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does not come into the hand to be grasped, or to be crushed. Nevertheless, that wind exists." "If, great king, the wind cannot be shown, then the wind does not exist?" "I know, venerable Nāgasena, that the wind exists; it has entered my heart. But I cannot show the wind." "Just so, great king, Nibbāna exists. But Nibbāna cannot be shown by color or by shape." "Excellent, venerable Nāgasena! The simile is well-shown, the reason is well-explained. I accept it thus, 'Nibbāna exists'." The Fifth Question: On What is Not Born of Kamma. 6. The Question: On What is Born of Kamma. "Venerable Nāgasena, which here are born of kamma, which are born of cause, which are born of season, which are not born of kamma, not born of cause, not born of season?" "Whatever beings, great king, are conscious, all those are born of kamma. Fire and all kinds of seeds are born of cause. Earth, and mountains, and water, and wind, all those are born of season. Space and Nibbāna— these two are not born of kamma, not born of cause, not born of season. But Nibbāna, great king, , it should not be said that it is born of kamma, or born of cause, or born of season, or arisen, or not arisen, or to be produced, or past, or future, or present, or knowable by the eye, or knowable by the ear, or knowable by the nose, or knowable by the tongue, or knowable by the body; but, O great king, Nibbāna is knowable by the mind, which the rightly practicing noble disciple sees with purified knowledge." "Delightful, venerable Nāgasena, is the question, well-resolved, without doubt, definitively settled, uncertainty is cut off, you are indeed the foremost of the assembly." The Sixth Question on Kamma, etc. 7. The Question on Yakkhas 7. "Venerable Nāgasena, are there beings called Yakkhas in the world?" "Yes, O great king, there are beings called Yakkhas in the world." "Do those Yakkhas, venerable sir, pass away from that state of birth?" "Yes, O great king, those Yakkhas pass away from that state of birth." "Why then, venerable Nāgasena, is the body of those dead Yakkhas not seen, and no stench of a corpse is perceived?" "O great king, the body of dead Yakkhas is seen, and the stench of a corpse is perceived from them. The body of dead Yakkhas, O great king, is seen in the form of an insect, or in the form of a worm, or in the form of an ant, or in the form of a moth, or in the form of a snake, or in the form of a scorpion, or in the form of a centipede, or in the form of a bird, or in the form of an animal." "Who indeed, venerable Nāgasena, other than one like you, so intelligent, could answer this question when asked?" The Seventh Question on Yakkhas. 8. The Question on the Entirety of Training Rules 8. "Venerable Nāgasena, those who were the former teachers of physicians, namely, Nārada, Dhammantarī (Dhanvantari), Aṅgirasa, Kapila, Kaṇḍaraggi, Sāma, Atula, Pubbakaccāyana, all these teachers at once the origin of disease, its cause, its nature, its arising, its treatment, its procedure, its success and failure and having known all that without remainder, thinking, 'So many diseases will arise in this body,' they made a collection in one stroke and composed the suttas. These are not omniscient. But why did the Tathāgata, being omniscient, not determine and lay down the training rules completely, knowing with the Buddha-knowledge the future action, 'In such and such a matter, such and such a training rule will need to be laid down'? Instead, he laid down training rules for the disciples at various times, when faults became evident, widespread, and diverse, and when people complained about them, in each arising matter?" "This was known, great king, by the Tathāgata: 'At this time, among these people, more than one hundred and fifty training rules will need to be laid down.' But it occurred to the Tathāgata thus: 'If I were to lay down more than one hundred and fifty training rules at once, the great multitude would become alarmed, thinking: "Much is to be protected here; it is difficult, indeed, to go forth in the teaching of Samana Gotama." Those who wish to go forth would not go forth, and they would not believe my word. Those people, not believing, would go to the states of woe.' Therefore, 'I will explain by a Dhamma discourse in each arising matter, and when the faults become evident, I will lay down a training rule.'" "Wonderful, venerable Nāgasena, are the Buddhas! Amazing, venerable Nāgasena, are the Buddhas! How great is the Tathāgata's omniscience! So it is, venerable Nāgasena, this meaning has been well-explained by the Tathāgata. Hearing 'much is to be trained in here,' fear might arise in beings. Not even one would go forth in the Victor's Dispensation. So it is, I accept it thus." The eighth question is on the complete laying down of training rules. 9. The Question on the Sun's Heat 9. "Venerable Nāgasena, does the sun always shine intensely, or does it shine mildly at some times?" "The sun always shines intensely, great king, "never at any time does it shine dimly." "If, Venerable Nāgasena, the sun always shines intensely, why then does the sun sometimes shine intensely, and sometimes shine dimly?" "There are these four diseases of the sun, O King, afflicted by any one of which disease, the sun shines dimly. Which are the four? Clouds, O King, are a disease of the sun; afflicted by that disease, the sun shines dimly. Mist, O King, is a disease of the sun; afflicted by that disease, the sun shines dimly. Rain-clouds, O King, are a disease of the sun; afflicted by that disease, the sun shines dimly. Rāhu, O King, is a disease of the sun; afflicted by that disease, the sun shines dimly. These, O King, are the four diseases of the sun, afflicted by any one of which disease, the sun shines dimly." "Wonderful, Venerable Nāgasena, amazing, Venerable Nāgasena, that even the sun, so full of splendor, can have a disease arise! How much more so for other beings! There is no such distinction, Venerable, for anyone else, except for one as wise as you." The Ninth Question on the Sun's Heat. 10. The Question on Intense Heat 10. "Venerable Nāgasena, why does the sun shine intensely in winter, but not so much in summer?" "In summer, O King, the dust and dirt are undisturbed. Dust particles stirred by the wind fill the sky. And in the sky, the clouds are very dense. And a strong wind blows excessively. All these, coming together in various ways, obscure the sun's rays. Therefore, in summer, the sun shines dimly. "But in winter, O King, the earth below is cool. A great cloud stands above. The dust and dirt are settled. And dust moves gently in the sky. And the sky is free of dense clouds. And the wind blows gently. With the cessation of these, the sun's rays are clear. The sun's heat, being free from obstruction, shines very intensely. This... Is there, O great king, a reason by which reason the sun in winter burns fiercely, but not so in summer?’’ ‘‘Freed from all hindrances, venerable sir, the sun burns fiercely, accompanied by clouds and the like, it does not burn fiercely.’’ The Question on Fierce Burning, the tenth. The Section on Non-Proliferation, the second. In this section there are ten questions. 3. The Vessantara Section 1. The Vessantara Question 1. ‘‘Venerable Nāgasena, do all Bodhisattas give away their children and wife, or was it only King Vessantara who gave away his children and wife?’’ ‘‘All Bodhisattas, O great king, give away their children and wife, it was not only King Vessantara who gave away his children and wife.’’ ‘‘But, Venerable Nāgasena, do they give with their consent?’’ ‘‘The wife, O great king, consented, but the children, due to their youth, cried out; if they had truly understood, they too would have rejoiced, they would not have cried out.’’ ‘‘A difficult deed, Venerable Nāgasena, was done by the Bodhisatta, in that he gave his own beloved sons to a brahmin for slavery. ‘‘This too is a second deed, more difficult than difficult, in that he saw his own beloved, young, tender sons tied with a creeper and dragged by that brahmin with the creeper, and he just looked on. ‘‘This too is a third deed, more difficult than difficult, in that the children, having freed themselves from their bonds by their own strength, came back, and when they were filled with longing, he again tied them with a creeper and gave them away. ‘‘This too is a fourth deed, more difficult than difficult, in that the children cried out, ‘Indeed, father, this ogre is taking us to eat us!’ and he did not comfort them, saying, ‘Do not be afraid!’ ‘‘This too is a fifth deed, more difficult than difficult, in that Prince Jāli, weeping, fell at his feet, begging, ‘Enough, father, turn back the dark-skinned one! I myself will go with the ogre, let the ogre eat me!’ and he did not agree to this. ‘‘This too is a sixth deed, more difficult than difficult, in that Prince Jāli said, ‘Surely, father, your heart is like a stone, "That you, looking on us in suffering, in the deserted great forest, being led away by the ogre, did not stop them!" For the one lamenting thus, you showed no compassion. "This too is the seventh, more difficult than difficult, that when his children, of that roaring, terrifying one, were led away, made to disappear, his heart did not burst a hundredfold or a thousandfold. By a person desiring merit, what is there in causing others suffering? Should not one's own gift be given?" "Because of the difficult deed, O great king, the Bodhisatta's fame has arisen in the ten-thousandfold world system, among gods and humans. Gods proclaim it in the abodes of gods, Asuras proclaim it in the abodes of Asuras, Garuḷas proclaim it in the abodes of Garuḷas, Nāgas proclaim it in the abodes of Nāgas, Yakkhas proclaim it in the abodes of Yakkhas. Gradually, his fame, through tradition, even today, has reached our time here. We, proclaiming and discussing that gift, are sitting, (asking) 'well-given, or ill-given?'