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314
THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES
VII, 3, 21.
25. THE ROCK.
21. 'Venerable Nâgasena, the five qualities of the rock that you say he ought to have, which are they?' [386] 'Just, O king, as rock is firm, unshaken, immoveable; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, never be excited by alluring things-forms, or sounds, or scents, or tastes, or touch-by veneration or contempt, by support or by neglect, by reverence or its absence, by honour or dishonour, by praise or blame, nor should he be offended by things that give offence, nor bewildered on occasions of bewilderment, neither should he quake nor tremble, but like a rock should he be firm. This, O king, is the first quality of the rock he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by the Blessed One, the god over all gods :
"The solid rock's not shaken by the wind, Just so the wise man falters not, nor shakes, At praise or blame "."
22. 'And again, O king, as a rock is firm, unmixed with extraneous things; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be firm and independent, given to association with none. This, O king, is the second quality of the rock he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by the Blessed One, the god over all gods : "The man who mixes not with householders,
Nor with the homeless, but who wanders lone, Without a home, and touched by few desires,— That is the man I call a Brahmana"."
1 Dhammapada 81. The first line recurs at Mahâvagga V, 1, 27. From the Sutta Nipâta III, 9, 35. It is also included in the Dhammapada collection of Scripture verses (No. 404).
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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 |