3.5.5. Rebirth and transmigration (MIL3.5.5)

The king said: ‘Where there is no transmigration, Nāgasena, can there be rebirth?’

‘Yes, there can.’

‘But how can that be? Give me an illustration.’

‘Suppose a man, O king, were to light a lamp from another lamp, can it be said that the one transmigrates from, or to, the other?’

‘Certainly not.’

‘Just so, great king, is rebirth without transmigration.’

‘Give me a further illustration.’

‘Do you recollect, great king, having learnt, when you were a boy, some verse or other from your teacher?’

‘Yes, I recollect that.’

‘Well then, did that verse transmigrate from your teacher?’

‘Certainly not.’

‘Just so, great king, is rebirth without transmigration.’

‘Very good, Nāgasena!’

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.