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7.5.1. The White Ant

Mil 7.5.1

Dew-covered meadow grasses beneath the first pale light of morning.

PTS vp En 326 PTS cs 1 ‘Venerable Nāgasena, that quality of the white ant which you say he ought to have, which is it?’

‘Just, O king, as the white ant goes on with his work only when he has made a roof over himself, and covered himself up; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, on his round for alms, cover up his mind with righteousness and self-restraint as a roof. For in so doing, O king, will he have passed beyond all fear. This, O king, is the one quality of the white ant he ought to have. PTS vp Pali 393 For it was said, O king, by Upasena Vaṅgantaputta, the Elder:

“The devotee who covers up his mind,
Under the sheltering roof of righteousness
And self-control, untarnished by the world
Remains, and is set free from every fear.”’

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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.

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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.