7.1. The Similes (MIL7.1)

‘Venerable Nāgasena, with how many qualities must a member of the Order (a Bhikshu) be endowed to realise Arahatship?’

‘The brother, O king, who wishes to attain Arahatship must take:

One quality of the ass

And five of the cock

And one of the squirrel

And one of the female panther

And two of the male panther

And five of the tortoise

And one of the bamboo

And one of the bow

And two of the crow

And two of the monkey

And one of the gourd

And three of the lotus

And two of seed

And one of the Sal-tree

And three of a ship

And two of the anchor

And one of the mast

And three of the pilot

And one of the sailor

And five of the ocean

And five of the earth

And five of water

And five of fire

And five of wind

And five of rock

And five of space

And five of the moon

And seven of the sun

And three of Sakka

And four of a sovran overlord

And one of the white ant

And two of the cat

And one of the rat

And one of the scorpion

And one of the mungoose

And two of the old jackal

And three of the deer

And four of the bull

And two of the boar

And five of the elephant

And seven of the lion

And three of the cakravāka bird

And two of the Peṇāhikā bird

And one of the house-pigeon

And two of the owl

And one of the crane

And two of the bat

And one of the leech

And three of the serpent

And one of the rock-snake

And one of the road spider

And one of the child at the breast

And one of the land tortoise

And five of the mountain height

And three of the tree

And five of the rain-cloud

And three of the jewel

And four of the hunter

And two of the fisherman

And two of the carpenter

And one of the waterpot

And two of iron

And three of a sunshade

And three of a rice field

And two of medicine

And three of food

And four of the archer.

And four of the king.

And two of the doorkeeper.

And one of a grindstone.

And two of a lamp.

And two of the peacock.

And two of the steed.

And two of the publican.

And two of a threshold.

And one of a balance.

And two of a sword.

And two of a fish.

And one of a borrower.

And two of a sick man.

And two of a corpse.

And two of. a river.

And one of a buffalo.

And two of a road.

And one of a tax-gatherer.

And three of a thief.

And one of the hawk.

And one of the dog.

And three of the physician.

And two of a woman with child.

And one of the yak cow.

And two of the hen.

And three of the dove.

And two of the one-eyed man.

And three of the husbandman.

And one of the female jackal.

And two of the dyers’ straining-cloth.

And one of a spoon.

And one of the negociator of a loan.

And one of a collector.

And two of a charioteer.

And two of a village headman.

And one of a tailor.

And one of a helmsman.

And two of a bee.’

Here ends the Table of Contents.

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.

This text is in the public domain. You are free to do whatever you wish with it.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato.