King Milindu (Menander I) & Arahanth Nagasena (Part 6)
From TheBuddhism.Net
King Milindu asked again…
Venerable Sir, do ascetics like their body?
Dear King, ascetics do not like their body. A person who treats a wound or an ulcer on his body with medication do so not because he likes it, but to get it cured. Similarly an ascetic, thinks his body to be an ulcer or a wound and treats it with food and medication just to lead a virtuous celibate life.
Dear King, once our Great Buddha said as such;
“Dear monks, this body is covered with a wet, dirty skin. From nine ostiums (openings) phlegm, mucus, faeces, urine, ear wax and mucus of the eye pour out constantly. This body is like an incurable wound; disgusting and stinking.”
Venerable Sir, did our Great Buddha knew everything?
Yes dear King, our Great Buddha knew everything.
Venerable Sir, Then why didn’t he lay the precepts at the very beginning?
Dear King, a doctor prescribes medicine only when there is an illness. He doesn’t do so when there is no sickness or malady. Similarly, our Great Buddha did not lay disciplinary rules when there were no problems. He laid rules when problems arose and asked his disciples to abide by them with life.
Venerable Sir, when a child is born he or she gets the parents’ looks. If so, did the parents of Prince Siddhartha have the thirty two Great features of our Buddha?
No dear king, our Buddha’s parents didn’t have the thirty two Great Features of our Buddha. Water lilies are born in the mud. But they do not take the colour, smell and taste of the mud. Similarly, though our Great Buddha had thirty two great features, eighty secondary characteristics and a golden hue, his parents had none of them.
Venerable Sir, Higher Ordination is said to be pleasant and wholesome; did our Great Buddha had Higher Ordination?
Dear King, the moment our Great Buddha attained Enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, he got higher ordination.Nobody ordains a Buddha.
Venerable Sir, a person weeps out of adoration when his mother dies; another person cries out of devotion listening to Dhamma. What is the difference between the tears of the two?
Dear King, the person who cries because of the demise of his mother has tears sizzling with passion, hatred and ignorance. Therefore, he trek a long way in the ‘life-death circle’ (samsara).
The tears of the person who cries listening to Dhamma are serene, pure and pleasant. He doesn’t trek in the ‘life-death circle’ (samsara) for long.
Venerable Sir, what is the difference between a sensual (passionate) person and a person who is free from lust?
Dear king, a sensual person is fond of the returns (benefits) of a livelihood (occupation). A person who is free from lust does not like the returns (benefits) of a livelihood (occupation).
The sensual person, when consuming food does so with desire for the flavors. The person who is free from lust knows the tastes of food, but consume without desire for them.
Venerable Sir, what is ‘Samsara’?
Dear King, a person is born and dies in this world. After death, he would be born in another place and would eventually die there too. Again he would be born in some other place and would die there too. Samsara is thus.
Consider a person planting a mango seed which later becomes a tree; a seed from a fruit from that tree would be planted too, which would eventually become another tree; a seed from a fruit from that tree too would be planted, which would eventually become another tree. Similarly, there would be endless number of mango trees. Samsara is like this.
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