7.7.8. The Hunter (MIL7.7.8)

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

‘Just, O king, as the hunter is indefatigable, so also, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be indefatigable. This, O king, is the first quality of the hunter he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, just as the hunter keeps his attention fixed on the deer; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, keep his attention fixed on the particular object which is the subject of his thought. This, O king, is the second quality of the hunter he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, just as the hunter knows the right time for his work; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, know the right time for retirement, saying to himself: “Now is the right time to retire. Now is the right time to come out of retirement.” This, O king, is the third quality of the hunter he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, just as the hunter on catching sight of a deer experiences joy at the thought: “Him shall I get!” just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, rejoice at the sight of an object for contemplation, and experience joy at the thought: “Thereby shall I grasp the specific idea of which I am in search.” This, O king, is the fourth quality of the hunter he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by Mogharāja, the Elder:

“The recluse who, with mind on Nirvāṇa bent,
Has acquired an object his thoughts to guide,
Should be filled with exceeding joy at the hope:
’By this my uttermost aim shall I gain.’”’

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.