant go too far when
they say that everything that is experienced is produced as
the fruit of kamma. Without a Buddha’s insight no one can
ascertain the extent of the action of kamma.
When the Blessed One’s foot was grazed by the splin-
ter of rock the pain was produced only by external agency.
Although the Blessed One never suffered pain that was the
result of his own kamma, or brought about by the stress of
circumstances, he suffered pain from each of the other six
causes.
84
It was said, O king, by the Blessed One, ‘There are cer-
tain pains, Sãvaka, which arise from bilious humours and
you ought to know what they are for, it is a matter of com-
84.This is a controversial point. There are several references to the Buddha experiencing
the result of previous kamma collected at Ap. i. 299ff
mon knowledge. Those ascetics and Brahmans who are of
the opinion and proclaim the view that all feelings that men
experience are due to a previous act, go beyond certainty
and knowledge and therein I say that they are wrong’.”85
9. Perfection of the Buddha
“If the Tathàgata had accomplished everything under the
bodhi tree why did he spend a further three months in
solitude?86 If a man has eaten and is satisfied, what is the
use of further food; if a man is healthy, what is the use of
him taking medicine?”
“O king, solitary meditation has many benefits. All
the Tathàgatas attained to Buddhahood thereby and prac-
tised it in appreciation of its benefits to mankind. There are
twenty-eight benefits of solitude: it guards him, increases
his life expectancy, gives him vigour, conceals his failings,
removes any bad reputation and brings fame, destroys dis-
content and brings satisfaction, banishes fear and endows
him with confidence, removes sloth and fills him with zeal,
takes away desire, hatred and delusion, subdues pride, dis-
rupts discursive thought and makes the mind one-pointed,
softens his mind and makes him light-hearted, makes him
serious, brings him material gain, makes him worthy of
reverence, brings him joy, fills him with delight, shows him
the true nature of all formations, puts an end to rebirth, and
gains for him all the fruits of a life of renunciation. It is be-
85.S. iv. 230f, Moliya Sãvaka Sutta.
86.Between the enlightenment (Vesàkha) and the first sermon (Asàëha) there are only two
months, but there was an occasion when the Buddha spent three months in solitude.
cf.Commentary to Dhp. v 6.
cause the Tathàgata has in mind these manifold benefits
that he follows the practice of seclusion.
“There are altogether four reasons why the Tathà-
gatas devote themselves to solitude. For the sake of dwell-
ing at ease, because of its blameless qualities, because it is
the way to all noble things without exception, and because
it has been praised and exalted by all the Buddhas. It is not
because they have anything left to achieve or anything to
add to what they have already accomplished but only
because of these excellent advantages that they practice
seclusion.”
10. Equanimity of the Buddha
“The Buddha said that, if he wished, he could live for the
remainder of the world-cycle87 but he also said that he
would die at the end of three months.
88 How can both of
these statements be true?”
“Aeon, O king, in that connection means a man’s life-
span and what the Buddha said was in order to exalt the
bases of success (iddhipàda). The Blessed One was entirely
free from desire for any kind of future life and condemned
them all for he said, ‘I find no beauty in the smallest part of
future life, just as even a small quantity of excrement is of
bad smell’.”89
87.D. ii. 103. — A world-cycle (kappa) usually refers to a period of evolution and dissolution
of the world but here it means a man’s average life-span; about 100 years at the time of
the Buddha, now only 75 years. It is said to be reducing by one year every century. An
incalculable aeon (asaïkheyya) is much longer.
88.D. ii. 119.
89. A. i. 34.
Showing posts with label Khuddaka Nikaya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Khuddaka Nikaya. Show all posts
Monday, May 23, 2011
Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - Memory
Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - Memory
The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Chapter 7
Memory
1.“In how many ways, Nàgasena, does
memory spring up?”
“In seventeen ways,
51 O king. That is to
say; by personal experience, as when one
like ânanda can recollect his previous lives
(without special development); by outward aid, as when
others remind one who is forgetful; by the greatness of
some occasion, as when a king remembers his coronation or
as one remembers attaining the stage of a stream-winner;
by the impression made by benefit, as when one remem-
bers that which gave him pleasure; by the impression made
by detriment, as when one remembers that which gave him
pain; by similarity of appearance, as one remembers one’s
mother or father or brother or sister on seeing someone like
them; by dissimilarity of appearance, as one remembers
someone on seeing one unlike them; by the knowledge of
speech, as when one is reminded by others; by a sign, as
when one recognises a draught bullock by seeing a brand
mark; by effort to recollect, as when one is urged again and
again; by knowledge of spelling, as one who knows how to
write remembers that such a letter follows another; by
arithmetic, as when accountants do large sums by their skill
51.Rhys Davids and I.B. Homer have sixteen here but the Burmese edition of the text has
‘sattarasa’ (17) and 17 ways are listed.
with figures; by learning by heart, as reciters of scriptures
recollect by their skill in reciting; by meditation, as when a
monk recalls his previous lives; by reference to a book, as
when kings call to mind a regulation made previously by
reference to a book; by a pledge, as when a man recollects
by the sight of goods deposited the circumstances under
which they were pledged; or by association, as when on
seeing or hearing something one remembers other things
associated with it.”
2.“You say that a man who has lived an evil life for a
hundred years can, by thinking of the Buddha at the
moment of his death, be reborn among the gods; and that a
good man can, by one bad deed, be born in hell. These two
things I do not believe.”
“What do you think, O king. Would a tiny stone float
on water without a boat?”
“No.”
“But even a cartload of stones would float in a boat.
So you should think of good deeds as a boat.”
3.“Do you monks strive after the removal of past,
present and future suffering?”
“No. We strive so that this suffering should cease and
no other suffering should arise.”
“But is there now, Nàgasena, such a thing as future
suffering?”
“No.”
“Then you are extremely clever to strive after the
removal of it!”
“Have rival kings ever risen up to oppose you, O
king?”
“Yes they have.”
“Was it only then that you made preparations for
battle?”
“Not at all. All that had been done beforehand in
order to ward off future danger.”
“But is there now, O king, such a thing as future
danger?”
“No, venerable sir.”
“Then you are extremely clever to strive after the
removal of it!”
“Well answered, Nàgasena, you are dexterous in
reply.”
4.“How far is it to the Brahmà realm?”
“Very far, O king; it would take a rock four months to
reach the earth from the Brahmà realm even though it fell
48,000 leagues each day.”
“So how can a monk travel there so quickly even by
supernormal power?”
“Where were you born, O king?”
“There is an island called Alasanda; I was born there.”
“How far is it from here?”
“About two hundred leagues.”
“Do you recall any business you did there?”
“Yes I do.”
“So quickly you have gone two hundred leagues! Just
so, the monk can reach the Brahmà realm at once by
supernormal power.”
5.The king asked, “If one man were to die and be reborn
in the Brahmà realm and at the same moment another
man were to die and be reborn in Kashmir which man
would arrive first?”
“How far is your home town from here?”
“Two hundred leagues.”
“And how far is Kashmir?”
“Twelve leagues.”
“Which of them did you recall more quickly?”
“Both the same venerable sir.”
“Just so, O king, those men who died at the same
moment would be reborn at the same moment.”
6.“How many factors of enlightenment are there?”
“Seven, O king.”
“By how many factors does one awaken to the truth?”
“By one, investigation of truth, for nothing can be
understood without that.”
“Then why is it said that there are seven?”
“Could the sword that is in your scabbard cut any-
thing if it was not taken up in the hand?”
“No venerable sir.”
“Just so, O king, without the other factors of enlighten-
ment, investigation of truth could not awaken to the truth.”
7.“Which is the greater, merit or demerit?”
“Merit, O king. One who does wrong feels remorse
and realises his mistake, thereby demerit does not increase.
However, one who does merit feels no remorse; and glad-
ness and joy arise, and so rejoicing he will be at ease, being
relaxed he will feel contented, being content his mind will
be easily concentrated, being concentrated he will see
things as they really are. In that way merit increases. So
merit is much greater. Demerit is relatively insignificant.”
8.“Which is the greater demerit, conscious or uncon-
scious wrongdoing?”
“Unconscious wrong-doing, O king.”52
“Then we should doubly punish those who do wrong
unconsciously.”
“What do you think, O king, would a man be more
seriously burned if he seized a red-hot iron ball not
knowing it was hot than he would be if he knew.”
“He would be burned more severely if he didn’t
know it was hot.”
“Just so, O king, it is the same with the man who does
wrong unconsciously.”
9.“Is there anyone who can physically go to the Brahmà
realm or to another continent?”
“Yes, O king, there is. As easily as you can jump a
short distance by determining in your mind, ‘I will land
there’, so too one who has developed absorption (jhàna) can
go to the Brahmà realm.”
10. “Are there bones 100 leagues long?”
“Yes there are fish in the ocean 500 leagues long
(about 3,500 miles!) who have such bones.”53
52.All wrong-doing is rooted in ignorance, so one who does wrong knowingly will feel
remorse and correct himself sooner than one who is deluded (Editor’s Note).
53.The one that got away! cf A. iv. 200.
11.“Is it possible to suppress the respiration?”
“Yes it is. As it is possible to stop the snoring of one of
undeveloped mind by bending his body, so it is possible for
one of well developed mind to suppress the respiration.”
12.“Why is the ocean so called?”
“Because it is a uniform mixture of salt and water.”
(Sama = even, Udda = water, Samudda = ocean).
13.“Why is the ocean all of one taste?”
“Because it has stood for so long.”54
14.“Is it possible to dissect even the most subtle thing?”
“Yes, O king. Wisdom is able to dissect every subtle
thing.”
“What is meant by every subtle thing?”
“Dhamma55 is everything subtle. However, not all
dhammas are subtle, some are coarse. Subtle and coarse are
only concepts. Whatever is divisible can be divided by
wisdom. There is nothing else that can dissect wisdom.”
15.“These three, Nàgasena, consciousness (vi¤¤àõa),
wisdom (pa¤¤à) and the soul (bhåtasmiü jãvo); are they
different in essence or only in name?”
“Knowing, O king, is the mark of consciousness and
discrimination56 is the mark of wisdom. A soul cannot be
found.”
54. cf. A. iv. 203 “Just as the ocean is of one taste, the taste of salt; so the Dhamma is of one
taste, the taste of freedom [from suffering].”
55.Dhamma here is a technical term meaning phenomenon or state. Elsewhere it also
means truth, law, doctrine.
56.As well as cutting off and illuminating already given above.
16.The elder said, “A hard thing has been done by the
Blessed One; the distinguishing of all those mental condi-
tions that depend on an organ of sense, showing such and
such is contact, such is feeling, such is perception, such is
intention and such is the mind (citta).”
“Give me an illustration.”
“If a man were to take a handful of water from the
ocean and tasting it could say, ‘This water is from the
Ganges, this from the Jumna, this from the Gandak, this
from the Sarabhu, and this from the Mahi.’ More difficult
than this is the distinguishing of those mental states that
accompany any one of the senses.” Since it was midnight
the king made offerings to Nàgasena and the king said,
“Like a lion in a golden cage longs only for freedom, so do
I long for the monk’s life but I would not live long, so many
are my enemies.”
Then Nàgasena, having solved the questions put by
King Milinda, arose from his seat and returned to the
hermitage. Not long after Nàgasena had gone, King
Milinda reflected on the questions and answers and
concluded, “Everything was rightly asked by me and
everything was properly answered by Nàgasena.” Back at
his hermitage, Nàgasena reflected and concluded in a
similar manner.
The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Chapter 7
Memory
1.“In how many ways, Nàgasena, does
memory spring up?”
“In seventeen ways,
51 O king. That is to
say; by personal experience, as when one
like ânanda can recollect his previous lives
(without special development); by outward aid, as when
others remind one who is forgetful; by the greatness of
some occasion, as when a king remembers his coronation or
as one remembers attaining the stage of a stream-winner;
by the impression made by benefit, as when one remem-
bers that which gave him pleasure; by the impression made
by detriment, as when one remembers that which gave him
pain; by similarity of appearance, as one remembers one’s
mother or father or brother or sister on seeing someone like
them; by dissimilarity of appearance, as one remembers
someone on seeing one unlike them; by the knowledge of
speech, as when one is reminded by others; by a sign, as
when one recognises a draught bullock by seeing a brand
mark; by effort to recollect, as when one is urged again and
again; by knowledge of spelling, as one who knows how to
write remembers that such a letter follows another; by
arithmetic, as when accountants do large sums by their skill
51.Rhys Davids and I.B. Homer have sixteen here but the Burmese edition of the text has
‘sattarasa’ (17) and 17 ways are listed.
with figures; by learning by heart, as reciters of scriptures
recollect by their skill in reciting; by meditation, as when a
monk recalls his previous lives; by reference to a book, as
when kings call to mind a regulation made previously by
reference to a book; by a pledge, as when a man recollects
by the sight of goods deposited the circumstances under
which they were pledged; or by association, as when on
seeing or hearing something one remembers other things
associated with it.”
2.“You say that a man who has lived an evil life for a
hundred years can, by thinking of the Buddha at the
moment of his death, be reborn among the gods; and that a
good man can, by one bad deed, be born in hell. These two
things I do not believe.”
“What do you think, O king. Would a tiny stone float
on water without a boat?”
“No.”
“But even a cartload of stones would float in a boat.
So you should think of good deeds as a boat.”
3.“Do you monks strive after the removal of past,
present and future suffering?”
“No. We strive so that this suffering should cease and
no other suffering should arise.”
“But is there now, Nàgasena, such a thing as future
suffering?”
“No.”
“Then you are extremely clever to strive after the
removal of it!”
“Have rival kings ever risen up to oppose you, O
king?”
“Yes they have.”
“Was it only then that you made preparations for
battle?”
“Not at all. All that had been done beforehand in
order to ward off future danger.”
“But is there now, O king, such a thing as future
danger?”
“No, venerable sir.”
“Then you are extremely clever to strive after the
removal of it!”
“Well answered, Nàgasena, you are dexterous in
reply.”
4.“How far is it to the Brahmà realm?”
“Very far, O king; it would take a rock four months to
reach the earth from the Brahmà realm even though it fell
48,000 leagues each day.”
“So how can a monk travel there so quickly even by
supernormal power?”
“Where were you born, O king?”
“There is an island called Alasanda; I was born there.”
“How far is it from here?”
“About two hundred leagues.”
“Do you recall any business you did there?”
“Yes I do.”
“So quickly you have gone two hundred leagues! Just
so, the monk can reach the Brahmà realm at once by
supernormal power.”
5.The king asked, “If one man were to die and be reborn
in the Brahmà realm and at the same moment another
man were to die and be reborn in Kashmir which man
would arrive first?”
“How far is your home town from here?”
“Two hundred leagues.”
“And how far is Kashmir?”
“Twelve leagues.”
“Which of them did you recall more quickly?”
“Both the same venerable sir.”
“Just so, O king, those men who died at the same
moment would be reborn at the same moment.”
6.“How many factors of enlightenment are there?”
“Seven, O king.”
“By how many factors does one awaken to the truth?”
“By one, investigation of truth, for nothing can be
understood without that.”
“Then why is it said that there are seven?”
“Could the sword that is in your scabbard cut any-
thing if it was not taken up in the hand?”
“No venerable sir.”
“Just so, O king, without the other factors of enlighten-
ment, investigation of truth could not awaken to the truth.”
7.“Which is the greater, merit or demerit?”
“Merit, O king. One who does wrong feels remorse
and realises his mistake, thereby demerit does not increase.
However, one who does merit feels no remorse; and glad-
ness and joy arise, and so rejoicing he will be at ease, being
relaxed he will feel contented, being content his mind will
be easily concentrated, being concentrated he will see
things as they really are. In that way merit increases. So
merit is much greater. Demerit is relatively insignificant.”
8.“Which is the greater demerit, conscious or uncon-
scious wrongdoing?”
“Unconscious wrong-doing, O king.”52
“Then we should doubly punish those who do wrong
unconsciously.”
“What do you think, O king, would a man be more
seriously burned if he seized a red-hot iron ball not
knowing it was hot than he would be if he knew.”
“He would be burned more severely if he didn’t
know it was hot.”
“Just so, O king, it is the same with the man who does
wrong unconsciously.”
9.“Is there anyone who can physically go to the Brahmà
realm or to another continent?”
“Yes, O king, there is. As easily as you can jump a
short distance by determining in your mind, ‘I will land
there’, so too one who has developed absorption (jhàna) can
go to the Brahmà realm.”
10. “Are there bones 100 leagues long?”
“Yes there are fish in the ocean 500 leagues long
(about 3,500 miles!) who have such bones.”53
52.All wrong-doing is rooted in ignorance, so one who does wrong knowingly will feel
remorse and correct himself sooner than one who is deluded (Editor’s Note).
53.The one that got away! cf A. iv. 200.
11.“Is it possible to suppress the respiration?”
“Yes it is. As it is possible to stop the snoring of one of
undeveloped mind by bending his body, so it is possible for
one of well developed mind to suppress the respiration.”
12.“Why is the ocean so called?”
“Because it is a uniform mixture of salt and water.”
(Sama = even, Udda = water, Samudda = ocean).
13.“Why is the ocean all of one taste?”
“Because it has stood for so long.”54
14.“Is it possible to dissect even the most subtle thing?”
“Yes, O king. Wisdom is able to dissect every subtle
thing.”
“What is meant by every subtle thing?”
“Dhamma55 is everything subtle. However, not all
dhammas are subtle, some are coarse. Subtle and coarse are
only concepts. Whatever is divisible can be divided by
wisdom. There is nothing else that can dissect wisdom.”
15.“These three, Nàgasena, consciousness (vi¤¤àõa),
wisdom (pa¤¤à) and the soul (bhåtasmiü jãvo); are they
different in essence or only in name?”
“Knowing, O king, is the mark of consciousness and
discrimination56 is the mark of wisdom. A soul cannot be
found.”
54. cf. A. iv. 203 “Just as the ocean is of one taste, the taste of salt; so the Dhamma is of one
taste, the taste of freedom [from suffering].”
55.Dhamma here is a technical term meaning phenomenon or state. Elsewhere it also
means truth, law, doctrine.
56.As well as cutting off and illuminating already given above.
16.The elder said, “A hard thing has been done by the
Blessed One; the distinguishing of all those mental condi-
tions that depend on an organ of sense, showing such and
such is contact, such is feeling, such is perception, such is
intention and such is the mind (citta).”
“Give me an illustration.”
“If a man were to take a handful of water from the
ocean and tasting it could say, ‘This water is from the
Ganges, this from the Jumna, this from the Gandak, this
from the Sarabhu, and this from the Mahi.’ More difficult
than this is the distinguishing of those mental states that
accompany any one of the senses.” Since it was midnight
the king made offerings to Nàgasena and the king said,
“Like a lion in a golden cage longs only for freedom, so do
I long for the monk’s life but I would not live long, so many
are my enemies.”
Then Nàgasena, having solved the questions put by
King Milinda, arose from his seat and returned to the
hermitage. Not long after Nàgasena had gone, King
Milinda reflected on the questions and answers and
concluded, “Everything was rightly asked by me and
everything was properly answered by Nàgasena.” Back at
his hermitage, Nàgasena reflected and concluded in a
similar manner.
Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - Attachment
Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - Attachment
The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Chapter 6
Attachment
1.“Is the body, Nàgasena, dear to you
recluses?”
“No great king.”
“Then why do you nourish it and lavish
attention upon it?”
“We nourish it and care for it as you would
care for a wound, not because the wound was dear to you
but just so the flesh may grow again. For this was said by
the Blessed One:
“This filthy body stinks outright
Like ordure, like a privy’s site;
This body men that have insight,
Condemn, is object of a fool’s delight.
“A tumour where nine holes abide
Wrapped in a coat of clammy hide47
And trickling filth on every side,
“Polluting the air with stenches far and wide.
If it perchance should come about
That what is inside it came out
Surely a man would need a knout
With which to put the dogs and crows to rout’.”48
47.Only these latter two lines are in Miln.
48.Vism. 196. Translation, Bhikkhu ¥àõamoli.
2.“If the Buddha was omniscient why did he lay down
the rules for the Order only when the occasion arose?”
“He laid down the rules only when the need arose as
a skilled doctor only prescribes medicine when the need
arises although he knows all the medicines in advance of a
disease arising.”
3.“If the Buddha was endowed with the thirty-two
marks of a great man49 why were his parents not also so
endowed?”
“As a lotus that is born in the mud and comes to
perfection in the water does not resemble them, so the
Buddha was unlike his parents.”
4.“Was the Buddha a Brahmacàrin, a celibate?”
“Yes he was.”
“Then he was a follower of Brahmà!”
“Although an elephant’s sound is like a heron’s he is
not a follower of herons. Tell me, great king, is Brahmà one
with intelligence (buddhi)?”
“Yes.”
“Then surely he is a follower of the Buddha!”
5.“Is ordination a good thing?”
“Yes it is.”
“But did the Buddha obtain it or not?”
“Great king, when the Buddha attained omniscience
at the foot of the Bodhi tree, that was for him an ordination;
49.Physical characteristics that are predicted by astrology. See D. ii. 17; M. ii. 136; Milnò. 17
there was no conferring of ordination upon him by others
in the way that he has laid down for his disciples.”
6.“To whom are tears a cure; to the man who weeps at
the death of his mother or to him who weeps due to
affection for the truth?”
“The tears of the first, O king, are stained and hot with
passion but the tears of the second are stainless and cool.
There is a cure in coolness and calm but in heat and passion
there can be no cure.”
7.“What is the distinction between one who is full of
passion and one who is devoid of passion?”
“The one is enslaved, O king, and the other is not
enslaved.”
“What does that mean?”
“One is in want but the other is not.”
“But both of them like good food, neither likes bad
food.”
“The man who is passionate, O king, eats his food
experiencing both the taste and the passion for the taste,
but the man without passion experiences only the taste and
not the passion arising therefrom.”
8.“Where does wisdom dwell?”
“Nowhere, O king.”
“Then there is no wisdom.”
“Where does the wind dwell?”
“Nowhere.”
“Then there is no wind!”
“You are dexterous, Nàgasena, in reply.
9.“What is meant by the round of rebirths (saüsàra)?”
“Whoever is born here, dies here and is born else-
where. Having been born there they die and are born some-
where else.”
10.“By what do we remember what was done long ago?”
“By memory (sati).“
“Is it not by mind (citta) that we recollect?”
“Do you, O king, recollect any business that you have
done and then forgotten?”
“Yes.”
“Were you then without a mind?”
“No, but my memory failed me.”
“Then why do you say that it is by mind that we
recollect?”
11.“Does memory always arise subjectively or is it
stirred up by suggestion from outside?”
“Both, O king.”
“But doesn’t that amount to all memory being sub-
jective in origin?”50
“If, O king, there were no imparted memory then
artisans would have no need of practice or schooling and
teachers would be useless, but the contrary is the case.”
50.It is not clear to me what is meant here. Perhaps King Milinda is suggesting that since a
recollection prompted by another afterwards arises by one’s own mental effort it is
subjective in origin.
The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Chapter 6
Attachment
1.“Is the body, Nàgasena, dear to you
recluses?”
“No great king.”
“Then why do you nourish it and lavish
attention upon it?”
“We nourish it and care for it as you would
care for a wound, not because the wound was dear to you
but just so the flesh may grow again. For this was said by
the Blessed One:
“This filthy body stinks outright
Like ordure, like a privy’s site;
This body men that have insight,
Condemn, is object of a fool’s delight.
“A tumour where nine holes abide
Wrapped in a coat of clammy hide47
And trickling filth on every side,
“Polluting the air with stenches far and wide.
If it perchance should come about
That what is inside it came out
Surely a man would need a knout
With which to put the dogs and crows to rout’.”48
47.Only these latter two lines are in Miln.
48.Vism. 196. Translation, Bhikkhu ¥àõamoli.
2.“If the Buddha was omniscient why did he lay down
the rules for the Order only when the occasion arose?”
“He laid down the rules only when the need arose as
a skilled doctor only prescribes medicine when the need
arises although he knows all the medicines in advance of a
disease arising.”
3.“If the Buddha was endowed with the thirty-two
marks of a great man49 why were his parents not also so
endowed?”
“As a lotus that is born in the mud and comes to
perfection in the water does not resemble them, so the
Buddha was unlike his parents.”
4.“Was the Buddha a Brahmacàrin, a celibate?”
“Yes he was.”
“Then he was a follower of Brahmà!”
“Although an elephant’s sound is like a heron’s he is
not a follower of herons. Tell me, great king, is Brahmà one
with intelligence (buddhi)?”
“Yes.”
“Then surely he is a follower of the Buddha!”
5.“Is ordination a good thing?”
“Yes it is.”
“But did the Buddha obtain it or not?”
“Great king, when the Buddha attained omniscience
at the foot of the Bodhi tree, that was for him an ordination;
49.Physical characteristics that are predicted by astrology. See D. ii. 17; M. ii. 136; Milnò. 17
there was no conferring of ordination upon him by others
in the way that he has laid down for his disciples.”
6.“To whom are tears a cure; to the man who weeps at
the death of his mother or to him who weeps due to
affection for the truth?”
“The tears of the first, O king, are stained and hot with
passion but the tears of the second are stainless and cool.
There is a cure in coolness and calm but in heat and passion
there can be no cure.”
7.“What is the distinction between one who is full of
passion and one who is devoid of passion?”
“The one is enslaved, O king, and the other is not
enslaved.”
“What does that mean?”
“One is in want but the other is not.”
“But both of them like good food, neither likes bad
food.”
“The man who is passionate, O king, eats his food
experiencing both the taste and the passion for the taste,
but the man without passion experiences only the taste and
not the passion arising therefrom.”
8.“Where does wisdom dwell?”
“Nowhere, O king.”
“Then there is no wisdom.”
“Where does the wind dwell?”
“Nowhere.”
“Then there is no wind!”
“You are dexterous, Nàgasena, in reply.
9.“What is meant by the round of rebirths (saüsàra)?”
“Whoever is born here, dies here and is born else-
where. Having been born there they die and are born some-
where else.”
10.“By what do we remember what was done long ago?”
“By memory (sati).“
“Is it not by mind (citta) that we recollect?”
“Do you, O king, recollect any business that you have
done and then forgotten?”
“Yes.”
“Were you then without a mind?”
“No, but my memory failed me.”
“Then why do you say that it is by mind that we
recollect?”
11.“Does memory always arise subjectively or is it
stirred up by suggestion from outside?”
“Both, O king.”
“But doesn’t that amount to all memory being sub-
jective in origin?”50
“If, O king, there were no imparted memory then
artisans would have no need of practice or schooling and
teachers would be useless, but the contrary is the case.”
50.It is not clear to me what is meant here. Perhaps King Milinda is suggesting that since a
recollection prompted by another afterwards arises by one’s own mental effort it is
subjective in origin.
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.
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.
Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - Sense Bases
Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - Sense Bases
The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Chapter 4
Sense Bases
1.“What is the root, “Are the five sense
bases produced from various kammas, or
all from one?” “From various kammas, O
king.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“If you were to sow five kinds of seeds in a
field the produce would be of five kinds.”
2.“Why is it, Nàgasena, that all men are not alike; some
are short-lived and some long-lived, some sickly and some
healthy, some ugly and some handsome, some powerful
and some powerless, some poor and some rich, some low-
born and some noble, some foolish and some wise?”
“Why is it that all plants are not alike?”
“Because they come from different seeds.”
“Just so, O king, it is because of the variety of kammas
that beings are not all the same. For this was said by the
Blessed One, ‘All beings have kamma as their own property,
are heirs to it, born from it, are relatives of their kamma and
have kamma as their refuge; whatever kamma they do
divides them into high and low states’.”38
38.M. iii. 203. cf. A. v. 87, 288.
3.“You said that your going forth was so that this
suffering might be extinguished and no further suffering
arise. Is it brought about by previous effort, or to be striven
after now, in the present?”
“Effort now is concerned with what remains to be
done, former effort has accomplished what it had to do.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“Is it when the enemy is arrayed against you that you
set to work to have a moat dug, a rampart raised, a watch-
tower built, a stronghold constructed and stores collected?”
“Certainly not your reverence.”
“Just so, effort now is concerned with what remains to
be done, former effort has accomplished what it had to do.”
4.“You say that the fire of purgatory would instantly
destroy a boulder the size of a house; but you also say that
whatever beings are reborn in hell, though they burn for
hundreds of thousands of years they are not destroyed.
How can I believe this?”
“Although the food, bones and even stones eaten by
various female beings are destroyed inside their abdomens
yet their embryos are not destroyed. Just so those beings in
hell avoid destruction by the influence of their kamma. “
5.“You say that the world rests on water, the water on
air and the air on space. This too I cannot believe.”
Then the elder showed the king water in a regulation
water-filter supported by atmospheric pressure and the
king was convinced.
6.“Is cessation nibbàna?”
“Yes, O king. All foolish worldlings take pleasure in
the senses and their objects; they find delight in them and
cling to them. Hence they are carried down by the flood [of
passion] and are not released from birth and suffering.
However, the wise disciple of the noble ones does not
delight in those things. So craving ceases in him. Thence,
attachment ceases, becoming ceases, birth ceases, old age,
death, grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow and despair cease to
exist. Thus it is that cessation is nibbàna.”
7.“Does everyone attain nibbàna?”
“Not all, O king; but whoever conducts himself
rightly, understands what should be understood, perceives
what should be perceived, abandons what should be
abandoned, develops what should be developed and
realises what should be realised;
39 he attains nibbàna.”
8.“Can one who has not attained nibbàna know that it is
blissful?”
“Yes indeed, O king. As those who have not had their
hands and feet cut off can know how painful a condition it
is by the cries of those who have; so can those who have not
attained nibbàna know it is blissful by hearing the joyful
words of those who have attained it.”
—}{—
39.Understands the truth of suffering, perceives impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and
not-self, abandons craving, and realises nibbàna.
The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Chapter 4
Sense Bases
1.“What is the root, “Are the five sense
bases produced from various kammas, or
all from one?” “From various kammas, O
king.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“If you were to sow five kinds of seeds in a
field the produce would be of five kinds.”
2.“Why is it, Nàgasena, that all men are not alike; some
are short-lived and some long-lived, some sickly and some
healthy, some ugly and some handsome, some powerful
and some powerless, some poor and some rich, some low-
born and some noble, some foolish and some wise?”
“Why is it that all plants are not alike?”
“Because they come from different seeds.”
“Just so, O king, it is because of the variety of kammas
that beings are not all the same. For this was said by the
Blessed One, ‘All beings have kamma as their own property,
are heirs to it, born from it, are relatives of their kamma and
have kamma as their refuge; whatever kamma they do
divides them into high and low states’.”38
38.M. iii. 203. cf. A. v. 87, 288.
3.“You said that your going forth was so that this
suffering might be extinguished and no further suffering
arise. Is it brought about by previous effort, or to be striven
after now, in the present?”
“Effort now is concerned with what remains to be
done, former effort has accomplished what it had to do.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“Is it when the enemy is arrayed against you that you
set to work to have a moat dug, a rampart raised, a watch-
tower built, a stronghold constructed and stores collected?”
“Certainly not your reverence.”
“Just so, effort now is concerned with what remains to
be done, former effort has accomplished what it had to do.”
4.“You say that the fire of purgatory would instantly
destroy a boulder the size of a house; but you also say that
whatever beings are reborn in hell, though they burn for
hundreds of thousands of years they are not destroyed.
How can I believe this?”
“Although the food, bones and even stones eaten by
various female beings are destroyed inside their abdomens
yet their embryos are not destroyed. Just so those beings in
hell avoid destruction by the influence of their kamma. “
5.“You say that the world rests on water, the water on
air and the air on space. This too I cannot believe.”
Then the elder showed the king water in a regulation
water-filter supported by atmospheric pressure and the
king was convinced.
6.“Is cessation nibbàna?”
“Yes, O king. All foolish worldlings take pleasure in
the senses and their objects; they find delight in them and
cling to them. Hence they are carried down by the flood [of
passion] and are not released from birth and suffering.
However, the wise disciple of the noble ones does not
delight in those things. So craving ceases in him. Thence,
attachment ceases, becoming ceases, birth ceases, old age,
death, grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow and despair cease to
exist. Thus it is that cessation is nibbàna.”
7.“Does everyone attain nibbàna?”
“Not all, O king; but whoever conducts himself
rightly, understands what should be understood, perceives
what should be perceived, abandons what should be
abandoned, develops what should be developed and
realises what should be realised;
39 he attains nibbàna.”
8.“Can one who has not attained nibbàna know that it is
blissful?”
“Yes indeed, O king. As those who have not had their
hands and feet cut off can know how painful a condition it
is by the cries of those who have; so can those who have not
attained nibbàna know it is blissful by hearing the joyful
words of those who have attained it.”
—}{—
39.Understands the truth of suffering, perceives impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and
not-self, abandons craving, and realises nibbàna.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - The Soul
Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - The Soul
The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Chapter 1
The Soul
King Milinda went up to Nàgasena, ex-
changed polite and friendly greetings, and
took his seat respectfully to one side. Then
Milinda began by asking:
1.“How is your reverence known, and what sir, is your
name?”
“O king, I am known as Nàgasena but that is only a
designation in common use, for no permanent individual
can be found.”
Then Milinda called upon the Bactrian Greeks and the
monks to bear witness: “This Nàgasena says that no
permanent individual is implied in his name. Is it possible
to approve of that?” Then he turned to Nàgasena and said,
“If, most venerable Nàgasena, that is true, who is it who
gives you robes, food and shelter? Who lives the righteous
life? Or again, who kills living beings, steals, commits
adultery, tells lies or takes strong drink? If what you say is
true then there is neither merit nor demerit, nor is there any
doer of good or evil deeds and no result of kamma. If,
venerable sir, a man were to kill you there would be no
murder, and it follows that there are no masters or teachers
in your Order. You say that you are called Nàgasena; now
what is that Nàgasena? Is it the hair?”
“I don’t say that, great king.”
“Is it then the nails, teeth, skin or other parts of the
body?”
“Certainly not.”
“Or is it the body, or feelings, or perceptions, or
formations, or consciousness?10 Is it all of these combined?
Or is it something outside of them that is Nàgasena?”
Still Nàgasena answered: “It is none of these.”
“Then, ask as I may, I can discover no Nàgasena.
Nàgasena is an empty sound. Who is it we see before us? It
is a falsehood that your reverence has spoken.”
“You, sir, have been reared in great luxury as be-
comes your noble birth. How did you come here, by foot or
in a chariot?”
“In a chariot, venerable sir.”
“Then, explain sir, what that is. Is it the axle? Or the
wheels, or the chassis, or reins, or yoke that is the chariot?
Is it all of these combined, or is it something apart from
them?”
“It is none of these things, venerable sir.”
“Then, sir, this chariot is an empty sound. You spoke
falsely when you said that you came here in a chariot. You
are a great king of India. Who are you afraid of that you
don’t speak the truth?” Then he called upon the Bactrian
Greeks and the monks to bear witness: “This King Milinda
has said that he came here in a chariot but when asked what
it is, he is unable to show it. Is it possible to approve of that?”
Then the five hundred Bactrian Greeks shouted their
approval and said to the king, “Get out of that if you can!”
“Venerable sir, I have spoken the truth. It is because it
has all these parts that it comes under the term chariot.”
“Very good, sir, your majesty has rightly grasped the
meaning. Even so it is because of the thirty-two kinds of
organic matter in a human body and the five aggregates of
being that I come under the term ‘Nàgasena’. As it was said
by Sister Vajãra in the presence of the Blessed One, ‘Just as
it is by the existence of the various parts that the word
“Chariot” is used, just so is it that when the aggregates of
being are there we talk of a being’.”11
“Most wonderful, Nàgasena, most extraordinary that
you have solved this puzzle, difficult though it was. If the
Buddha himself were here he would approve of your
reply.”
King Milinda went up to Nàgasena, exchanged polite
and friendly greetings, and took his seat respectfully to one
side. Then Milinda began by asking:
2.“How many ‘rains’
12 do you have Nàgasena?”
“Seven, your majesty.”
“How can you say it is your seven; is it you who are
seven or the number that is seven?”
Then Nàgasena said, “Your shadow is now on the
ground. Are you the king, or is the shadow the king?”
“I am the king, Nàgasena, but the shadow comes into
being because of me.”
“Just so, O king, the number of the years is seven, I am
11.S. i. 135.
12.A bhikkhu’s seniority is reckoned by the number of rainy seasons that have passed since
his ordination.
not seven, but it is because of me that the number seven
comes into being and it is mine in the same sense as the
shadow is yours.”
“Most wonderful, Nàgasena, and extraordinary. Well
has this puzzle been solved by you, difficult as it was.”
3.Then the king said, “Venerable sir, will you discuss
with me again?”
“If your majesty will discuss as a scholar, yes; but if
you will discuss as a king, no.”
“How is it then that scholars discuss?”
“When scholars discuss there is a summing up and an
unravelling; one or other is shown to be in error. He admits
his mistake, yet he does not become angry.”
“Then how is it that kings discuss?”
“When a king discusses a matter and advances a
point of view, if anyone differs from him on that point he is
apt to punish him.”
“Very well then, it is as a scholar that I will discuss.
Let your reverence talk without fear.”
“It is well your majesty.”
“Nàgasena, I will ask a question”, said the king.
“Ask it sir.”
“I have asked it, your reverence.”
“Then I have answered.”
“What have you answered?”
“What have you asked?”
Thinking, “This monk is a great scholar, he is quite
able to discuss things with me”, the king instructed his
minister, Devamantiya, to invite him to the palace with a
large company of monks and went away muttering,
“Nàgasena, Nàgasena.”
4.So, Devamantiya, Anantakàya and Mankura went to
Nàgasena’s hermitage to accompany the monks to the
palace. As they were walking along together Anantakàya
said to Nàgasena, “When, your reverence, I say, ‘Nàgasena’
what is that Nàgasena?”
“What do you think that Nàgasena is?”
“The soul, the inner breath, which comes and goes.”
“But if that breath, having gone out, should not return
would that man still be alive?”
“Certainly not.”
“And when those trumpeters and the like have blown
their trumpets does their breath return to them?”
“No venerable sir, it doesn’t.”
“Then why don’t they die?”
“I am not capable of arguing with you sir, pray tell me
how it is.”
“There is no soul in the breath. These inhalations and
exhalations are merely constituent powers of the bodily
frame.” Then the elder13
talked to him on the Abhidhamma
and Anantakàya was satisfied with his explanation.
5.Then, after the monks had arrived at the palace and
finished their meal, the king sat down on a low seat and
asked, “What shall we discuss?”
“Let our discussion be about the Dhamma.”
13. Thera (elder) is nowadays normally used only for bhikkhus of ten or more years standing
but Nàgasena was only seven rains. See Question 2 above.
Then the king said, “What is the purpose, your
reverence, of your going forth and what is the final goal at
which you aim?”
“Our going forth is for the purpose that this suffering
may be extinguished and that no further suffering may
arise; the complete extinction of grasping without
remainder is our final goal.”
“Is it, venerable sir, for such noble reasons that
everyone joins the Order?”
“No. Some enter to escape the tyranny of kings,
some to be safe from robbers, some to escape from debt
and some perhaps to gain a livelihood. However, those
who enter rightly do so for the complete extinction of
grasping.”
6.The king said, “Is there anyone who is not reborn
after death?”
“Yes there is. The one who has no defilements is not
reborn after death; the one who has defilements is reborn.”
“Will you be reborn?”
“If I die with attachment in my mind, yes; but if not,
no.”
7.“Does one who escapes from rebirth do so by the
power of reasoning?”
“He escapes both by reasoning and by wisdom, con-
fidence, virtue, mindfulness, energy and concentration.”
“Is reasoning the same as wisdom?”
“No. Animals have reasoning but they do not have
wisdom.”
8.“What, Nàgasena, is the characteristic mark of
reasoning; and what the mark of wisdom?”
“Taking hold is the mark of reasoning, cutting off is
the mark of wisdom.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“How do barley reapers reap the barley?”
“They grasp the barley into a bunch with the left
hand and, with a sickle in the right hand, they cut the
barley.”
“Just so, O king, the recluse takes hold of his mind
with reasoning and cuts of the defilements with wisdom.”
9.“What, Nàgasena, is the characteristic mark of virtue?”
“Supporting, O king, for it is the basis of all good
qualities: the five controlling faculties14
and the five moral
powers,
15 the seven factors of enlightenment
16 the eight
factors of the noble path,
17 the four foundations of
mindfulness18
the four right efforts,
19
the four bases of
success,
20 the four absorptions,
21 the eight freedoms,
22 the
four modes of concentration23
and the eight great
14.Confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom.
15.Confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom.
16.Mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquillity, concentration, and equanimity.
17.Right view, –thought, –speech, –action, –livelihood, –effort, –mindfulness, and
–concentration.
18.Mindfulness of the body, feelings, thoughts, and mind-objects.
19.Effort to prevent and remove unwholesome states and to develop and maintain
wholesome states.
20.Eagerness, energy, tenacity, wisdom.
21.Four stages of one-pointedness or jhàna.
22.Eight stages of release of the mind by intense concentration.
23.Meditations on love, compassion, sympathetic-joy, and equanimity.
attainments.
24 Each of these has virtue as its support and in
him who builds on it as the foundation all these good
conditions will not decrease.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“Just, O king, as all forms of animal and plant life
flourish with the earth as their support, so does the recluse,
with virtue as the support, develop the five controlling
faculties and so on.
25 And this was said by the Blessed One:
“When a wise man, established well in virtue,
Develops concentration and understanding,
Then as a bhikkhu, ardent and sagacious,
He succeeds in disentangling this tangle.”26
10.“What is the characteristic mark of confidence?”
“Clarification and inspiration. As confidence springs
up in the mind it breaks through the veil of the five
hindrances and the mind becomes clear, serene and
undisturbed; thus confidence clarifies. Inspiration is the
mark when the meditator, perceiving how the minds of
others have been set free, aspires to the attainment of what
he has not yet reached, to the experience of what he has not
yet felt and the realisation of what he has not yet
understood. For this was said by the Blessed One:
“By confidence he crosses over the flood,
By vigilance the sea of life,
24.Four formless jhànas and four form jhànas.
25.cf. S. v. 45.
26.S. i. 13, 165, Vism. (opening verse).
By steadfastness all grief he stills,
By wisdom he is purified.”27
11.“What, venerable sir, is the characteristic mark of
energy?”
“Reinforcing, O king, so that those good qualities,
which it supports, do not fall away.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“Just as, O king, when his army has been broken up
by a larger one the king would call to mind every possible
ally to reinforce his army and break up the large army.
Thus reinforcing is the mark of energy. For this was said by
the Blessed One:
“The energetic noble disciple, O monks,
Puts away unwholesomeness and cultivates good,
Shuns the blameworthy and develops the blameless,
And thus does he keep his mind pure.”28
12.“What, Nàgasena, is the characteristic mark of
mindfulness?”
“Noting and keeping in mind. As mindfulness
springs up in the mind of the recluse, he repeatedly notes
the wholesome and unwholesome, blameless and
blameworthy, insignificant and important, dark and light
qualities and those that resemble them thinking, ‘These are
the four foundations of mindfulness, these the four right
efforts, these the four bases of success, these the five
27.S. i. 214; Sn. v 184.
28.A. iv. 110.
controlling faculties, these the five moral powers, these the
seven factors of enlightenment, these are the eight factors of
the noble path, this is serenity, this insight, this vision and
this freedom.’ Thus does he cultivate those qualities that
are desirable and shun those that should be avoided.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“It is like a king’s treasurer who reminds his master of
the size of the army and the amount of wealth in his
treasury.”
“How is keeping in mind a mark of mindfulness?”
“As mindfulness springs up in the mind, he searches
out the categories of good qualities and their opposites
thinking, ‘Such and such qualities are beneficial and such
are harmful’. Thus does he make what is unwholesome in
himself disappear and maintain what is good.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“It is like the Prime Minister of the king who advises
him on the right course of action. And this was said by the
Blessed One:
“Mindfulness, I declare, O monks, is helpful every-
where.”29
13.“What, Nàgasena, is the characteristic mark of
concentration?”
“Leading, O king, for all good qualities have con-
centration as their chief; they incline to it, lead up towards
it.”
“Give me an illustration.”
29.S. v. 115
“As the rafters of a house incline and lead up to the
ridge-pole and the ridge-pole is the highest point of the
roof. So too all good qualities incline and lead up to concen-
tration. And this was said by the Blessed One:
“Monks, develop concentration, a monk who is
concentrated sees things as they really are.”30
14.“What, Nàgasena, is the characteristic mark of
wisdom?”
“Illuminating,
31
O king. When wisdom springs up in
the mind it dispels the darkness of ignorance, causes the
radiance of vision to arise, makes the light of knowledge
shine forth and makes the noble truths plain. Thus does the
meditator perceive with the clearest wisdom, the
impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and soullessness of all
formations.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“It is like a lamp, O king, which in a dark room would
illuminate it and make the objects there plainly visible.”
15.“These qualities that are so different, Nàgasena, do
they bring about one and the same result?”
“They do, the destruction of the defilements of the
mind, just as the various parts of an army such as
elephants, cavalry, war chariots and archers bring about
one result — the conquest of the opposing army.”
“Well put Nàgasena, you are clever in reply.”
30.S. iii. 13, v. 414; cf. Asl. 162.
31.As well as cutting off already given above
The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Chapter 1
The Soul
King Milinda went up to Nàgasena, ex-
changed polite and friendly greetings, and
took his seat respectfully to one side. Then
Milinda began by asking:
1.“How is your reverence known, and what sir, is your
name?”
“O king, I am known as Nàgasena but that is only a
designation in common use, for no permanent individual
can be found.”
Then Milinda called upon the Bactrian Greeks and the
monks to bear witness: “This Nàgasena says that no
permanent individual is implied in his name. Is it possible
to approve of that?” Then he turned to Nàgasena and said,
“If, most venerable Nàgasena, that is true, who is it who
gives you robes, food and shelter? Who lives the righteous
life? Or again, who kills living beings, steals, commits
adultery, tells lies or takes strong drink? If what you say is
true then there is neither merit nor demerit, nor is there any
doer of good or evil deeds and no result of kamma. If,
venerable sir, a man were to kill you there would be no
murder, and it follows that there are no masters or teachers
in your Order. You say that you are called Nàgasena; now
what is that Nàgasena? Is it the hair?”
“I don’t say that, great king.”
“Is it then the nails, teeth, skin or other parts of the
body?”
“Certainly not.”
“Or is it the body, or feelings, or perceptions, or
formations, or consciousness?10 Is it all of these combined?
Or is it something outside of them that is Nàgasena?”
Still Nàgasena answered: “It is none of these.”
“Then, ask as I may, I can discover no Nàgasena.
Nàgasena is an empty sound. Who is it we see before us? It
is a falsehood that your reverence has spoken.”
“You, sir, have been reared in great luxury as be-
comes your noble birth. How did you come here, by foot or
in a chariot?”
“In a chariot, venerable sir.”
“Then, explain sir, what that is. Is it the axle? Or the
wheels, or the chassis, or reins, or yoke that is the chariot?
Is it all of these combined, or is it something apart from
them?”
“It is none of these things, venerable sir.”
“Then, sir, this chariot is an empty sound. You spoke
falsely when you said that you came here in a chariot. You
are a great king of India. Who are you afraid of that you
don’t speak the truth?” Then he called upon the Bactrian
Greeks and the monks to bear witness: “This King Milinda
has said that he came here in a chariot but when asked what
it is, he is unable to show it. Is it possible to approve of that?”
Then the five hundred Bactrian Greeks shouted their
approval and said to the king, “Get out of that if you can!”
“Venerable sir, I have spoken the truth. It is because it
has all these parts that it comes under the term chariot.”
“Very good, sir, your majesty has rightly grasped the
meaning. Even so it is because of the thirty-two kinds of
organic matter in a human body and the five aggregates of
being that I come under the term ‘Nàgasena’. As it was said
by Sister Vajãra in the presence of the Blessed One, ‘Just as
it is by the existence of the various parts that the word
“Chariot” is used, just so is it that when the aggregates of
being are there we talk of a being’.”11
“Most wonderful, Nàgasena, most extraordinary that
you have solved this puzzle, difficult though it was. If the
Buddha himself were here he would approve of your
reply.”
King Milinda went up to Nàgasena, exchanged polite
and friendly greetings, and took his seat respectfully to one
side. Then Milinda began by asking:
2.“How many ‘rains’
12 do you have Nàgasena?”
“Seven, your majesty.”
“How can you say it is your seven; is it you who are
seven or the number that is seven?”
Then Nàgasena said, “Your shadow is now on the
ground. Are you the king, or is the shadow the king?”
“I am the king, Nàgasena, but the shadow comes into
being because of me.”
“Just so, O king, the number of the years is seven, I am
11.S. i. 135.
12.A bhikkhu’s seniority is reckoned by the number of rainy seasons that have passed since
his ordination.
not seven, but it is because of me that the number seven
comes into being and it is mine in the same sense as the
shadow is yours.”
“Most wonderful, Nàgasena, and extraordinary. Well
has this puzzle been solved by you, difficult as it was.”
3.Then the king said, “Venerable sir, will you discuss
with me again?”
“If your majesty will discuss as a scholar, yes; but if
you will discuss as a king, no.”
“How is it then that scholars discuss?”
“When scholars discuss there is a summing up and an
unravelling; one or other is shown to be in error. He admits
his mistake, yet he does not become angry.”
“Then how is it that kings discuss?”
“When a king discusses a matter and advances a
point of view, if anyone differs from him on that point he is
apt to punish him.”
“Very well then, it is as a scholar that I will discuss.
Let your reverence talk without fear.”
“It is well your majesty.”
“Nàgasena, I will ask a question”, said the king.
“Ask it sir.”
“I have asked it, your reverence.”
“Then I have answered.”
“What have you answered?”
“What have you asked?”
Thinking, “This monk is a great scholar, he is quite
able to discuss things with me”, the king instructed his
minister, Devamantiya, to invite him to the palace with a
large company of monks and went away muttering,
“Nàgasena, Nàgasena.”
4.So, Devamantiya, Anantakàya and Mankura went to
Nàgasena’s hermitage to accompany the monks to the
palace. As they were walking along together Anantakàya
said to Nàgasena, “When, your reverence, I say, ‘Nàgasena’
what is that Nàgasena?”
“What do you think that Nàgasena is?”
“The soul, the inner breath, which comes and goes.”
“But if that breath, having gone out, should not return
would that man still be alive?”
“Certainly not.”
“And when those trumpeters and the like have blown
their trumpets does their breath return to them?”
“No venerable sir, it doesn’t.”
“Then why don’t they die?”
“I am not capable of arguing with you sir, pray tell me
how it is.”
“There is no soul in the breath. These inhalations and
exhalations are merely constituent powers of the bodily
frame.” Then the elder13
talked to him on the Abhidhamma
and Anantakàya was satisfied with his explanation.
5.Then, after the monks had arrived at the palace and
finished their meal, the king sat down on a low seat and
asked, “What shall we discuss?”
“Let our discussion be about the Dhamma.”
13. Thera (elder) is nowadays normally used only for bhikkhus of ten or more years standing
but Nàgasena was only seven rains. See Question 2 above.
Then the king said, “What is the purpose, your
reverence, of your going forth and what is the final goal at
which you aim?”
“Our going forth is for the purpose that this suffering
may be extinguished and that no further suffering may
arise; the complete extinction of grasping without
remainder is our final goal.”
“Is it, venerable sir, for such noble reasons that
everyone joins the Order?”
“No. Some enter to escape the tyranny of kings,
some to be safe from robbers, some to escape from debt
and some perhaps to gain a livelihood. However, those
who enter rightly do so for the complete extinction of
grasping.”
6.The king said, “Is there anyone who is not reborn
after death?”
“Yes there is. The one who has no defilements is not
reborn after death; the one who has defilements is reborn.”
“Will you be reborn?”
“If I die with attachment in my mind, yes; but if not,
no.”
7.“Does one who escapes from rebirth do so by the
power of reasoning?”
“He escapes both by reasoning and by wisdom, con-
fidence, virtue, mindfulness, energy and concentration.”
“Is reasoning the same as wisdom?”
“No. Animals have reasoning but they do not have
wisdom.”
8.“What, Nàgasena, is the characteristic mark of
reasoning; and what the mark of wisdom?”
“Taking hold is the mark of reasoning, cutting off is
the mark of wisdom.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“How do barley reapers reap the barley?”
“They grasp the barley into a bunch with the left
hand and, with a sickle in the right hand, they cut the
barley.”
“Just so, O king, the recluse takes hold of his mind
with reasoning and cuts of the defilements with wisdom.”
9.“What, Nàgasena, is the characteristic mark of virtue?”
“Supporting, O king, for it is the basis of all good
qualities: the five controlling faculties14
and the five moral
powers,
15 the seven factors of enlightenment
16 the eight
factors of the noble path,
17 the four foundations of
mindfulness18
the four right efforts,
19
the four bases of
success,
20 the four absorptions,
21 the eight freedoms,
22 the
four modes of concentration23
and the eight great
14.Confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom.
15.Confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom.
16.Mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquillity, concentration, and equanimity.
17.Right view, –thought, –speech, –action, –livelihood, –effort, –mindfulness, and
–concentration.
18.Mindfulness of the body, feelings, thoughts, and mind-objects.
19.Effort to prevent and remove unwholesome states and to develop and maintain
wholesome states.
20.Eagerness, energy, tenacity, wisdom.
21.Four stages of one-pointedness or jhàna.
22.Eight stages of release of the mind by intense concentration.
23.Meditations on love, compassion, sympathetic-joy, and equanimity.
attainments.
24 Each of these has virtue as its support and in
him who builds on it as the foundation all these good
conditions will not decrease.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“Just, O king, as all forms of animal and plant life
flourish with the earth as their support, so does the recluse,
with virtue as the support, develop the five controlling
faculties and so on.
25 And this was said by the Blessed One:
“When a wise man, established well in virtue,
Develops concentration and understanding,
Then as a bhikkhu, ardent and sagacious,
He succeeds in disentangling this tangle.”26
10.“What is the characteristic mark of confidence?”
“Clarification and inspiration. As confidence springs
up in the mind it breaks through the veil of the five
hindrances and the mind becomes clear, serene and
undisturbed; thus confidence clarifies. Inspiration is the
mark when the meditator, perceiving how the minds of
others have been set free, aspires to the attainment of what
he has not yet reached, to the experience of what he has not
yet felt and the realisation of what he has not yet
understood. For this was said by the Blessed One:
“By confidence he crosses over the flood,
By vigilance the sea of life,
24.Four formless jhànas and four form jhànas.
25.cf. S. v. 45.
26.S. i. 13, 165, Vism. (opening verse).
By steadfastness all grief he stills,
By wisdom he is purified.”27
11.“What, venerable sir, is the characteristic mark of
energy?”
“Reinforcing, O king, so that those good qualities,
which it supports, do not fall away.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“Just as, O king, when his army has been broken up
by a larger one the king would call to mind every possible
ally to reinforce his army and break up the large army.
Thus reinforcing is the mark of energy. For this was said by
the Blessed One:
“The energetic noble disciple, O monks,
Puts away unwholesomeness and cultivates good,
Shuns the blameworthy and develops the blameless,
And thus does he keep his mind pure.”28
12.“What, Nàgasena, is the characteristic mark of
mindfulness?”
“Noting and keeping in mind. As mindfulness
springs up in the mind of the recluse, he repeatedly notes
the wholesome and unwholesome, blameless and
blameworthy, insignificant and important, dark and light
qualities and those that resemble them thinking, ‘These are
the four foundations of mindfulness, these the four right
efforts, these the four bases of success, these the five
27.S. i. 214; Sn. v 184.
28.A. iv. 110.
controlling faculties, these the five moral powers, these the
seven factors of enlightenment, these are the eight factors of
the noble path, this is serenity, this insight, this vision and
this freedom.’ Thus does he cultivate those qualities that
are desirable and shun those that should be avoided.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“It is like a king’s treasurer who reminds his master of
the size of the army and the amount of wealth in his
treasury.”
“How is keeping in mind a mark of mindfulness?”
“As mindfulness springs up in the mind, he searches
out the categories of good qualities and their opposites
thinking, ‘Such and such qualities are beneficial and such
are harmful’. Thus does he make what is unwholesome in
himself disappear and maintain what is good.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“It is like the Prime Minister of the king who advises
him on the right course of action. And this was said by the
Blessed One:
“Mindfulness, I declare, O monks, is helpful every-
where.”29
13.“What, Nàgasena, is the characteristic mark of
concentration?”
“Leading, O king, for all good qualities have con-
centration as their chief; they incline to it, lead up towards
it.”
“Give me an illustration.”
29.S. v. 115
“As the rafters of a house incline and lead up to the
ridge-pole and the ridge-pole is the highest point of the
roof. So too all good qualities incline and lead up to concen-
tration. And this was said by the Blessed One:
“Monks, develop concentration, a monk who is
concentrated sees things as they really are.”30
14.“What, Nàgasena, is the characteristic mark of
wisdom?”
“Illuminating,
31
O king. When wisdom springs up in
the mind it dispels the darkness of ignorance, causes the
radiance of vision to arise, makes the light of knowledge
shine forth and makes the noble truths plain. Thus does the
meditator perceive with the clearest wisdom, the
impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and soullessness of all
formations.”
“Give me an illustration.”
“It is like a lamp, O king, which in a dark room would
illuminate it and make the objects there plainly visible.”
15.“These qualities that are so different, Nàgasena, do
they bring about one and the same result?”
“They do, the destruction of the defilements of the
mind, just as the various parts of an army such as
elephants, cavalry, war chariots and archers bring about
one result — the conquest of the opposing army.”
“Well put Nàgasena, you are clever in reply.”
30.S. iii. 13, v. 414; cf. Asl. 162.
31.As well as cutting off already given above
Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - Prologue
Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - Prologue
The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Prologue
Milinda was the king in the city of Sàgala. He was learned
in the arts and sciences and was of an inquiring disposition.
He was skilled in debating and no one could resolve his
doubts about religious matters. Though he questioned all
the famous teachers none could satisfy him.
Assagutta, one of a large number of arahants living in
the Himalayas, knew of the king’s doubts by means of
supernormal power. So he convened an assembly to ask if
there was anyone who could answer the king. There was no
one, so the whole assembly ascended to the heaven of the
thirty-three and requested the god Mahàsena to take birth
as a man in order to protect the religion. One of the monks,
Rohaõa, agreed to go to Kajangalà where Mahà-sena had
been reborn and wait for him to grow up. The boy’s father,
Brahman Sonuttara, had the boy educated in the three
Vedas but the boy, Nàgasena, declared:
“Empty are these three Vedas and as chaff.
There is in them neither reality,
worth nor essential truth.”
Realising that the boy was ready, Rohaõa appeared and the
parents consented to their son becoming a novice. So,
Nàgasena studied the Abhidhamma. After gaining perfect
knowledge of the seven books of the Abhidhamma, Nàga-
sena was admitted to the Order of monks and Rohaõa sent
him to Vattaniya Hermitage to study with Assagutta. While
spending the rainy season there, Nàgasena was asked to
preach a sermon to the pious lady who was Assagutta’s
supporter. As a result of the discourse both the lady and
Nàgasena attained the Eye of the Dhamma, the knowledge
that whatsoever has a beginning also has the inherent qual-
ity of passing away. Assagutta then sent Nàgasena to
Dhammarakkhita at the Asoka Park in Pàñaliputta where,
within the space of three months, he mastered the remain-
der of the Tipiñaka. Dhammarakkhita admonished his pupil
not to be content with mere book knowledge and the very
same night the diligent pupil Nàgasena gained arahantship.
He then went to join the other arahants who were still stay-
ing in the Himalayas. Having completed his education
Nàgasena was ready to meet anyone in debate.
Meanwhile, King Milinda continued his spiritual
quest by visiting the bhikkhu âyupàla at the Saükheyya
Hermitage and asked him why the monks renounced the
world. The elder replied, “It is for the sake of being able to
live in righteousness and in spiritual calm.” Then the king
asked, “Is there, venerable sir, any layman who lives so?”
The elder admitted that there were many such laymen, and
the king retorted:
“Then most venerable âyupàla, your going forth is of
no use. It must be in consequence of sins committed in
some former birth that recluses renounce the world and
even subject themselves to the added constraints of one or
other of the ascetic practices such as wearing only rag-
robes, eating only one meal a day, or not lying down to
sleep. There is no virtue therein, no meritorious abstinence,
no righteousness of life!”
When the king had spoken thus the venerable
âyupàla was silenced and had not a word to say. Then the
five hundred Bactrian Greeks who accompanied the king
said, “The elder is learned but he is also diffident, so he
makes no reply.” To this the king replied by exclaiming: “All
India is an empty thing, it is like chaff. There is no one who
is capable of debating with me and dispelling my doubts!”
However, the Bactrian Greeks were unmoved so the
king asked, “Is there then, my good men, any other learned
sage who is able to discuss things with me and dispel my
doubts?”
Then the minister Devamantiya said, “There is, Great
King, an elder named Nàgasena who is learned, of subdued
manners yet full of courage; he is capable of discussing
with you. He is now staying at this Saükheyya Hermitage,
you should go and put your questions to him.” At the mere
mention of the name ‘Nàgasena’ the king became alarmed
and the hairs of his body stood on end. Then the king sent
a messenger to say that he was coming. Attended on by the
five hundred Bactrian Greeks, the king mounted his royal
chariot and went to the place where Nàgasena was staying.
The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Prologue
Milinda was the king in the city of Sàgala. He was learned
in the arts and sciences and was of an inquiring disposition.
He was skilled in debating and no one could resolve his
doubts about religious matters. Though he questioned all
the famous teachers none could satisfy him.
Assagutta, one of a large number of arahants living in
the Himalayas, knew of the king’s doubts by means of
supernormal power. So he convened an assembly to ask if
there was anyone who could answer the king. There was no
one, so the whole assembly ascended to the heaven of the
thirty-three and requested the god Mahàsena to take birth
as a man in order to protect the religion. One of the monks,
Rohaõa, agreed to go to Kajangalà where Mahà-sena had
been reborn and wait for him to grow up. The boy’s father,
Brahman Sonuttara, had the boy educated in the three
Vedas but the boy, Nàgasena, declared:
“Empty are these three Vedas and as chaff.
There is in them neither reality,
worth nor essential truth.”
Realising that the boy was ready, Rohaõa appeared and the
parents consented to their son becoming a novice. So,
Nàgasena studied the Abhidhamma. After gaining perfect
knowledge of the seven books of the Abhidhamma, Nàga-
sena was admitted to the Order of monks and Rohaõa sent
him to Vattaniya Hermitage to study with Assagutta. While
spending the rainy season there, Nàgasena was asked to
preach a sermon to the pious lady who was Assagutta’s
supporter. As a result of the discourse both the lady and
Nàgasena attained the Eye of the Dhamma, the knowledge
that whatsoever has a beginning also has the inherent qual-
ity of passing away. Assagutta then sent Nàgasena to
Dhammarakkhita at the Asoka Park in Pàñaliputta where,
within the space of three months, he mastered the remain-
der of the Tipiñaka. Dhammarakkhita admonished his pupil
not to be content with mere book knowledge and the very
same night the diligent pupil Nàgasena gained arahantship.
He then went to join the other arahants who were still stay-
ing in the Himalayas. Having completed his education
Nàgasena was ready to meet anyone in debate.
Meanwhile, King Milinda continued his spiritual
quest by visiting the bhikkhu âyupàla at the Saükheyya
Hermitage and asked him why the monks renounced the
world. The elder replied, “It is for the sake of being able to
live in righteousness and in spiritual calm.” Then the king
asked, “Is there, venerable sir, any layman who lives so?”
The elder admitted that there were many such laymen, and
the king retorted:
“Then most venerable âyupàla, your going forth is of
no use. It must be in consequence of sins committed in
some former birth that recluses renounce the world and
even subject themselves to the added constraints of one or
other of the ascetic practices such as wearing only rag-
robes, eating only one meal a day, or not lying down to
sleep. There is no virtue therein, no meritorious abstinence,
no righteousness of life!”
When the king had spoken thus the venerable
âyupàla was silenced and had not a word to say. Then the
five hundred Bactrian Greeks who accompanied the king
said, “The elder is learned but he is also diffident, so he
makes no reply.” To this the king replied by exclaiming: “All
India is an empty thing, it is like chaff. There is no one who
is capable of debating with me and dispelling my doubts!”
However, the Bactrian Greeks were unmoved so the
king asked, “Is there then, my good men, any other learned
sage who is able to discuss things with me and dispel my
doubts?”
Then the minister Devamantiya said, “There is, Great
King, an elder named Nàgasena who is learned, of subdued
manners yet full of courage; he is capable of discussing
with you. He is now staying at this Saükheyya Hermitage,
you should go and put your questions to him.” At the mere
mention of the name ‘Nàgasena’ the king became alarmed
and the hairs of his body stood on end. Then the king sent
a messenger to say that he was coming. Attended on by the
five hundred Bactrian Greeks, the king mounted his royal
chariot and went to the place where Nàgasena was staying.
Khuddaka Nikaya - Milinda Panha - Introduction
The Debate of King Milinda
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc.
Introduction
The Milinda Pa¤ha is an ancient and much venerated book
of the Buddhists, indeed regarded so highly as to be in-
cluded by the Burmese in the Pali Canon. In the Pali book it
says that the conversations between King Milinda and
Nàgasena took place five hundred years after the Pari-
nibbàna of the Buddha. Mr. T.W. Rhys Davids, the most able
translator of the Pali texts, regarded the Milinda Pa¤ha very
highly. He said, “I venture to think that the ‘Questions of
King Milinda’ is undoubtedly the masterpiece of Indian
prose; and indeed the best book of its class, from a literary
point of view, that had been produced in any country.”1
1.T.W. Rhys Davids, QKM Introduction.
The style of the Milinda Pa¤ha is very much like a
Platonic dialogue, Nàgasena playing the part of Socrates
and winning over King Milinda to the Buddhist viewpoint
by his sound reasoning and his fitting similes. The author
is not known but it is almost certain that he lived in the far
northwest of India or in the Punjab, since he mentions no
place in the interior of India south of the Ganges.
2 This is
supported by what is definitely known about King
Menander, a Bactrian king identified with Milinda.
Much more is known about King Menander. Many of
his coins have been found over a wide area of northern
India, as far west as Kabul, as far east as Mathura and as far
north as Kashmir. The portrait is sometimes of a young
man and other times that of a very old man. Plutarch says,
“Menander was a king noted for justice who enjoyed such
popularity with his subjects that upon his death, which
took place in camp, diverse cities contended for the posses-
sion of his ashes. The dispute was settled by the represent-
atives of the different cities agreeing to divide the relics,
and then erecting separate monuments to his memory”.
The recent publication of the Mir Zakah treasure
confirms the rule of Menander in Ghazni and adjoining
areas of the Kabul valley in the north (there are 521 coins of
Menander in that treasure). The discovery of an Attic
Tetradrachm of Menander sets speculation at rest; he must
have ruled over the Kabul region. In the north he occupied
Hazara and the Swat valley.
3
So Menander was one of the
2.A.K. Narain, The Indo-Greeks.
3.A.K. Narain, The Indo-Greeks.
most important of those Greek kings who continued in
Bactria, the dominion founded by Alexander the Great. He
probably reigned from about 150 to 110 B.C. (thus dating
his conversations not much more than 400 years after the
Parinibbàna of the Buddha). Strabo draws attention in
passing to the remarkable way in which the kingdom of
Bactria expanded beyond its original limits, and he
mentions incidentally that the kings chiefly responsible
were Demetrius and Menander…. But Menander left a far
deeper mark on the tradition of India than did Demetrius.
4
Menander annexed the Indus delta, the peninsula of
Surastra (Kathiavar), occupied Mathura on the Jumna,
besieged Madyamika (Nagari near Chitor) and Saketam in
southern Oudh, and threatened the capital, Pàñaliputta. But
the invasion was repulsed and Menander was forced to
return to his own country.
5 Since the Bactrians later became
Buddhists there can be little doubt that King Menander is
indeed the King Milinda referred to in the book. However,
the conversations may be just a literary device the author
used to add interest. His primary aim is to clarify Buddhist
doctrine and to refute the wrong views promulgated by
various opponents of Buddhism.
The introductory story in the Milinda Pa¤ha concern-
ing Nàgasena’s upbringing is almost identical to the story
of the young Moggaliputta Tissa, which is told in the Mahà-
vaüsa, the Ceylon Chronicles. Moggaliputta Tissa Thera
lived about a hundred years before Menander and is men-
4.Cambridge History of India, Vol. I. P.446
5.V.A. Smith, The Early History of India.
tioned twice in the text [Miln. pp 3,71] so it is probably his
story that is the older of the two. However, the Mahàvaüsa
was written much later by Mahànàma, at the beginning of
the 6th century A.D., so the story could have been bor-
rowed by Mahànàma from the Milinda Pa¤ha, which was by
then a venerable book edited by Buddhaghosa. (In the
Milinda òika, a commentary on the Milinda Pa¤ha, it is stated
that several verses of prologue and epilogue in the Milinda
Pa¤ha were composed by Buddhaghosa).
From the supposed conversation that Milinda has
with Påraõa Kassapa, Makkhali Gosala and other ascetics6
it is obvious that this introductory story was fabricated by
the author since these ascetics were contemporaries of the
Buddha. The story is based on the Sàma¤¤a Phala Sutta of
the Dãgha Nikàya. One point of difference is noteworthy: in
the Sàma¤¤a Phala Sutta,
7
Prince Ajàtasattu goes to see the
Buddha but is unable to recognise him; whereas in the
introduction to the Milinda Pa¤ha, King Milinda says of
Nàgasena, “There is no need to point him out to me”, thus
showing his great superiority to Prince Ajàtasattu.
6.Though this supposed conversation is found in the original text, it adds nothing of
substance to the dialogues, and could not have taken place, so I have left it out.
7.D. i. 50
The Rise of the Magadha Kingdom
In the Mahàparinibbàna Sutta the Buddha predicted that the
city of Pàñaliputta, which was founded shortly before his
death, would become a great city, “ânanda, among the
towns and cities that are centres of congregation and com-
merce of people of the Aryan race, this new town will be-
come the greatest city, called Pàñaliputta, a place where goods
are unpacked, sold and distributed, but it will be in danger
from flood, fire and internal dissension”.
8
The Magadha
Kingdom, of which Pàñaliputta (modern Patna) was the capi-
tal, gradually became the most powerful in all India.
In the mid 4th century B.C. a Sudra named Mahà-
padma Nanda usurped the throne of the kingdom of
Magadha and became the ruler of a kingdom stretching
from the Brahmaputra river in the east to the Beas in the
west. But beyond the Beas were several small kingdoms.
During this period, Alexander the Great conquered
Persia and crossed the Hindu Kush into Bactria (Northern
Afghanistan). It took him two years to subdue these inhos-
pitable regions, but in so doing he founded several cities
penetrating as far north as Samarkand and Leninabad (in
the USSR). Another city has been identified at Charikar
(north of Kabul). Hearing about the river Indus he re-
crossed the Hindu Kush in 327 B.C. and pushed eastwards
to Taxila (Takkasãla), but when he reached the Jhelum river
he encountered the Paurava rajah, who had war elephants.
Even the veterans of Macadonia were unable to continue
8.D. ii. 87, 88.
against such opposition, so Alexander was forced to retreat
down the Indus river and thence back through Persia,
where he died at Babylon in 323 B.C. Nevertheless, he had
left behind him the foundations of the Bactrian kingdom
and had surveyed the Jhelum and Indus rivers.
After Alexander’s death, Chandragupta, the founder
of the Mauryan dynasty, was able to drive away the Greek
garrisons from the Indus valley. In 321 B.C. he defeated
Nanda and became the ruler of the Magadha kingdom
from the capital at Pàñaliputta. Alexander’s successor,
Seleukos I Nikator, led an expedition against the Indians in
311 B.C. hoping to regain the Punjab. However, he was up
against the might of Chandragupta. So, by 304 B.C.,
Seleukos was glad to conclude a treaty with him, giving his
daughter in marriage and ceding large areas of what is now
Baluchistan and Afghanistan in exchange for 500 war
elephants. Seleukos sent his ambassador, Magasthenes, to
Pàñaliputta and from what remains of his writings we
know something about the size of the army and the
strength of the fortifications there. Chandragupta ruled for
24 years and his son Bindusàra, about whom we know very
little, ruled for 28 years until his death in 269 B.C.
At the time of Bindusàra’s death his eldest son was the
viceroy at Takkasãla and his younger son, Asoka, was the
viceroy at Ujjeni in the south. Asoka fought with his brother
for the right to ascend to the throne, and when his
brotherwas killed in battle, Asoka became the ruler of a vast
empire from Bengal to Afghanistan. However, he was still
not satisfied and it was only in the ninth year of his reign,
after the bloody conquest of the Kaliïga kingdom (Orissa)
that he gave up warfare and became a devoted follower of
Buddhism. Emperor Asoka sent missions of monks to the
border areas of his great empire. Asokan inscriptions have
been found in the Kabul valley written in Greek and Ara-
maic, and elsewhere his inscriptions say that he had made
Dhamma conquests in Egypt, Syria, Macedonia, Greece,
Cyprus, Bactria, Kashmir, Gandhàra, etc. The Mahàvaüsa
says that missionaries were sent to Kashmir, Gandhàra,
Bactria, the Himalayas, Sindh (Gujarat), and inscriptions on
relic caskets found in ståpas at Sanchi record the success of
those missions to the Himalayas. Unfortunately, the other
ståpa records have been vandalised, but we can be sure that
the missions to Kashmir and Gandhàra were successful
since even in the Buddha’s time Takkasãla was a renowned
centre of learning. The Mahàvaüsa also records that at the
consecration of the Great Ståpa in 157B.C. monks came
from Alasanda (Charika) in Yona (Bactria).
The Rise of the Bactrian Kingdom
After the death of Asoka in 227 B.C. the Mauryan empire
began to disintegrate. The empire founded by Seleukos had
already revolted in 250 B.C. under its governor, Diodotus I
and it continued to grow under his successors, Diodotus II
and Euthydemus. At the beginning of the 2nd century B.C.
the Greek rulers of the new kingdom of Bactria crossed the
Hindu Kush and began to invade India from the northwest.
Of the Greek kings who ruled to the south of the Kush,
Apollodotus would seem to be the first. He is twice men-
tioned in association with Menander. Their rule extended
on the south west to Ariana (southern Afghanistan) and in
the south to the Indus valley.
As mentioned above, Menander must have ruled
over the Kabul and Swat valleys and at some time he
annexed the Indus valley too. Sàgala, the city mentioned in
the Milinda Pa¤ha as the place where the dialogues took
place, was the ancient city of the Madras who came to the
region in about the 6th century B.C. It is now Sialkot,
between the Chenab and Ravi rivers, near the border of
Kashmir. At Miln. page 83 (see Question 5, Chapter Seven)
it is mentioned that Kashmir is 12 yojanas (84 miles) distant
and that Milinda’s birthplace on the island of Alasanda is
200 yojanas away. There are many cities founded by
Alexander during his conquests, several of which might
have been the birthplace of Menander. The city founded at
Charikar has been suggested by A.K. Narain, but it is rather
less than 200 yojanas (1,400 miles) at the usual reckoning.
Could it perhaps be the Alexandra located at Leninabad or
one of the Alexandras further West?
However, from the available evidence we can postu-
late that Menander was born in Bactria, but brought up in
Ariana (the Kabul valley) and in the early years of his rule
expanded his father’s kingdom to the Indus valley and
beyond, perhaps later establishing his capital at Sàgala.
Unlike Bactria, which was predominantly influenced by
Greek culture, these new areas were already Buddhist.
Menander, then, would have been educated in the Greek
traditions but would have had direct contact with Bud-
dhism and no doubt often met monks living in his king-
dom. Nevertheless, it does seem rather improbable that his
knowledge of doctrine would have been sufficient to
engage in the dialogues as recorded in the Milinda Pa¤ha
since Milinda is shown to have a substantial knowledge of
the texts. My opinion is that the author had at most a brief
acquaintance with Menander, most probably basing his
work on an oral tradition of the dialogues and using his
own deep knowledge of the texts to extend the dialogues
into the longer work that we have now. He might have
used the dialogues as a device to add interest to his treatise
and to please the Greek king by making him one of the cen-
tral characters.
This hypothesis gains some support from the
existence of Chinese translations that consist of only the
first three divisions. They are almost identical with the Pali
as to the questions asked but differ in the introductory
story, which in neither case looks very authentic.
Comparison with the Chinese Text
As V. Trenchner pointed out when he transliterated the Pali
text in the 1860’s, we can be sure that the original Milinda
Pa¤ha was in Sanskrit because it begins with the words
“Taü yathà nusuyatà” (thus has it been handed down)
rather than the Pali formula “Evam me sutam” (thus have I
heard). This is confirmed by the presence of Chinese
translations of the text which, although they obviously
come from the same root source, show a number of notable
differences.9
9.For a detailed and thorough comparison, see Milinda Panha and Nàgasenabhikshusåtra
(AComparative Study) Bhikkhu Thich Mihn Chau.
1.The Chinese versions correspond to the first three
divisions of the Pali version, suggesting that the other
four divisions (Dilemmas, A Question solved by
Inference, Ascetic Practices, and the Similes) were
later accretions.
2.The Chinese work, the Nàgasena-bhikshusåtra takes the
name of the monk. The Pali work, the Milinda Pa¤ha,
the name of the king.
3.The Pali work has twelve extra questions.
4.The stories of the former lives of Nàgasena and Milinda
are different.
5.There is no mention of the Abhidhamma in the Chinese.
It is frequently mentioned in the Pali.
6.On the very well known classification of the
Bodhipakkhiya Dhammas the Chinese translator goes
astray on several terms, indicating that he was not
familiar with the Pali texts.
7.The Pali says that animals have reasoning but not
wisdom; the Chinese says they have wisdom but their
hearts are different.
Although there are many minor differences between the
two texts, the close correlation between the similes used to
illustrate the terms defined and the order of the questions,
leaves us with no doubt that they are both translations of an
older work (probably in Sanskrit). However, we should be
cautious when drawing conclusions as to which is the more
authentic. Bhikkhu Thich Mihn Chau, in his efforts to prove
the greater antiquity of the original on which the Chinese
translation is based, dates it soon after the demise of the
Buddha citing the absence of classification of the texts into
Vinaya, Sutta, Abhidhamma, and Nikàyas, which were only
well defined at the Third Council. Yet, Menander was not
even born until 100 years after this council. Clearly, the
‘original’ is not earlier than the 1st century B.C. and the
long gap before the translations appeared, in about
400A.D., was ample time for numerous accretions and
amendments, or omissions and lacunas to occur.
For the reasons already stated above and because the
conversations in the Milinda Pa¤ha were said to have taken
place about 500 years after the Buddha’s death, whereas
Menander lived at least a hundred years earlier than that, it
seems most likely that the Milinda Pa¤ha was composed
some time after Menander’s death, perhaps being based on
an oral tradition of actual conversations that did take place
between Menander and a monk or several monks.
Menander’s successors, Queen Agathocleia and
Strato I Soter, continued to reign for at least 40 years after
his death, but their lives saw the emergence of a new
dynasty in western India, that of the Sakas (Scythians) and
Yueh-Chih from central Asia, and the Greek Bactrian era
came to an end.
The Arrangement of the Pali Book
The epilogue says that the book is divided into 6 divisions
and 22 chapters containing 262 questions, 42 of which have
not been handed down making 304 in all, but it is difficult
to see how this is reckoned. There are numerous discrepan-
cies between the different texts available, which is to be ex-
pected in such an old work. Now only 237 questions
remain.
To make cross-reference easier I have followed the
same sequence as the Pali text in numbering the questions
and chapters, except that I have condensed the last seven
chapters into chapter eighteen.
In this edition of the Milinda Pa¤ha, although I have
followed the arrangement of the Pali text, I have left out
large numbers of similes and condensed long, though often
very eloquent passages, (without, I hope, spoiling the
beauty of the original work) in order to make the book rea-
sonably concise and thus make it more appealing to the
busy western reader. It is an abridgement, not a translation,
therefore here and there I have combined separate para-
graphs into one for the sake of brevity, but I have endeav-
oured to be faithful to the intention of the original author,
which was the clarification of the Buddha’s teaching and
the elucidation of some common misconceptions that one
may fall into.
The references in the footnotes are to page numbers of
the Pali texts of the Pali Text Society. In the corresponding
translations these page numbers are given in square brack-
ets at the top of each left-hand page or, in the case of Vinaya
and Jàtaka books, in the body of the text.
To help those who would like to know the Pali word
from which its translation derives (which is sometimes
different to that used by Rhys Davids or Miss Horner) I
have included Pali words in the index alongside the
English reference.
edited by Bhikkhu Pesala
Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc.
Introduction
The Milinda Pa¤ha is an ancient and much venerated book
of the Buddhists, indeed regarded so highly as to be in-
cluded by the Burmese in the Pali Canon. In the Pali book it
says that the conversations between King Milinda and
Nàgasena took place five hundred years after the Pari-
nibbàna of the Buddha. Mr. T.W. Rhys Davids, the most able
translator of the Pali texts, regarded the Milinda Pa¤ha very
highly. He said, “I venture to think that the ‘Questions of
King Milinda’ is undoubtedly the masterpiece of Indian
prose; and indeed the best book of its class, from a literary
point of view, that had been produced in any country.”1
1.T.W. Rhys Davids, QKM Introduction.
The style of the Milinda Pa¤ha is very much like a
Platonic dialogue, Nàgasena playing the part of Socrates
and winning over King Milinda to the Buddhist viewpoint
by his sound reasoning and his fitting similes. The author
is not known but it is almost certain that he lived in the far
northwest of India or in the Punjab, since he mentions no
place in the interior of India south of the Ganges.
2 This is
supported by what is definitely known about King
Menander, a Bactrian king identified with Milinda.
Much more is known about King Menander. Many of
his coins have been found over a wide area of northern
India, as far west as Kabul, as far east as Mathura and as far
north as Kashmir. The portrait is sometimes of a young
man and other times that of a very old man. Plutarch says,
“Menander was a king noted for justice who enjoyed such
popularity with his subjects that upon his death, which
took place in camp, diverse cities contended for the posses-
sion of his ashes. The dispute was settled by the represent-
atives of the different cities agreeing to divide the relics,
and then erecting separate monuments to his memory”.
The recent publication of the Mir Zakah treasure
confirms the rule of Menander in Ghazni and adjoining
areas of the Kabul valley in the north (there are 521 coins of
Menander in that treasure). The discovery of an Attic
Tetradrachm of Menander sets speculation at rest; he must
have ruled over the Kabul region. In the north he occupied
Hazara and the Swat valley.
3
So Menander was one of the
2.A.K. Narain, The Indo-Greeks.
3.A.K. Narain, The Indo-Greeks.
most important of those Greek kings who continued in
Bactria, the dominion founded by Alexander the Great. He
probably reigned from about 150 to 110 B.C. (thus dating
his conversations not much more than 400 years after the
Parinibbàna of the Buddha). Strabo draws attention in
passing to the remarkable way in which the kingdom of
Bactria expanded beyond its original limits, and he
mentions incidentally that the kings chiefly responsible
were Demetrius and Menander…. But Menander left a far
deeper mark on the tradition of India than did Demetrius.
4
Menander annexed the Indus delta, the peninsula of
Surastra (Kathiavar), occupied Mathura on the Jumna,
besieged Madyamika (Nagari near Chitor) and Saketam in
southern Oudh, and threatened the capital, Pàñaliputta. But
the invasion was repulsed and Menander was forced to
return to his own country.
5 Since the Bactrians later became
Buddhists there can be little doubt that King Menander is
indeed the King Milinda referred to in the book. However,
the conversations may be just a literary device the author
used to add interest. His primary aim is to clarify Buddhist
doctrine and to refute the wrong views promulgated by
various opponents of Buddhism.
The introductory story in the Milinda Pa¤ha concern-
ing Nàgasena’s upbringing is almost identical to the story
of the young Moggaliputta Tissa, which is told in the Mahà-
vaüsa, the Ceylon Chronicles. Moggaliputta Tissa Thera
lived about a hundred years before Menander and is men-
4.Cambridge History of India, Vol. I. P.446
5.V.A. Smith, The Early History of India.
tioned twice in the text [Miln. pp 3,71] so it is probably his
story that is the older of the two. However, the Mahàvaüsa
was written much later by Mahànàma, at the beginning of
the 6th century A.D., so the story could have been bor-
rowed by Mahànàma from the Milinda Pa¤ha, which was by
then a venerable book edited by Buddhaghosa. (In the
Milinda òika, a commentary on the Milinda Pa¤ha, it is stated
that several verses of prologue and epilogue in the Milinda
Pa¤ha were composed by Buddhaghosa).
From the supposed conversation that Milinda has
with Påraõa Kassapa, Makkhali Gosala and other ascetics6
it is obvious that this introductory story was fabricated by
the author since these ascetics were contemporaries of the
Buddha. The story is based on the Sàma¤¤a Phala Sutta of
the Dãgha Nikàya. One point of difference is noteworthy: in
the Sàma¤¤a Phala Sutta,
7
Prince Ajàtasattu goes to see the
Buddha but is unable to recognise him; whereas in the
introduction to the Milinda Pa¤ha, King Milinda says of
Nàgasena, “There is no need to point him out to me”, thus
showing his great superiority to Prince Ajàtasattu.
6.Though this supposed conversation is found in the original text, it adds nothing of
substance to the dialogues, and could not have taken place, so I have left it out.
7.D. i. 50
The Rise of the Magadha Kingdom
In the Mahàparinibbàna Sutta the Buddha predicted that the
city of Pàñaliputta, which was founded shortly before his
death, would become a great city, “ânanda, among the
towns and cities that are centres of congregation and com-
merce of people of the Aryan race, this new town will be-
come the greatest city, called Pàñaliputta, a place where goods
are unpacked, sold and distributed, but it will be in danger
from flood, fire and internal dissension”.
8
The Magadha
Kingdom, of which Pàñaliputta (modern Patna) was the capi-
tal, gradually became the most powerful in all India.
In the mid 4th century B.C. a Sudra named Mahà-
padma Nanda usurped the throne of the kingdom of
Magadha and became the ruler of a kingdom stretching
from the Brahmaputra river in the east to the Beas in the
west. But beyond the Beas were several small kingdoms.
During this period, Alexander the Great conquered
Persia and crossed the Hindu Kush into Bactria (Northern
Afghanistan). It took him two years to subdue these inhos-
pitable regions, but in so doing he founded several cities
penetrating as far north as Samarkand and Leninabad (in
the USSR). Another city has been identified at Charikar
(north of Kabul). Hearing about the river Indus he re-
crossed the Hindu Kush in 327 B.C. and pushed eastwards
to Taxila (Takkasãla), but when he reached the Jhelum river
he encountered the Paurava rajah, who had war elephants.
Even the veterans of Macadonia were unable to continue
8.D. ii. 87, 88.
against such opposition, so Alexander was forced to retreat
down the Indus river and thence back through Persia,
where he died at Babylon in 323 B.C. Nevertheless, he had
left behind him the foundations of the Bactrian kingdom
and had surveyed the Jhelum and Indus rivers.
After Alexander’s death, Chandragupta, the founder
of the Mauryan dynasty, was able to drive away the Greek
garrisons from the Indus valley. In 321 B.C. he defeated
Nanda and became the ruler of the Magadha kingdom
from the capital at Pàñaliputta. Alexander’s successor,
Seleukos I Nikator, led an expedition against the Indians in
311 B.C. hoping to regain the Punjab. However, he was up
against the might of Chandragupta. So, by 304 B.C.,
Seleukos was glad to conclude a treaty with him, giving his
daughter in marriage and ceding large areas of what is now
Baluchistan and Afghanistan in exchange for 500 war
elephants. Seleukos sent his ambassador, Magasthenes, to
Pàñaliputta and from what remains of his writings we
know something about the size of the army and the
strength of the fortifications there. Chandragupta ruled for
24 years and his son Bindusàra, about whom we know very
little, ruled for 28 years until his death in 269 B.C.
At the time of Bindusàra’s death his eldest son was the
viceroy at Takkasãla and his younger son, Asoka, was the
viceroy at Ujjeni in the south. Asoka fought with his brother
for the right to ascend to the throne, and when his
brotherwas killed in battle, Asoka became the ruler of a vast
empire from Bengal to Afghanistan. However, he was still
not satisfied and it was only in the ninth year of his reign,
after the bloody conquest of the Kaliïga kingdom (Orissa)
that he gave up warfare and became a devoted follower of
Buddhism. Emperor Asoka sent missions of monks to the
border areas of his great empire. Asokan inscriptions have
been found in the Kabul valley written in Greek and Ara-
maic, and elsewhere his inscriptions say that he had made
Dhamma conquests in Egypt, Syria, Macedonia, Greece,
Cyprus, Bactria, Kashmir, Gandhàra, etc. The Mahàvaüsa
says that missionaries were sent to Kashmir, Gandhàra,
Bactria, the Himalayas, Sindh (Gujarat), and inscriptions on
relic caskets found in ståpas at Sanchi record the success of
those missions to the Himalayas. Unfortunately, the other
ståpa records have been vandalised, but we can be sure that
the missions to Kashmir and Gandhàra were successful
since even in the Buddha’s time Takkasãla was a renowned
centre of learning. The Mahàvaüsa also records that at the
consecration of the Great Ståpa in 157B.C. monks came
from Alasanda (Charika) in Yona (Bactria).
The Rise of the Bactrian Kingdom
After the death of Asoka in 227 B.C. the Mauryan empire
began to disintegrate. The empire founded by Seleukos had
already revolted in 250 B.C. under its governor, Diodotus I
and it continued to grow under his successors, Diodotus II
and Euthydemus. At the beginning of the 2nd century B.C.
the Greek rulers of the new kingdom of Bactria crossed the
Hindu Kush and began to invade India from the northwest.
Of the Greek kings who ruled to the south of the Kush,
Apollodotus would seem to be the first. He is twice men-
tioned in association with Menander. Their rule extended
on the south west to Ariana (southern Afghanistan) and in
the south to the Indus valley.
As mentioned above, Menander must have ruled
over the Kabul and Swat valleys and at some time he
annexed the Indus valley too. Sàgala, the city mentioned in
the Milinda Pa¤ha as the place where the dialogues took
place, was the ancient city of the Madras who came to the
region in about the 6th century B.C. It is now Sialkot,
between the Chenab and Ravi rivers, near the border of
Kashmir. At Miln. page 83 (see Question 5, Chapter Seven)
it is mentioned that Kashmir is 12 yojanas (84 miles) distant
and that Milinda’s birthplace on the island of Alasanda is
200 yojanas away. There are many cities founded by
Alexander during his conquests, several of which might
have been the birthplace of Menander. The city founded at
Charikar has been suggested by A.K. Narain, but it is rather
less than 200 yojanas (1,400 miles) at the usual reckoning.
Could it perhaps be the Alexandra located at Leninabad or
one of the Alexandras further West?
However, from the available evidence we can postu-
late that Menander was born in Bactria, but brought up in
Ariana (the Kabul valley) and in the early years of his rule
expanded his father’s kingdom to the Indus valley and
beyond, perhaps later establishing his capital at Sàgala.
Unlike Bactria, which was predominantly influenced by
Greek culture, these new areas were already Buddhist.
Menander, then, would have been educated in the Greek
traditions but would have had direct contact with Bud-
dhism and no doubt often met monks living in his king-
dom. Nevertheless, it does seem rather improbable that his
knowledge of doctrine would have been sufficient to
engage in the dialogues as recorded in the Milinda Pa¤ha
since Milinda is shown to have a substantial knowledge of
the texts. My opinion is that the author had at most a brief
acquaintance with Menander, most probably basing his
work on an oral tradition of the dialogues and using his
own deep knowledge of the texts to extend the dialogues
into the longer work that we have now. He might have
used the dialogues as a device to add interest to his treatise
and to please the Greek king by making him one of the cen-
tral characters.
This hypothesis gains some support from the
existence of Chinese translations that consist of only the
first three divisions. They are almost identical with the Pali
as to the questions asked but differ in the introductory
story, which in neither case looks very authentic.
Comparison with the Chinese Text
As V. Trenchner pointed out when he transliterated the Pali
text in the 1860’s, we can be sure that the original Milinda
Pa¤ha was in Sanskrit because it begins with the words
“Taü yathà nusuyatà” (thus has it been handed down)
rather than the Pali formula “Evam me sutam” (thus have I
heard). This is confirmed by the presence of Chinese
translations of the text which, although they obviously
come from the same root source, show a number of notable
differences.9
9.For a detailed and thorough comparison, see Milinda Panha and Nàgasenabhikshusåtra
(AComparative Study) Bhikkhu Thich Mihn Chau.
1.The Chinese versions correspond to the first three
divisions of the Pali version, suggesting that the other
four divisions (Dilemmas, A Question solved by
Inference, Ascetic Practices, and the Similes) were
later accretions.
2.The Chinese work, the Nàgasena-bhikshusåtra takes the
name of the monk. The Pali work, the Milinda Pa¤ha,
the name of the king.
3.The Pali work has twelve extra questions.
4.The stories of the former lives of Nàgasena and Milinda
are different.
5.There is no mention of the Abhidhamma in the Chinese.
It is frequently mentioned in the Pali.
6.On the very well known classification of the
Bodhipakkhiya Dhammas the Chinese translator goes
astray on several terms, indicating that he was not
familiar with the Pali texts.
7.The Pali says that animals have reasoning but not
wisdom; the Chinese says they have wisdom but their
hearts are different.
Although there are many minor differences between the
two texts, the close correlation between the similes used to
illustrate the terms defined and the order of the questions,
leaves us with no doubt that they are both translations of an
older work (probably in Sanskrit). However, we should be
cautious when drawing conclusions as to which is the more
authentic. Bhikkhu Thich Mihn Chau, in his efforts to prove
the greater antiquity of the original on which the Chinese
translation is based, dates it soon after the demise of the
Buddha citing the absence of classification of the texts into
Vinaya, Sutta, Abhidhamma, and Nikàyas, which were only
well defined at the Third Council. Yet, Menander was not
even born until 100 years after this council. Clearly, the
‘original’ is not earlier than the 1st century B.C. and the
long gap before the translations appeared, in about
400A.D., was ample time for numerous accretions and
amendments, or omissions and lacunas to occur.
For the reasons already stated above and because the
conversations in the Milinda Pa¤ha were said to have taken
place about 500 years after the Buddha’s death, whereas
Menander lived at least a hundred years earlier than that, it
seems most likely that the Milinda Pa¤ha was composed
some time after Menander’s death, perhaps being based on
an oral tradition of actual conversations that did take place
between Menander and a monk or several monks.
Menander’s successors, Queen Agathocleia and
Strato I Soter, continued to reign for at least 40 years after
his death, but their lives saw the emergence of a new
dynasty in western India, that of the Sakas (Scythians) and
Yueh-Chih from central Asia, and the Greek Bactrian era
came to an end.
The Arrangement of the Pali Book
The epilogue says that the book is divided into 6 divisions
and 22 chapters containing 262 questions, 42 of which have
not been handed down making 304 in all, but it is difficult
to see how this is reckoned. There are numerous discrepan-
cies between the different texts available, which is to be ex-
pected in such an old work. Now only 237 questions
remain.
To make cross-reference easier I have followed the
same sequence as the Pali text in numbering the questions
and chapters, except that I have condensed the last seven
chapters into chapter eighteen.
In this edition of the Milinda Pa¤ha, although I have
followed the arrangement of the Pali text, I have left out
large numbers of similes and condensed long, though often
very eloquent passages, (without, I hope, spoiling the
beauty of the original work) in order to make the book rea-
sonably concise and thus make it more appealing to the
busy western reader. It is an abridgement, not a translation,
therefore here and there I have combined separate para-
graphs into one for the sake of brevity, but I have endeav-
oured to be faithful to the intention of the original author,
which was the clarification of the Buddha’s teaching and
the elucidation of some common misconceptions that one
may fall into.
The references in the footnotes are to page numbers of
the Pali texts of the Pali Text Society. In the corresponding
translations these page numbers are given in square brack-
ets at the top of each left-hand page or, in the case of Vinaya
and Jàtaka books, in the body of the text.
To help those who would like to know the Pali word
from which its translation derives (which is sometimes
different to that used by Rhys Davids or Miss Horner) I
have included Pali words in the index alongside the
English reference.
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