7.3.1. The Gourd

Mil 7.3.1

Wild violet irises at the edge of a marsh.

PTS vp En 294 PTS cs 1 ‘Venerable Nāgasena, that one quality of the gourd which you say he ought to take, which is it?’

‘Just, O king, as the gourd, climbing up with its tendrils on to some other plant—whether a grass, or a thorn, or a creeper—grows all over it; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, who desires to grow up into Arahatship, do so by climbing up with his mind over the ideas that present themselves (as subjects for the Kammaṭṭhāna meditations). This, O king, is the one quality of the gourd which he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by Sāriputta, the Elder, the Commander of the Faith:

“As the gourd, clambering up with its tendrils, grows
O’er the grass, or the thorn-bush, or creeper widespread,
So the son of the Buddha on Ar’hatship bent,
Climbs up o’er ideas, to perfection and peace.”’

Connections

Collection & context

MilindapañhaThe collection containing this text
The Pāli canonCanonical collection in which this edition is preserved
Theravāda traditionsTransmission and study context
The early Buddhist communityHistorical and traditional setting

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.

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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.