Opammakatha Panha Chapter 7

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Translated by T. W. Rhys Davids

61. THE WATERPOT.

1. 'Venerable Nâgasena, that one quality of the waterpot you say he ought to take, which is it?'

'Just, O king, as the waterpot when it is full gives forth no sound; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, even when he has reached the summit of Samanaship, and knows all tradition and learning and interpretation, yet should give forth no sound, not pride himself thereon, not show himself puffed up, but putting away pride and self-righteousness, should be straightforward, not garrulous of himself, neither deprecating others. This, O king, is the quality of the waterpot he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by the Blessed One, the god over all gods, in the Sutta Nipâta:

"What is not full, that is the thing that sounds, That which is full is noiseless and at rest; The fool is like an empty waterpot, The wise man like a deep pool, clear and full ."' 62. BLACK IRON.

2. 'Venerable Nâgasena, those two qualities of black iron you say he ought to take, which are they?'

'Just, O king, as black iron even when

beaten out carries weight; just so, O king, should the mind of the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be able, by his habit of thoughtfulness, to carry heavy burdens. This, O king, is the first quality of black iron he ought to have.

3. 'And again, O king, as black iron does not vomit up the water it has once soaked in ; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, never give up the faith he has once felt in the greatness of the Blessed One, the Supreme Buddha, in the perfection of his Doctrine, in the excellence of the Order--never give up the knowledge he has once acquired of the impermanence of forms, or of sensations, or of ideas, or of qualities, or of modes of consciousness. This, O king, is the second quality of black iron he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by the Blessed One, the god over all gods:

"That man who is in insight purified, Trained in the doctrine of the Noble Ones, Grasping distinctions as they really are, What need hath he to tremble? Not in part Only, but in its full extent, shall he To the clear heights of Arahatship attain ."' 63. THE SUNSHADE.

4. 'Venerable Nâgasena, those three qualities of the sunshade you say he ought to take, which are they?'

'Just, O king, as the sunshade goes along over one's head; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be of a character above all evil dispositions. This, O king, is the first quality of the sunshade he ought to have.

5. 'And again, O king, just as the sunshade is held over the head by a handle; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, have thoughtfulness as his handle. This, O king, is the second quality of the sunshade he ought to have.

6. 'And again, O king, as the sunshade wards off winds and heat and storms of rain; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, ward off the empty winds of the opinions of the numerous Samanas and Brahmans who hold forth their various and divergent nostrums, ward off the heat of the threefold fire (of lust, malice, and dullness), and ward off the rains of evil dispositions. This, O king, is the third quality of the sunshade he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by Sâriputta, the Elder, the Commander of the Faith:

"As a broad sunshade spreading far and firm, Without a hole from rim to rim, wards off The burning heat, and the god's mighty rain; So doth the Buddha's son, all pure within, Bearing the sunshade brave of righteousness, Ward off the rain of evil tendencies, And the dread heat of all the threefold fire ."'

64. THE RICE FIELD.

7. 'Venerable Nâgasena, those three qualities of the rice field you say he ought to have, which are they?'

'Just, O king, as the rice field is provided with canals for irrigation; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be provided with the lists of the various duties incumbent on the righteous man--the canals that bring the water to the rice fields of the Buddha's doctrine. This, O king, is the first of the qualities of the rice field he ought to have.

8. 'And again, O king, just as the rice field is provided with embankments whereby men keep the water in, and so bring the crop to maturity; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be provided with the embankments of righteousness of life, and shame at sin, and thereby keep his Samanaship intact, and gain the fruits thereof. This, O king, is the second quality of the rice field he ought to have.

9. 'And again, O king, just as the rice field is fruitful, filling the heart of the farmer with joy, so that if the seed be little the crop is great, and if the seed be much the crop is greater still; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be fruitful to the bearing of much good fruit, making the hearts of those who support him to rejoice, so that where little is given the result is great, and where much is given the result is greater still.

[paragraph continues] This, O king, is the third quality of the rice field he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by Upâli, the Elder, he who carried the rules of the Order in his head:

"Be fruitful as a rice field, yea, be rich In all good works! For that is the best field Which yieldeth to the sower the goodliest crop ."' 65. MEDICINE.

10. 'Venerable Nâgasena, those two qualities of medicine you say he ought. to take, which are they?'

'Just, O king, as vermin are not produced in medicine; just so, O king, should no evil dispositions be allowed to arise in the mind of the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort. This, O king, is the first of the qualities of medicine he ought to have.

11. 'And again, O king, just as medicine is an antidote to whatever poison may have been imparted by bites or contact, by eating or by drinking in any way; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, counteract in himself the poison of lusts, and malice, and dullness, and pride, and wrong belief, This, O king, is the second of the qualities of medicine he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by the Blessed One, the god over all the gods:

"The strenuous recluse who longs to see Into the nature, and the meaning true, Of the constituent elements of things, Must as it were an antidote become, To the destruction of all evil thoughts ."'

66. FOOD.

12. 'Venerable Nâgasena, those three qualities of food you say he ought to take, which are they?'

'Just, O king, as food is the support of all beings, just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be a handle, as it were, by which all beings may open the door of the noble eightfold path. This, O king, is the first of the qualities of food he ought to have.

13. 'And again, O king, just as food increases people's strength; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, grow in increase of virtue. This, O king, is the second of the qualities of food he ought to have.

14. 'And again, O king, just as food is a thing desired of all beings; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be desired of all the world. This, O king, is the third of the qualities of food he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by Mahâ Moggallâna, the Elder:

"By self-restraint, training, and righteousness, By duty done, and by attainments reached, The strenuous recluse should make himself To all men in the world a thing desired "' 67. THE ARCHER.

15. 'Venerable Nâgasena, those four qualities of the archer you say he ought to take, which are they?'

Just, O king, as the archer, when discharging

his arrows, plants both his feet firmly on the ground, keeps his knees straight, hangs his quiver against the narrow part of his waist, keeps his whole body steady, places both his hands firmly on the point of junction (of the arrow on the bow), closes his fists, leaves no openings between his fingers, stretches out his neck, shuts his mouth and one eye, and takes aim in joy at the thought: "I shall hit it ;" just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, plant firmly the feet of his zeal on the basis of righteousness, keep intact his kindness and tenderness of heart, fix his mind on subjugation of the senses, keep himself steady by self-restraint and performance of duty, suppress excitement and sense of faintness, by continual thoughtfulness let no openings remain in his mind, reach forward in zeal, shut the six doors (of the five senses and the mind), and continue mindful and thoughtful in joy at the thought: "By the javelin of my knowledge will I slay all my evil dispositions." This, O king, is the first of the qualities of the archer he ought to have.

16 . 'And again, O king, as the archer carries a vice  for straightening out bent and crooked and

uneven arrows; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, carry about with him, so long as he is in the body, the vice of mindfulness and thoughtfulness, wherewith he may straighten out any crooked and bent and shifty ideas. This, O king, is the second of the qualities of the archer he ought to have.

17. 'And again, O king, as the archer practises at a target; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, practise, so long as he is in the body. And how, O king, should he practise? He should practise himself in the idea of the impermanence of all things, of the sorrow inherent in individuality, in the absence in any thing or creature of any abiding principle (any soul); in the ideas of the diseases, sores, pains, aches, and ailments of the body that follow in the train of the necessary conditions of individuality; in the ideas of its dependence on others, and of its certain disintegration ; in the ideas of the calamities, dangers, fears, and misfortunes to which it is subject; of its instability under the changing conditions of life; of its liability to dissolution, its want of firmness, its being no true place of refuge, no cave of security, no home of protection, no right object of trust; of its vanity, emptiness, danger, and insubstantiality; of its being the source of pains and subject to

punishments and full of impurity, a mongrel compound of conditions and qualities that have no coherence; of its being the food alike of evil and of the Evil One ; of its inherent liability to rebirths, old age, disease, and death, to griefs, lamentations, despair; and of the corruption of the cravings and delusions that are never absent from it. This, O king, is the third of the qualities of the archer he ought to have.

18. 'And again, O king, just as the archer practises early and late; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, practise meditation early and late. For it was said, O king, by Sâriputta, the Elder, the Commander of the Faith:

"Early and late the true archer will practise, 'Tis only by never neglecting his art, That he earns the reward and the wage of his skill. So the sons of the Buddha, too, practise their art. It is just by never neglecting in thought The conditions of life in this bodily frame That they gain the rich fruits which the Arahats love ."'

Here ends the fifth riddle, the riddle of the archer.

Here end the two hundred and sixty-two questions of Milinda, as handed down in the book in its six parts, adorned with twenty-two chapters. Now those which have not been handed down are forty-

two. Taking together all those that have been, and those that have not been, handed down, there are three hundred plus four, all of which are reckoned as 'Questions of Milinda .'

19. On the conclusion of this putting of puzzles and giving of solutions between the king and the Elder, this great earth, eighty-four thousand leagues in extent, shook six times even to its ocean boundary, the lightnings flashed, the gods poured down a rainfall of flowers from heaven, Mahâ Brahmâ himself signified his applause, and there was a mighty roar like the crashing and thundering of a storm in the mighty deep. And on beholding that wonder, the five hundred high ministers of the king, and all the inhabitants of the city of Sâgala who were there, and the women of the king's palace, bowed down before Nâgasena, the great teacher, raising their clasped hands to their foreheads, and departed thence.

20. But Milinda the king was filled with joy of heart, and all pride was suppressed within him. And he became aware of the virtue that lay in the religion of the Buddhas, he ceased to have any doubt at all in the Three Gems, he tarried no longer in the jungle of heresy, he renounced all obstinacy; and pleased beyond measure at the high

qualities of the Elder, at the excellence of his manners befitting a recluse, he become filled with confidence, and free from cravings, and all his pride and self-righteousness left his heart; and like a cobra deprived of its fangs he said: 'Most excellent, most excellent, venerable Nâgasena! The puzzles, worthy of a Buddha to solve, have you made clear. There is none like you, amongst all the followers of the Buddha, in the solution of problems, save only Sâriputta, the Elder, himself, the Commander of the Faith. Pardon me, venerable Nâgasena, my faults. May the venerable Nâgasena accept me as a supporter of the faith, as a true convert from to-day onwards as long as life shall last!'

21. Thenceforward the king and his mighty men continued in paying honour to Nâgasena. And the king had a Wihâra built called 'The Milinda Wihâra,' and handed it over to Nâgasena, the Elder, and waited upon him and all the multitude of the Arahat Bhikshus of whom he was the chief with the four requisites of the Bhikshu's life. And afterwards, taking delight in the wisdom of the Elder, he handed over his kingdom to his son, and abandoning the household life for the houseless state, grew great in insight, and himself attained to Arahatship! Therefore is it said:


 * 'Wisdom is magnified o'er all the world,
 * And preaching for the endurance of the Faith.
 * When they, by wisdom, have put doubt aside
 * The wise reach upward to that Tranquil State.
 * That man in whom wisdom is firmly set,
 * And mindful self-possession never fails,
 * He is the best of those who gifts receive,
 * The chief of men to whom distinction's given.
 * Let therefore able men, in due regard
 * To their own welfare, honour those who're wise,--
 * Worthy of honour like the sacred pile
 * Beneath whose solid dome the bones of the great dead lie .'

Here ends the book of the puzzles and the solutions of Milinda and Nâgasena.