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VII, 3, 3.
OF MILINDA THE KING,
307
Book VII. Chapter 3. THE SIMILES (continued).
21. THE EARTH. 1. [382] Venerable Nâgasena, those five qualities of the earth which you say he ought to take, which are they?'
Just, О king, as the earth remains just the same whether one scatter upon it desirable things or the reverse—whether camphor and aloes and jasmine and sandal-wood and saffron, or whether bile and phlegm and pus and blood and sweat and fat and saliva and mucus and the fluid which lubricates the joints and urine and faeces—still it is the same; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, remain the same, unmoved at support or neglect, at fame or dishonour, at blame or praise, in happiness or in woe. This, O king, is the first of the qualities of the earth he ought to have.
2. 'And again, O king, as the earth has no adornment, no garlands, but is suffused with the odour of itself; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, wear no finery, but rather be set round with the sweet savour of his own righteousness of life. This, o king, is the second quality of the earth he ought to have.
3. 'And again, O king, as the earth is solid, without holes or interstices, thick, dense, and spreads itself out on every side ; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be endowed with an unbroken righteousness of life with no gaps
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