The Debate of King Milinda

[ex-muslim Ahmed]

This is one of the very first buddhist texts that impressed me as a non-buddhist. I still have the book which I bought from Kandy 6 years ago. Later I have collected many version of this book because it impressed me so much . here I have presented One question from this book.

31. Where is Nibbāna?

“Is there a place, Nāgasena, where nibbāna is stored up?”
“No there is not, yet it does exist. As there is no place where fire is stored up
yet it may be produced by rubbing two dry sticks together.”
“But is there any place on which a man might stand and realise nibbāna?”
“Yes there is; virtue is the place; standing on that, and with wise attention,
wherever he might be, whether in the land of the Scythians or the Bactrians,
whether in China or Tibet, in Kashmir or Gandhāra, on a mountain top or in
the highest heavens; the one who practises rightly realises nibbāna.”
“Very good, Nāgasena, you have taught about nibbāna, you have explained
about the realisation of nibbāna, you have praised the qualities of virtue, shown
the right way of practice, raised aloft the banner of the Dhamma, established the
Dhamma as a leading principle, not barren nor without fruit are the efforts of those with right aims!”
those with right aims!”

The Milinda Panha is, with good reason, a famous work of Buddhist literature, probably compiled in the first century B.C. It presents Buddhist doctrine in a very attractive and memorable form as a dialogue between a Bactrian Greek king, Milinda, who plays the `Devil`s Advocate` and a Buddhist sage, Nagasena. The topics covered include most of those questions commonly asked by Westerners such as "If there is no soul, what is it that is reborn'" and "If there is no soul, who is talking to you now?" This abridgement provides a concise presentation of this master-piece of Buddhist literature. This abridgement provides a concise presentation of this masterpiece of Buddhist literature. The introduction outlines the historical background against which the dialogues took place, indicating the meeting of two great cultures--that of ancient Greece and the Buddhism of the Indus valley which was a legacy of the great Emperor Asoka. It is hoped that the adequate references, glossary, index and list of Pali quotations will provide readers with an incentive to read further from the translations of the Pali texts.

download from
http://www.aimwell.org/Books/Pesala/Milinda/milinda.html

 

[amila_90210]

මිලින්ද ප්‍රශ්නය සිංහල simplified එක නැත්ද

 

[ex-muslim Ahmed]

I dont have the sinhala version-softcopy.
You should ask KALYANA MITHRA ..robably he has a sinhala-softcopy

 

[amila_90210]

I dont have the sinhala version-softcopy.
You should ask KALYANA MITHRA ..robably he has a sinhala-softcopy

මං අහන්නම් මං ගුණසේන එක බැලුවා ..simplified එක තිවුන්නෑ

 

[tharinda07]

මං අහන්නම් මං ගුණසේන එක බැලුවා ..simplified එක තිවුන්නෑ

ලංකාවෙ ත්‍රිපිටකයෙ මිලින්ද ප්‍රශ්නය නෑ. බුරුම සංස්කරණයෙ කුඬ්ඬක නිකායෙ අන්තිමට(18) තියෙන්නෙ.

 

[amila_90210]

ලංකාවෙ ත්‍රිපිටකයෙ මිලින්ද ප්‍රශ්නය නෑ. බුරුම සංස්කරණයෙ කුඬ්ඬක නිකායෙ අන්තිමට(18) තියෙන්නෙ.

මචං වෙනම පොත තියනවා ගුණසේන එකේ පොත ලොකුයි ගාන සැරයි

 

[ex-muslim Ahmed]

2. The Omniscience of the Buddha

“Nāgasena, was the Buddha Omniscient?”

“Yes, O king, but the insight of knowledge was not always with him. It
depended on reflection.”

“Then, Nāgasena, the Buddha could not have been Omniscient if his knowledge was reached through reflection.”

“I will explain further. There are seven classes of mental ability. Firstly, there are ordinary people (puthujjana) who are full of desire, hatred and delusion; untrainedin their action, speech and thought; their thinking acts slowly and with difficulty.
“Secondly, there are Stream-winners who have attained to right view andrightly grasped the Master’s teaching. Their thinking powers are quick andfunction 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 slowlyand 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.
“Sixthly, there are Solitary Buddhas who are dependent 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 hesitate 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. From that
1 There is no lack in their wisdom, but as regards knowledge of former lives or knowledge of the
spiritual faculties of beings there is.
2 A feat of supernormal power where fountains of fire and water issue simultaneously from each pore of his body.
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, Nāgasena, 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 on the ground. So too the Buddha is indeed Omniscient although his knowledge is gained through reflection.”

 

[ex-muslim Ahmed]

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. However, to Subaddha he said, ‘So longas 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 doctrinewhereas 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 declaring in what religion consisted. If the sons of the Buddha continue to exert themselves in the five factors of striving, have a sincere desire for the three trainings,perfecting themselves in conduct and virtue; then the glorious teaching of the Conqueror will long endure and standmore and more steadfast as the years roll on.

The teaching of the Master, 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 understanding of it. By the decline of practice, promulgation of the Vinaya rules ceases and only the outward form of the religion remains. When the outward form ceases then the succession of the tradition is cut off.”

 

[ex-muslim Ahmed]

10. Equanimity of the Buddha

“The Buddha said that, if he wished, he could live for the remainder of the
world-cycle but he also said that he would die at the end of three months. Howcan 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 (iddhipāda). 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’.”

 

[ex-muslim Ahmed]

Protection by Loving-kindness

36. Protection by Loving-kindness

“It has been said by the Blessed One, ‘These eleven advantages may be expected by one who practises and makes a habit of loving-kindness towards all beings: he sleeps in peace; he wakes in peace; he dreams no evil dreams; he becomes dear to human beings and to non-human beings; the gods protect him; neither fire, nor poison, nor weapons can harm him; his mind is quickly concentrated; his countenance is serene; he dies unconfused; and if he attains no higher he is reborn in the Brahmā realm.’2 Why then was the youth Sāma, who dwelt full of loving-kindness, hit by a poisoned arrow fired by King Piliyakkha?”

“O king, these eleven virtues of loving-kindness are dependent on love itself and not on the character of the person who practises it. Sāma practised the meditation on loving-kindness all the time. However, while he was collecting water, his mind lapsed from the meditation and at that moment King Piliyakkha shot him, so the arrow was able to hurt him.”

 

[ex-muslim Ahmed]

13. What is Not Found in the World

“There are many different things found in the world, Nāgasena, but tell me what is not to be found in the world.”

“There are three things, O king, that are not to be found in the world: anything, either conscious or unconscious, that does not decay and perish, that formation (saṅkhāra) or conditioned thing that is permanent, and in the ultimate sense there is no such thing as a being.”

 

[ex-muslim Ahmed]

15. Modes of Production

“What is it that is kamma-born, what cause-born, and what season-born?
What is it that is none of these?”


“All beings, O king are kamma-born. Fire, and all things growing out of seeds are cause-born. The earth, water and wind are season-born.

Space and nibbāna exist independently of kamma, cause, and season. Of nibbāna, O king, it cannot be said that it is perceptible by the five senses, but it is perceptible by the mind. The disciple whose mind is pure, and free from obstructions can perceive nibbāna”

 

[sudunone]

I haven't read this book. I'd like a Sinhalese translation in simple language.

 

[ex-muslim Ahmed]

44. The Ancient Path

[FONT=&quot] 44. The Ancient Path[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
“It was said by the Blessed One, ‘The Tathāgata is the discoverer of a way
[FONT=&quot]that was unknown.’[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Yet he also said, ‘Now I perceived, O monks, the ancient[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]path along which the previous Buddhas walked.’[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]This too is a paradox.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“It was because the path shown by previous Buddhas had long since disappeared[/FONT] and was not known by anyone, man or god, that the Buddha said, ‘The Tathāgata is[FONT=&quot] the discoverer of a way that was unknown.’ Though that way had disintegrated,[/FONT] become impassable and lost to view — the Tathāgata, having gained a thorough[FONT=&quot] knowledge of it, saw by his eye of wisdom that it was the path used by previous Buddhas. Therefore he said; ‘Now I perceived, O monks, the ancient path along which the previous Buddhas walked.’ It is as when a man clears the jungle and sets free a piece of land it is called his land though he did not make the land.”[/FONT]

 

[hukp1]

මිලින්ද ප්‍රශ්නය සිංහල simplified එක නැත්ද

ඹයා නැදිමාලේ බෞද්ධ මධ්‍යස්ථානයට යන්න. එතන පහසු මිලට සිංහලෙන් ලියපු මිළින්ද පශ්නය පොත් කීපයක්ම තියෙනවා.

 

[amila_90210]

ඹයා නැදිමාලේ බෞද්ධ මධ්‍යස්ථානයට යන්න. එතන පහසු මිලට සිංහලෙන් ලියපු මිළින්ද පශ්නය පොත් කීපයක්ම තියෙනවා.

බොහෝම ස්තූතියි මිත්‍රයා..ඔබට පිං..
මං බලන්නම්