3.1.4. No soul in the breath (MIL3.1.4)

But Milinda the king thought: ‘This Bhikkhu is a great scholar. He is quite capable of discussing things with me. And I shall have a number of points on which to question him, and before I can ask them all, the sun will set. It would be better to carry on the discussion at home to-morrow.’ And he said to Devamantiya: ‘You may let his reverence know that the discussion with the king shall be resumed to-morrow at the palace.’ And so saying, he took leave of Nāgasena, and mounted his horse, and went away, muttering as he went, ‘Nāgasena, Nāgasena!’

And Devamantiya delivered his message to Nāgasena, who accepted the proposal with gladness. And early the next morning Devamantiya and Anantakāya and Mankura and Sabbadinna. went to the king, and said: ‘Is his reverence, Nāgasena, to come, Sire, to-day?’

‘Yes, he is to come.’

‘With how many of the brethren is he to come?’

‘With as many as he likes.’

And Sabbadinna said: ‘Let him come with ten.’ But the king repeated what he had said.. And on Sabbadinna reiterating his suggestion, the ‘king rejoined: ‘All this preparation has been made, and I say: “Let him come with as many as he likes,” yet Sabbadinna says: “Let him come with ten.” Does he suppose we are not capable of feeding so many?’

Then Sabbadinna was ashamed.

And Devamantiya and Anantakāya and Mankura went to Nāgasena and told him what the king had said. And the venerable Nāgasena robed himself in the forenoon, and taking his bowl in his hand, went to Sāgala with the whole company of the brethren. And Anantakāya, as he walked beside Nāgasena, said:

‘When, your reverence, I say, “Nāgasena,” what is that Nāgasena?’

The Elder replied: ‘What do you think Nāgasena is?’

‘The soul, the inner breath which comes and goes, that I suppose to be Nāgasena.’

‘But if that breath having gone forth should not return, or having returned should not go forth, would the man be alive?’

‘Certainly not, Sir.’

‘But those trumpeters, when they blow their trumpets, does their breath return again to them?’

‘No, Sir, it does not.’

‘Or those pipers, when they blow their pipes or horns, does their breath return again to them?’

‘No, Sir.’

‘Then why don’t they die?’

‘I am not capable of arguing with such a reasoner. Pray tell me, Sir, how the matter stands.’

‘There is no soul in the breath. These inhalations and exhalations are merely constituent powers of the bodily frame,’ said the Elder. And he talked to him from the Abhidhamma to such effect that Anantakāya confessed himself as a supporter of the Order.

The Questions of King Milinda, translated from the Pali by T.W. Rhys Davids.

Part 1 (to section 5.4.10) was originally published as Volume xxxv of “The Sacred Books of the East”, Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1890.

Part 2 (from section 5.5.1) was originally published as Volume xxxvi of “The Sacred Books of the East”, Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1894.

This SuttaCentral edition was prepared by Bhikkhu Sujato based on the digital text of the Internet Sacred Text Archive. The work of the Sacred Text Archive to make this text publically available is gratefully acknowledged.

In preparing this edition minor editorial changes have been made. The structure has been adapted to agree with the Mahāsaṅgīti Pali text as found on SuttaCentral. In addition, the corrections proposed by the translator in the “Addenda et Corrigenda” of the original editions have for the most part been adopted.

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Prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato.