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IV, 6, 31.
OF MILINDA THE KING.
only those laymen who had already entered the first stage of the Excellent Way should be received into the Order, thus would the advantages they seek in it have been already gained elsewhere. Of what use would the renunciation be to them?
30. 'But notwithstanding that, О king, they who return to the lower state manifest thereby five immeasurably good qualities in the religion of the Conquerors. And what are the five? They show how glorious is the state (which those have reached who have entered the Order), how purified it is from every stain, how impossible it is for the sinful to dwell within it together (with the good), how difficult it is to realise (its glory), how many are the restraints to be observed within it.
31. 'And how do they show the mighty glory of that state ? Just, О king, as if a man, poor, and of low birth, without distinction ?, deficient in wisdom, were to come into possession of a great and mighty kingdom, it would not be long before he would be overthrown, utterly destroyed ?, and deprived of his glory. For he would be unable to support his dignity. [250] And why so ? Because of the greatness thereof. Just so is it, О king, that whosoever are without distinction, have acquired no merit, and are devoid of wisdom, when they renounce the world according to the religion of the Conquerors, then, unable to bear that most excellent renunciation, overthrown, fallen, and deprived of their glory, they return to the lower state. For they are unable to
1 Nibbisesa, not in Childers; but see, for instance, Gåtaka II, 32.
: Paridhamsati. Compare below, IV, 7, 8 (p. 365 of the Pâli).
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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 |