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3.5.2. The Buddha is pre-eminent

Mil 3.5.2

A small rain pool reflecting pale clouds on an open grassy plain.

PTS cs 2 The king said: ‘Is the Buddha, Nāgasena, pre-eminent?’

‘Yes, he is incomparable.’

‘But how do you know of one you have never seen that he is pre-eminent.’

‘Now what do you think, O king? They who have never seen the ocean would they know concerning PTS vp En 110 it: “Deep, unmeasurable, unfathomable is the mighty ocean. Into it do the five great rivers flow—the Ganges, the Jumna, the Aciravatī, the Sarabhū, and the Mahī—and yet is there in it no appearance of being more empty or more full!”?’

‘Yes, they would know that.’

‘Just so, great king, when I think of the mighty disciples who have passed away then do I know that the Buddha is incomparable.’ PTS vp Pali 71

‘Very good, Nāgasena!’

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About this edition

Translation by T.W. Rhys Davids · SuttaCentral · Public domain

The source expressly identifies this translation as public domain.

The Questions of King Milinda, translated from the Pali by T.W. Rhys Davids.

Part 1 (to section 5.4.10) was originally published as Volume xxxv of “The Sacred Books of the East”, Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1890.

Part 2 (from section 5.5.1) was originally published as Volume xxxvi of “The Sacred Books of the East”, Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1894.

This SuttaCentral edition was prepared by Bhikkhu Sujato based on the digital text of the Internet Sacred Text Archive. The work of the Sacred Text Archive to make this text publically available is gratefully acknowledged.

In preparing this edition minor editorial changes have been made. The structure has been adapted to agree with the Mahāsaṅgīti Pali text as found on SuttaCentral. In addition, the corrections proposed by the translator in the “Addenda et Corrigenda” of the original editions have for the most part been adopted.

This text is in the public domain. You are free to do whatever you wish with it.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato.

Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.