7.8.3. The Sunshade (MIL7.8.3)

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

‘Just, O king, as the sunshade goes along over one’s head; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be of a character above all evil dispositions. This, O king, is the first quality of the sunshade he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, just as the sunshade is held over the head by a handle; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, have thoughtfulness as his handle. This, O king, is the second quality of the sunshade he ought to have.

‘And again, O king, as the sunshade wards off winds and heat and storms of rain; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, ward off the empty winds of the opinions of the numerous Samanas and Brahmans who hold forth their various and divergent nostrums, ward off the heat of the threefold fire (of lust, malice, and dullness), and ward off the rains of evil dispositions. This, O king, is the third quality of the sunshade he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by Sāriputta, the Elder, the Commander of the Faith:

“As a broad sunshade spreading far and firm,
Without a hole from rim to rim, wards off
The burning heat, and the god’s mighty rain;
So doth the Buddha’s son, all pure within,
Bearing the sunshade brave of righteousness,
Ward off the rain of evil tendencies,
And the dread heat of all the threefold fire.”’

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.