From TheBuddhism.Net

King Milindu’s third major question was…

Venerable Sir, what is the reason for the past, present & the future (the reason for the continuous birth – death cycle)?

Dear King, the main reason is delusion or ignorance (Avidya) which doesn’t allow one to comprehend the Four Noble Truths. It destroys one’s perception and blinds him; which leads him to see morality as sin and immorality as virtue.

Delusion or ignorance leads the being to collect merits & demerits (volitional fabrications /Sanskara) (bodily, verbal & mental fabrications).

Merits & demerits lead to consciousness (Vinnana) (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body & intellect consciousness).

Consciousness leads to name & form (Nama rupa) (feeling, perception, intention, contact & attention are called name or nama and the body dependant on the four great elements (Earth, fire, water & air) is form or rupa).

Name & form leads to the six sense media (Salayathana) (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body & mind).

The six sense media lead the being to having contact (Phassa) (convergence of the object, sense medium and the sense consciousness of that sense medium; vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch & intellectual).

Contact leads to feeling or sensation (vedana) (pleasant, unpleasant & neutral).

Feeling or sensation leads to craving (Thanha).

Craving leads to clinging (Upadana) (self clinging to objectives such as form, sound, smell, etc)

Clinging leads to existence or becoming (Bhava).

Existence or becoming leads to birth (Jati).

Birth brings suffering such as old age and death.

Venerable Sir, is there an end to the ‘Birth – Death Cycle’ (Samsara) ?

Dear King, there is no end to the ‘Birth – Death Cycle’ (Samsara).

Venerable Sir, please explain in a simile.

Dear king, a person plants a small seed on the ground. This seed becomes a tree and fructifies. Seeds from those fruit bring forth new plants and those plants grow into trees and fructify; thus, the course of action continues and there is no end to the process. Similarly, an egg from a hen gives birth to a chick; that chick becomes an adult and produces eggs; those eggs bring forth chicks, who eventually become adults and produce more eggs; the process continues without an end.

Venerable Sir, is there anything which happens due to cause & effect?

Yes, there is a law of cause & effect. When there are eye and form there is visual consciousness (Chakku Vinnana)

When there is visual consciousness (Chakku Vinnana), there is visual contact (Chakku Phassa).

When there is visual contact (Chakku Phassa), feeling or sensation (Vedana) arises.

Feeling or sensation (Vedana) leads to craving (Thanha).

Clinging (Upadana) due to craving causes becoming or existence (Bhava).

Becoming or existence (Bhava) causes birth which brings forth old age, sickness, suffering and death.

When there are no eye and form there is no visual consciousness (Chakku Vinnana)

When there is no visual consciousness (Chakku Vinnana), there is no visual contact (Chakku Phassa).

When there is no visual contact (Chakku Phassa), feeling or sensation (Vedana) does not arise.

When there is no feeling or sensation (Vedana) there is no craving (Thanha).

Because there is no craving, there is no clinging (Upadana); therefore, no becoming or existence (Bhava) too.

When there is no becoming or existence (Bhava) there is no birth which liberates one from old age, sickness, suffering and death.

Venerable Sir, is there anything that does not happen due to cause & effect?

Dear king, everything happens due to the law of cause & effect. If there is the lower piece of wood and the upper piece of wood of the fire apparatus (this is an ancient instrument from which fire was produced rubbing two pieces of wood), and a piece of cloth with someone’s effort, there would be fire. If there are no pieces of wood, or a piece of cloth or a person’s effort, there wouldn’t be a fire.

Please explain in another simile.

Dear king, if there is a mirror, light and a face, there would be a reflection. If none of those are available, there wouldn’t be a reflection.

Venerable Sir, is there a live one (a being or a person)?

What sort of a live person or a being you are talking about dear king?

Venerable sir, is there a live one (a being or a person) inside the body who sees from the eye, hears from the ear, smells from the nose, tastes from the tongue, feels from the body and thinks from the mind?

Dear king, if there is a live being, it should see from the eye, hear from the ear, smell from the nose, taste from the tongue, feel from the body and think from the mind. If there is a being inside, it should taste the sweetness, bitterness, sourness. etc of the food which is on his tongue even after the food goes inside the stomach. But it doesn’t happen. It is like that of a thoroughly gagged person, immersed in a boatful of honey, who doesn’t taste the sweetness because his mouth is completely shut.

Dear king, eye & form bring forth visual consciousness (Chakku Vinnana), ear & sound bring forth ear consciousness (Sota Vinnana), nose & smell bring forth nose consciousness (Ghana Vinnana), tongue & taste bring forth tongue consciousness (Jivha Vinnana), body & sensation bring forth body consciousness (Kaya Vinnana), mind & thoughts bring forth mind consciousness (Mano Vinnana). Apart from that there is no live being who sees, hears, smells, etc. inside the body.

Dear king, if there is no pupil of the eye, one cannot see. If there is no cochlea in the ear, one cannot hear. If there is no olfactory bulb in the nose, one cannot smell. If there is no Circumvallate papillae on the tongue, one cannot taste. If there is no Dermis in the skin, one cannot feel.

Reverend Sir, if visual consciousness (Chakku Vinnana) is born in some place, can ear consciousness (Sota Vinnana) too be born there?

Yes dear king. Not only visual consciousness (Chakku Vinnana) and ear consciousness (Sota Vinnana), but also body consciousness (Kaya Vinnana), mind consciousness (Mano Vinnana), contact (Phassa), feeling or sensation (Vedana), perception (Sanna), thoughts (Chetana), conception or ‘application of thought’ (Vitakka) and discernment or ‘sustained thinking’ (Vichara) are all born together. It happens because they have been involved together for a long time.

Please explain in a simile.

Dear king, when it rains, the water flows down a slope. When it rains again, the water flows down the same slope it flowed before, which is similar to the above occurrence.

Reverend Sir, what are the characteristics of contact (Phassa)?

Dear king, contact has characteristics of touching. Consider a fight between two sheep. If one sheep is the ‘eye’ the other is the ‘form’. Their clash is contact (Phassa).
Take a cymbal; think one plate as the ‘eye’ and the other plate as the ‘form’. Their clash is contact (Phassa).

Reverend Sir, what are the characteristics of feeling or sensation (Vedana)?

Dear king, feeling or sensation has the characteristics of bare affective quality of an experience.
Consider a person who serves the king loyally and gets a higher position because of his good work. That person lives comfortably and feels happy thinking of his good work which got him a higher position. A person who is born in heaven is happy thinking of the merits he gained in his previous birth.

Reverend Sir, what are the characteristics of perception (Sanna)?

Dear king, perception (Sanna) has the characteristics of perceiving of the qualities of an object. It knows white color as well as red and blue colors.

Reverend Sir, what are the characteristics of thoughts (Chetana)?

Dear king, thoughts (Chetana) have the characteristics of thinking and formality. A person who thinks of killing other beings is born in hell as the result of his sin. Others who helped him too, are born in hell. Another person who thinks of high merits such as giving and morality is born in heaven as the result of his virtue. Those who helped him too are born in heaven.

Reverend Sir, what are the characteristics of consciousness (Vinnana)?

Dear king, consciousness (Vinnana) has the characteristics of awareness or understanding.

Please explain in a simile.

Dear king, a person who is in a junction of four roads sees the persons coming from the East, persons coming from the West, persons coming from the South and the persons coming from the North. Similarly, when the eye sees a form, one understands it by visual consciousness (Chakku Vinnana), when the ear hears a sound, one understands it by ear consciousness (Sota Vinnana), when the nose smells, one understands it by nose consciousness (Ghana Vinnana), when the tongue tastes, one understands it by tongue consciousness (Jivha Vinnana), when the body feels, one understands it by body consciousness (Kaya Vinnana), when the mind thinks, one understands it by mind consciousness (Mano Vinnana).

Venerable Sir, what are the characteristics of conception (Vitakka) and discernment (Vichara)?

Dear king, conception (Vitakka) has the characteristics of fixity & steadiness. It identifies objectives such as form and sound like a bee that perches on a flower. Discernment (Vichara) has the characteristics of movement & display. It continuously exercises the mind on the objective reflecting upon it, like a bee sucking honey from a flower.

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