English
Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One. Constantly acting for the benefit of the world, Constantly teaching for the benefit of the world, Constantly thinking for the benefit of the world, I salute the hero, the guide of men. Knower of the Law of Questions, the protector, the revealer of hidden truths, Having bowed to the Buddha, the Law, and the excellent qualities, To the Elder Nāgasena, skilled in the three Piṭakas, And to the debater, I bow my head, the revealer of the Law of Questions. I will compose a concise explanation of the Milinda Questions, a sweet proclamation, Listen to it attentively. 1. Thus, Explanation of Miscellaneous Topics and Extraction of Jātakas, these are the two matrices. Thus - Connection, word, meaning of the word, analysis of the word, Question, solution, thus sixfold is the explanation of the meaning. Because it is said, first, connection should be understood. And that is twofold, by way of what is said and what is to be supplied. Explanation of Miscellaneous Topics Therein – ‘Milinda by name was the king …pe… the ocean,’ here the connection by way of what is to be supplied should be understood: that King Milinda, born in a royal family five hundred years after the Blessed One’s Parinibbāna, that king was named Milinda. Ruling in Sāgala, in the excellent city named Sāgala, he approached the Elder Nāgasena. How? ‘Like the Ganges to the ocean,’ he said. Just as the Ganges or any other river like the Yamunā approaches the ocean, so he approached. ‘Va’ is a particle with the meaning of aggregation. When ‘Gaṅgā vā’ should be said, the ‘ā’ is shortened to ‘a,’ and thus ‘Gaṅgāva’ is said. As in ‘Like a lotus in the water,’ here ‘va’ is a particle with the meaning of what has been said and aggregation. ‘Having approached the king …pe… destruction,’ here the connection by way of what has been said should be understood. And that is easily understood. Word is fourfold, by way of prefix, particle, noun, and verb. Therein, noun is fourfold, by way of common name, quality name, artificial name, and accidental name. Thus, because he was agreed upon and established by the great assembly in the first age, ‘Mahāsammata’ is the king’s name, a common name. Dhammakathiko, paṃsukū "Vinayadhara," "Tepitaka," faithful, pleased— such a name that comes from qualities, that is called a quality name. Furthermore, on the naming day of a newborn, relatives gather nearby, having made offerings to worthy recipients, and decide, "Let this one be named thus," this is called a conventional name. Moreover, that which is a former designation falls into a later designation, a former expression into a later expression, just as in the former age, the moon was called "moon," and even now the moon is called "moon," in the past, the sun, the sea, the earth, the mountain were called "mountain." Even now, the mountain is called "mountain," this is called an origin name, this fourfold naming is stated in the Abhidhamma context. But in word-study, name-name, pronoun-name, compound-name, derivative-name, verbal-name are stated as fivefold. All that should be understood here appropriately. In terms of word meaning, "āsajjā" means "pavā." "Ṭhānāṭhānagate" means "kāraṇākāraṇagate." "Puthū" means "in various ways." "Suttajālasamathitā" means "established, spread out with a collection of suttas," known as the Sutta Pitaka, "purifying the web of suttas," by bringing in the suttas and clarifying the meaning of the suttas. "Nayehi ca" means "with methods or reasons," such as Abhidhamma and Vinaya. "Paṇidhāyā ca" means "with methods or reasons," such as Abhidhamma and Vinaya. "Paṇidhāya" means "establishing one's own knowledge." "Bhāsayivāna mānasanti" means "having delighted one's own mind exceedingly, by repeatedly causing it to arise." "Kaṅkhāṭhānavidāḷane" means "in the cause of shattering the defilements such as ignorance, which are the cause of doubt, of uncertainty." This is the word meaning. But how should the analysis be understood? "Yonakasaṅkhātānaṃ milānaṃ ido" "Milido." "Sotaṃ patitānaṃ janānaṃ saṃsīdanaṃ rāti ādadātī"ti "Sāgaro," that is "sāgaraṃ." "Abhidhammavinayesu anupavisanathena ogāḷhā" "Abhidhammavinayogāḷhā." "Suttajālassa samathitā" "Suttajālasamathitā." "Kaṅkhā ca kaṅkhāṭhānañca kaṅkhāṭhānāni kaṅkhāṭhānānaṃ vidāḷanaṃ" K Breaking through the frame of ignorance. This is the explanation. Who composed these five verses? The answer is: Venerable Buddhaghosa Acariya composed them. Not only the five verses, but also other introductory and concluding words in the Theraraja's teachings were spoken by him. In these connections: 'A collection of words, known as one, becomes a sentence with its agents,' and 'By which there is connection to whom, even if distant, it belongs to them, And thus, without reason, proximity to those who are dissimilar;' and 'When there is diversity, various actions occur appropriately, But the state of being an agent is never hidden by a single action;' 'A word is the subject of usage, with multiple meanings and ultimate reality, The meaning of it is said to be according to the intellect's discernment;' Having considered these three characteristics, how both meaning and nature can be obtained, so should the application of words be done. For by the application of words, the nature of the meaning should be followed, not the application of words by the nature of the meaning. Moreover, teachers, residing in various countries, explain the meaning of the application of words according to the usage of their respective countries. Here, in our country of Bingara, the meaning of the application of words should be spoken according to the refined usage. How should it be spoken so that the speech is refined and enters the hearts of the noble youths? If the first is the subject, the second is the object with its qualifications, or the first-ending subject, then the verb should be spoken. Or the verb, then the second-ending object with its qualifications should be spoken. If the first-ending word with its qualifications is the object, then that, and its qualification, or the third-ending subject should be spoken. That, or the verb should be spoken. Moreover, the meaning of words: 'Meaning, cause, gender, emphasis, place, and time; The meanings of words are distinguished; Not by words alone;' and 'Depending on the path of another's state, sa-amadi is the agent, The suffix is the means of the root, the meaning is the instrument;' and 'The root is a word denoting action, the suffix denotes the instrument, Gender is the indicator of meaning, inflections are the illuminators of meaning;' Having considered these characteristics, each word... The explanation of the ten kinds of disputes should be stated. However, the explanation of the words: 'Because there might be a cause for running, There might be a result for a condition, And for understanding the two, The word 'iti' is used; In every sentence, the word 'iti' and the verb are indeed; The derivation of the verb is indicated by the word 'iti,' These and other characteristics should be observed and stated; This method of applying words and their meanings, which we have explained, is helpful in every way and should be learned and carefully considered by noble sons. From here on, we will describe what is unclear in both meaning and form. Well-divided streets, squares, crossroads, and intersections: meaning well-divided streets, squares, crossroads, and intersections. This is stated in the Abhidhānappadīpikā: "Racchā is also called visikhā, raṭikā is also called vīthi, Vyuho is racchā, anibbiddhā is nibbiddhā, and pathaddhi is also, Catukkaṃ is caccare, magga-sadhi-siṅghāṭakambhave"; Endowed with various kinds of cloth shops such as Kāsika and Koṭumbara: here, expensive cloth is Kāsika, or Kāsika produced in the Kāsika country. Cloth made in the Koṭumbara country is Koṭumbara. With the word "ādi," it includes khoma, kappāsika, koseyya, kambala, sāṇa, and bhaṅga. And white cloths, dukūla similar to khoma, and pattunnapaṭṭa-somāra-cīnaja cloths similar to koseyya are included. This is stated in the Khuddakasikkhāgatha: Dukūla and pattunna, patta, somāra, and cīnaja, iddhija and devadinna are similar to it. And in its commentary, "Dukūla is made of vāka, pattuṇṇapaṭṭa-somāra-cīnavathāni made of threads made of sāṇa are similar to koseyya, and iddhijadevadinnavathāni are similar to the six cloths, made of any of them." Similarly, the Milindapañha is twofold: the Lakkhaṇapañha and the Vimaticchedanapañha. Here, the characteristic of the Dhamma The question that proceeds by way of subject headings is the question of characteristics. It is written somewhere as the question of the characteristics of things. "Of immediate, arising response," meaning, in that, in that moment of profound consideration, the arising, the origination, the coming-into-being in the place known as the duty to be done, is immediate arising. "Appears in the object," meaning appearance, knowledge. He who has immediate arising appearance is one with immediate arising response. "Capable of the past, future, and present," here, "to know the meaning" should be added as the remaining text, or that itself is the text. Thus, "I, in a past life, gave alms, kept morality, cultivated meditation, did good deeds, and now am endowed with wisdom, wealthy, and famous," he is capable of knowing the past meaning. "Now, I should do meritorious deeds such as giving alms, prosperity will come into being. Having arisen in prosperous states, having been happy, I will be extinguished." Thus, he is said to be capable of knowing the present and future meanings. "At the time of doing the arrangement of complete application," application should be applied. "Complete, from all sides, at all times, application," meaning the arrangement of all duties at all times.