7.6.9. The Serpent (MIL7.6.9)

‘Venerable Nāgasena, those three qualities of the serpent you say he ought to take, which are they?’

‘Just, O king, as the serpent progresses by means of its belly; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, progress by means of his knowledge. For the heart of the recluse, O king, who progresses by knowledge, continues in perception (of the four Truths), that which is inconsistent with the characteristics of a recluse does he put away, that which is consistent with them does he develop in himself. This, O king, is the first quality of the serpent he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, just as the serpent as it moves avoids drugs ; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, go on his way avoiding unrighteousness. This, O king, is the second quality of the serpent he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, as the serpent on catching sight of men is anxious, and pained, and seeks a way of escape ; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, when he finds himself thinking wrong thoughts, or discontent arising within him, be anxious and pained, and seek a way of escape, saying to himself: “This day must I have spent in carelessness, and never shall I be able to recover it.” This, O king, is the third quality of the serpent he ought to have. For it is a saying, O king, of the two fairy birds in the Bhallāṭiya Jātaka:

“’Tis one night only, hunter, that we’ve spent
Away from home, and that against our will,
And thinking all night through of one another,
Yet that one night is it that we bemoan,
And grieve; for nevermore can it return!”’

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.