The Blessed One’s City of DhammaTHEN King Milinda approached the Venerable Nágasena, greeted him and sat down at a respectful distance. King Milinda, anxious to know, anxious to hear, anxious to remember, anxious to see the light of knowledge, anxious to break down the lack of knowledge, anxious to find the light of knowledge, anxious to expel the darkness of ignorance, aroused extreme steadfastness and zeal and mindfulness and clear consciousness, and spoke thus to the Venerable Nágasena: “Revered Nágasena, have you ever seen the Buddha?”
“No, sire.”
“But have your teachers ever seen the Buddha?”
“No, sire.”
“Revered Nágasena, if you have never seen the Buddha, and if your
teachers have never seen the Buddha, well then, revered Nágasena, there is no Buddha; the Buddha is not manifested here.”
“But, sire, did those former noble warriors exist who were the forerunners of your noble warrior dynasty?”
“Yes, revered sir; what doubt is there?”
“Have you, sire, ever seen the former noble warriors?”
“No, revered sir.”
“But have those who have instructed you, sire—priests, generals,
judges, chief councilors—have these ever seen the former noble warriors?”
“No, revered sir.”
“But if you, sire, have not seen the former noble warriors and if your instructors have not seen the former noble warriors, where are the former noble warriors?”
“Revered Nágasena, articles of use enjoyed by the former noble warriors are to be seen, that is to say, the white sunshade, the turban, the shoes, the yak-tail fan, the treasure of the sword of state, and the couches of great price. By these we can know and can believe that the former noble warriors existed.”
“Even so, sire, we may also know and believe in this Blessed One. There is this reason according to which we may know and believe that there was this Blessed One. What is the reason? There are, sire, articles of use enjoyed by that Blessed One who knows and sees, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One, that is to say, the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the five spiritual faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path.
By these the world with the devas knows and believes that there was this Blessed One. For this reason, sire, for this cause, because of this method, because of this inference it should be known that there was this Blessed One.”
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excerpted from the opening to:
The Blessed One’s City of Dhamma
From the Milindapañha
Based on the translation by I.B. Horner
© 1993 Buddhist Publication Society
Kandy, Sri Lanka www.bps.lk
Access to Insight Edition 2006 www.accesstoinsight.org
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