7.7.5. The Tree (MIL7.7.5)

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

‘Just, O king, as the tree bears fruits and flowers; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, bear the flowers of emancipation and the fruits of Samaṇaship. This, O king, is the first quality of the tree he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, as the tree casts its shadow over the men who come to it, and stay beneath it; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, receive with kindness, both as regards their bodily wants and their religious necessities, those that wait upon him, and remain near by him. This, O king, is the second quality of the tree he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, just as the tree makes no kind of distinction in the shadow it affords; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, make no distinctions between all men, but nourish an equal love to those who rob, or hurt, or bear enmity to him, and to those who are like unto himself, This, O king, is the third quality of the tree he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by Sāriputta, the Elder, the Commander of the Faith:

“Devadatta, who tried to murder him;
Aṅgulimāla, highway robber chief;
The elephant set loose to take his life;
And Rāhula, the good, his only son—
The sage is equal-minded to them all.”’

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.