7.4.7. The Moon (MIL7.4.7)

‘Venerable Nāgasena, those five qualities of the moon which you say he ought to have, which are they?’

‘Just, O king, as the moon, rising in the bright fortnight, waxes more and more; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, grow more and more in good conduct and righteousness and virtue and the constant performance of duty, and in knowledge of the scriptures and study, and in the habit of retirement, and in self-possession, and in keeping the doors of his senses guarded, and in moderation in food, and in the practice of vigils. This, O king, is the first quality of the moon he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, as the moon is a mighty lord ; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be a mighty lord over his own will. This, O king, is the second quality of the moon he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, as the moon wanders at night; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be given to solitude. This, O king, is the third quality of the moon he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, as the moon hoists a standard over his mansion; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, hoist the standard of righteousness. This, O king, is the fourth quality of the moon he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, as the moon rises when begged and prayed to do so; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, frequent for alms those families who have asked and invited him to do so. This, O king, is the fifth quality of the moon he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by the Blessed One, the god over all gods, in the most excellent Saṁyutta Nikāya

“Like the moon, O brethren, let your visits be paid to the laity. Drawing back alike in outward demeanour and in inward spirit, be ye always, as strangers on their first visit, retiring in the presence of the laity. [As the man who looks down a deep well, or a mountain precipice, or a river in flood, would be abashed alike in body and in mind; so be ye, O brethren, as the moon in your visits to the laity. Holding alike in your outward demeanour and your inward spirit, be ye alway, as strangers on their first visit, retiring in the presence of the laity].”’

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 and Aminah Borg-Luck based on the digital text of the Internet Sacred Text Archive and the version available on the Internet Archive. The work 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.