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THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES
Two matters there are that the earnest recluse Should ever to others be making clearHow fearful, how terrible, purgatory is; How great and how deep is Nirvana's bliss 1."'
VII, 5, 17.
47. THE BAT.
17. 'Venerable Nâgasena, those two qualities of the bat you say he ought to take, which are they?'
'Just, O king, as the bat, though it enters into men's dwelling-places, and flies about in them, soon goes out from them, delays not therein; just so, king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, when he has entered the village for alms, and gone on his rounds in regular order, depart quickly with the alms he has received, and delay not therein. This, O king, is the first quality of the bat he ought to have.
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18. And again, O king, as the bat, while frequenting other folk's houses, does them no harm; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, when visiting the houses of the laity, never give them cause for vexation by persistent requests, or by pointing out what he wants, or by wrong demeanour, or by chattering, or by being indifferent to their prosperity or adversity; he should never take them away from their chief business occupations, but desire their success in all things. This, O king, is the second quality of the bat he ought to have. For it was said, O king, [405] by the Blessed One, the god over all gods, in the Lakkhana Suttanta:
"Oh! How may others never suffer loss Or diminution, whether in their faith,
1 Not traced as yet.
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| SR No. | 007682 |
| Book Title | Questions of King Milinda Part 02 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | T W Rhys Davids |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1894 |
| Total Pages | 2240 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 38 MB |