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THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA.
11, 1, 13.
sovran who instructs him in good and evil, saying: “These things are bad for the king and these good, these helpful and these the reverse." And thus the king makes the evil in himself die out, and keeps up the good.'
*Well put, Nâgasena !!
13? The king said : What, Nagasena, is the characteristic mark of meditation 3?'
Being the leader, O king. All good qualities have meditation as their chief, they incline to it, lead up towards it, are as so many slopes up the side of the mountain of meditation.'
Give me an illustration.'
* As all the rafters of the roof of a house, O king, go up to the apex, slope towards it, are joined on together at it, and the apex is acknowledged to be the top of all; so is the habit of meditation in its relation to other good qualities.'
Give me a further illustration.'
It is like a king, your Majesty, when he goes down to battle with his army in its fourfold array. The whole army-elephants, cavalry, war chariots, and bowmen-would have him as their chief, their
i Parinayaka, the seventh treasure of the King of Glory. (Compare the Buddhist Suttas,' p. 259.) It will be seen that our author is in substantial agreement with the older tradition, and does not, like the Lalita Vistara, understand under this officer a general. • Omitted by Hardy.
Samadhi. Buddhaghosa, loc. cit. p. 65, gives also being the chief' as its mark, but he previously (p. 64) gives avikkhepa,
serenity,' as the mark of samma-samadhi, and also (p. 63) of samadhindriya, while being unshaken by spiritual pride' is his mark (p. 63) of Samadhi-bala.
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