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IV, 6, 13.
53
sentries, body guards, and courtiers '-yea, in the presence of the king himself-the virtues which his son really possesses, thinking: "If established here he will be honoured of the people in times to come;" so was it out of mercy and kindness that the Tathâgata, thinking: "Thus will the Order, in times to come, when I am gone, be highly thought of;" magnified the excellence which the Order really had, in that he said: "Give it, O Gotami, to the Order. If you present the Order with it, thus will you have paid homage alike to the Order and to me."
12. [241] And by the mere gift of a wrapper for the rainy season, the Order, O king, did not become greater than, or superior to, the Tathagata. Just, O king, as when parents anoint their children with perfumes, rub them, bathe them, or shampoo them 2, does the son by that mere service of theirs become greater than, or superior to, his parents?'
'Certainly not, sir! Parents deal with their children as they will, whether the children like it or not. And therefore do they anoint them with perfumes, shampoo, or bathe them.'
'And just so, O king, the Order did not become greater than, or superior to, the Tathagata merely by the fact of that gift; and although the Tathagata, whether the Order liked it or not, told his aunt to give the wrapper to the Order.
OF MILINDA THE KING.
13. 'Or suppose, O king, some man should bring a complimentary present to a king, and the king should present that gift to some one else to a soldier or a
1 On this list see above, p. 234 of the Pâli text (IV, 5, 36). 2 On these words compare Anguttara Nikâya II, 4, 2. Akâmakaranîyâ. Compare Vimâna Vatthu X, 6 and Dîgha Nikâya II, 46.
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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 |