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’’ ‘‘Just as, great king, an archer, when shooting an arrow, firmly plants both feet on the ground, makes his knees steady, places the quiver at his waist, stiffens his body, places both hands at the joint, tightens his fist, keeps his fingers close together, raises his neck, closes his eyes and mouth, straightens his aim, and produces a smile, ‘I will hit it,’ even so, great king, by the yogi, the meditator, the feet of effort should be planted on the ground of virtue, patience and gentleness should be made steady, the mind should be placed in restraint, oneself should be brought to self-restraint and discipline, craving and delusion should be suppressed, the mind should be kept close together in wise attention, effort should be raised, the six doors should be closed, mindfulness should be established, a smile should be produced, ‘I will pierce all defilements with the arrow of knowledge.’ This, great king, is the first element of the archer that should be taken. ‘‘And again, great king, an archer carries a straightening device for straightening a crooked, bent, distorted arrow. Even so, great king, by the yogi, the meditator, the straightening device of mindfulness of this body should be carried for straightening a crooked, bent, distorted mind. This, great king, is the second element of the archer that should be taken. ‘‘And again, great king, an archer practices on a target. Even so, great king, by the yogi, the meditator, one should practice on this body. How, great king, should the yogi, the meditator, practice on this body? One should practice as impermanent, one should practice as suffering, one should practice as non-self, from disease, from boils, from darts, from misery, from affliction, from others, from decay, from calamity, from misfortune, from fear, from peril, from instability, from fragility, from impermanence, from lack of protection, from lack of shelter, from lack of refuge, from emptiness, from hollowness, from voidness, from disadvantage, from the nature of change, from insubstantiality, from the root of suffering, from a killer, from destruction, from defilements, from conditioned things, from Mara's bait, from the nature of birth, from the nature of aging, from the nature of sickness, from the nature of death, from the nature of sorrow, from the nature of lamentation, from the nature of despair, from the nature of defilement. Thus indeed, O great king, by the yogi, the practitioner, should this body be contemplated. This, O great king, should be taken as the third limb of the archer. Furthermore, O great king, the archer practices morning and evening. Just so indeed, O great king, by the yogi, the practitioner, should the object be contemplated morning and evening. This, O great king, should be taken as the fourth limb of the archer. And this was spoken, O great king, by the Elder Sāriputta, the General of the Dhamma – ‘Just as an archer, Practices morning and evening; Not abandoning his practice, Obtains food and wages. ‘Just so a son of the Buddha, Practices body contemplation; Not abandoning body contemplation, Attains arahantship.’ The seventh question on the limbs of an archer. The seventh chapter, the Jar Section. Its summary – The jar and the black iron, The umbrella, the field, and the medicine; With food and the archer, Thus spoken by the wise. The section on questions of similes is finished. Conclusion Thus, in six chapters, adorned with twenty-two sections, two hundred and sixty-two Milinda Questions contained in this book are concluded, and forty-two are not included. They are three hundred and four questions, all past and future combined, all known as Milinda's Questions. At the end of the king's and the elder's questions and answers, this great earth, eighty-four thousand yojanas thick, down to the water's edge, quaked six times. Lightning flashes burst forth. Devas rained down divine flowers. The Great Brahmā gave a cry of approval. A great sound arose, like the roar of thunder in the belly of the great ocean. Thus, King Milinda and his retinue, bowing with joined hands to their heads, paid homage. King Milinda, with an exceedingly joyful heart, with a heart whose pride was thoroughly crushed, having become resolute in the Buddha's dispensation, free from doubt in the Triple Gem, without obstruction, firm, and exceedingly pleased, confident, unattached, with the pillar of pride struck down, like a serpent whose fangs have been extracted, spoke thus: "Excellent, Venerable Nāgasena, the question concerning the Buddha has been answered by you. In this Buddha's dispensation, apart from the Dhamma-general, Elder Sāriputta, there is no one equal to you in answering questions. Forgive, Venerable Nāgasena, my transgression. Hold me, Venerable Nāgasena, as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life, from this day forward." Then the king, together with his forces, attended upon Elder Nāgasena, had a monastery named Milinda built and dedicated it to the elder, and ministered to Nāgasena with the four requisites, along with hundreds of millions of bhikkhus. Again, being pleased with the elder's wisdom, he handed over the kingdom to his son, went forth from home to homelessness, developed insight, and attained arahantship. Therefore it is said: Wisdom is praised in the world, established for the true Dhamma's endurance. Having destroyed doubt with wisdom, the wise attain peace. In whichever aggregate wisdom is established, mindfulness there is not lacking. It is the basis for special veneration, supreme, excellent, unsurpassed. Therefore, a wise person, seeing one's own welfare; Should honor the wise one, reverently, like a shrine. In Lanka, in Doṇa city, by Doṇi by name, residing; By the Great Elder, having written, well-arranged as heard; The Questions of King Milinda, and the answers of Nāgasena; Milinda indeed, greatly wise, Nāgasena, a great scholar; By this meritorious deed, may I go from here to Tusita; May I see Maitreya in the future, may I hear the supreme Dhamma. The Questions of Milinda are completed.