Relief of the Greco-Indian king, possibly Menander, with the Buddhist symbol of the three treasures (triratana) on a sword, Bharhut, 2nd century BC.
However, this dream was extinguished in 301 BC when the empire was divided among three dynasties: Antigonid (Macedonia), Ptolemaic (Egypt), and Seleucid (Asia). In the northeast of the Seleucid kingdom, at the farthest border of Alexander’s divided empire, there was the province of Bactria (now a border area between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan), which became a powerful province during the 3rd century BC due to its favorable position. Its satrap, Diodotus I, declared independence in 255 BC and established the Greco-Bactrian kingdom.
When the renowned Demetrius I came to power around 200 BC, he expanded the borders towards India – where the power of the Indian Maurya dynasty was in unstoppable decline after the death of King Ashoka – and established the Greco-Indian kingdom. His most famous ruler was Menander I. Soter, in the Indian and known as Milinda.
The very name of the Graeco-Indian kingdom speaks of the intertwined Greek and Indian traditions; the Greek influence is mainly reflected in early Buddhist art, which for the first time depicts the Buddha in human form, while the Indian influence is seen through the spread of Buddhism. According to ancient Buddhist records, it seems that the Buddha’s teachings found fertile ground among the Greeks, which is also evidenced by a couple of Ashoka’s inscriptions on stone pillars found in Kandahar (present-day Afghanistan). The Kandahar pillar is inscribed in Greek and Aramaic, the official language of the Achaemenid dynasty, and it speaks of the adoption of “piety” (using the Greek term eusebeia for dharma) among the Greeks:
“Ten years have passed since King Piodasses (Ashoka) proclaimed piety to the people; and from that moment on, he made the people even more pious, and it is progressing all over the world.”
Although Milinda’s time (he ruled from 165 or 155 to 130 BCE) falls about a hundred years after the reign of The wise Ashoka once said, when Buddhism in India began to decline after a period of prosperous growth, the influence of Buddhism was strongly present in the Greco-Indian kingdom. The teachings of Buddha, introduced to King Menander, who was raised in the Greek cultural tradition, caused him a multitude of doubts. They seemed unusual and often incomprehensible to him, but at the same time presented a true intellectual challenge. Legends say that King Menander was highly educated, intelligent, eloquent, experienced, and skilled in debates. Buddhist sources state that the king constantly bombarded Buddhist monks with various questions and arguments, but was never satisfied with the answers given. The monks finally resolved this problem by inviting the learned Nagasena to answer King Menander’s questions.
A meeting was arranged between King Menander, his entourage of five hundred Greeks, and Nagasena accompanied by eighty thousand monks. Thus, a dialogue between the king and the Buddhist sage began.
Throughout the course of the dialogue, it becomes evident the personalities of both. Although Milinda is very interested in Buddhism, he is very suspicious and seeks rational explanations and solid evidence for everything. Nagasena is an experienced and wise monk, well-educated, and also calm and dignified, but also clever. He is a very skilled speaker who quickly and easily provides answers with appropriate words. After a long debate, King Milinda fully accepts the teachings of the Buddha.
At the transition from the old to the new era, the work of Questions of King Milinda or Milindapanha was created, which means that it is not a literal record, but a literary work, and some authorities consider it the best book of its kind. Milindapanha is the most studied Theravada text alongside Tipitaka.
Here are a few excerpts from the Questions of King Milinda.
Conversation between the wise and the king
The king said:
– Most Venerable Sir, will you have a conversation with me?
– If Your Majesty wishes to have a conversation like an educated person (pandit), I will talk to you, but if you wish to have a conversation like a king, “I will not talk to you.”
– “And how do learned people have conversations?”
– “When learned people discuss, Your Majesty, they express their opinions and explain them. And when it becomes clear that one or the other is wrong, they admit their mistake. Then they acknowledge the differences in their positions and there is no anger. That is how wise people have conversations, Your Majesty.”
– “And how do kings have conversations, venerable Nagasena?”
– “When a king, Your Majesty, discusses a certain topic and presents a particular viewpoint, those who disagree with him can be punished. That is how kings have conversations, Your Majesty.”
– “I understand. I will talk to you in the language of the learned, venerable, and not in the language of kings. Let the venerable not hold back – just as he talks to monks, wealthy people, laypeople, and monastery servants, let him talk to me without holding back and without fear.”
– “Very well, Your Majesty!” said Nagasena gratefully.
The king said:
– “Nagasena, I will ask you.”
– “Ask, Your Majesty.”
– “I asked Oh, Your Majesty.
– I have answered you, Your Majesty.
– What did you answer, Reverend?
– What did you ask, Your Majesty?
Question about virtues
The king said:
– Reverend Nagasena, what did you mean when you said earlier: “… and because of all the abilities (indriya)?” What abilities are those?
– Your Majesty, those are: virtue (power), faith (saddha), perseverance (viriya), mindfulness (sati), and concentration (samadhi).
– What is characteristic of virtue, Reverend?
– Virtue is the foundation of all abilities, Your Majesty. It is the foundation of the seven requisites of arhatship: self-control, investigation of Dhamma, perseverance, joy, tranquility, meditation, and equanimity; it is the foundation of the Path, the four kinds of right effort, the four extraordinary powers, the four stages of ecstasy, the eight forms of spiritual emancipation, the four methods of self-concentration, and the eight states of contemplation. For each of them and for all of them together, virtue is the foundation. To the one who builds on that foundation, O king, those goods will not diminish.
– Explain it to me with an example.
– Just as all plants and animals living on Earth have the ground as their foundation and support and grow, develop, and mature on it, so too does the devoted person have virtue as a foundation and support and with the help of virtues develops five capacities: faith, perseverance, vigilance, concentration, and wisdom.
– Tell me another example.
– Just as an acrobat who wants to demonstrate his skill first takes care to dig up the ground, remove all rocks and ceramic pieces, smooth it out, and only then on a soft surface shows his skill, so too does the devoted person first develop the virtues that are his foundation and support, and with the help of virtue then develops five capacities: faith, perseverance, vigilance, concentration, and wisdom. Because the Blessed One also said: one who has left behind worldly life develops within himself five moral powers, through virtue and on the basis of virtue….
A wise person, who has virtue as a foundation,
Can develop concentration and wisdom;
only a monk who has smart and persistent,
he can untie that knot.
It is a foundation, like the ground is a foundation for living beings,
it is a source of growth and useful development,
it is the beginning of learning taught by the Victorious,
virtues are truly the greatest source of happiness.
– Well said, venerable Nagasena!
Milinda ruled from Sagala, in today’s Punjab, and his kingdom encompassed the regions of Gandhara (today northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan), Punjab, Arachosia (central Pakistan, central-eastern Afghanistan), and a small part of northwestern India.
Faith (saddha) calms and inspires
The king asked:
– Venerable Nagasena, what is characteristic of faith?
– Your Majesty, faith is characteristic of calming and inspiring a person.
– How does faith calm a person, venerable?
– When there is faith, Your Majesty, all mental disturbances disappear, and thoughts, when undisturbed, become clear, pure, and calm. In this way, Your Majesty, faith calms a person. When there is faith in the heart, Your Majesty, it overcomes the five obstacles. hearts – desire, malice, mental laziness, spiritual pride and doubt – and the heart, freed from these hindrances, becomes pure, tranquil and undisturbed.
– And how does faith encourage a person, Reverend?
– When he sees in others that their thoughts are free, it encourages him to strive for the achievements of a holy life. He meditates persistently in order to reach what he has not yet reached, to understand what he has not yet understood, and to experience what he has not yet experienced. And that is precisely why, Your Majesty, faith has the characteristic of encouraging a person.
– Explain it to me with an example.
– Your Majesty, imagine a storm over the mountain peaks and how heavy rain is falling. The water that falls on the peaks and flows down the slopes first fills all the pits, cracks and ditches on the slopes, then it pours into the riverbed and fills it to the extent that it overflows the banks. Many people come to the bank who would like to cross the river, but not knowing the width and depth of the water due to the flood, they wait in fear and indecision. When a man who knows the river well comes to the bank, he confidently and decisively jumps With all his strength, he firmly fastens his belt and crosses to the other side. When people see that he has safely reached the other shore, they will also try to do the same. In the same way, Your Majesty, the one who has left behind worldly life, strives through faith to reach higher things.
For the Blessed One said in the Samyutta Nikaya:
“Whoever has faith, crosses the river,
with mindfulness crosses the ocean,
with perseverance overcomes pain,
with wisdom is freed from mistakes.”
– Well said, venerable Nagasena!
Perseverance preserves abilities
The king asked:
– What is inherent to perseverance, venerable one?
– It is important for perseverance to preserve and strengthen abilities, Your Majesty. None of the abilities that we diligently develop disappear or get lost.
– Explain it to me with an example.
– Just as a person supports a house with wooden beams to prevent it from collapsing, perseverance preserves and strengthens abilities so that they don’t decay or disappear. Therefore, none of the abilities that we diligently develop vanish or get lost.
– Wise words, venerable Nagasena!
Nothing escapes mindfulness
The king asked:
– Venerable Nagasena, what is characteristic of mindfulness?
– When there is mindfulness, Your Majesty, nothing escapes the one who is dedicated, it accurately discerns useful from useless mental states, correct from incorrect, low from noble, dark from bright, and complete from incomplete. … In this way, Your Majesty, nothing escapes mindfulness.
– Wise words, venerable Nagasena!
Collectedness is the most important
The king said:
– And what is characteristic of collectedness, venerable Nagasena?
– Collectedness is the most important ability, Your Majesty. It guides and directs all other abilities. All abilities strive for collectedness, they are directed towards collectedness, they aspire to collectedness.
– Explain it to me with an example.
– Just as all roof beams rise towards the top of the roof, lean towards it, and join at the highest point, which is the ridge, so do all abilities, Your Majesty, strive for collectedness.
A dedicated person can clearly discern. At that moment, the one who is dedicated understands the impermanence, suffering, and impersonality of the phenomenal world correctly.
– Explain it to me with an example.
– Imagine a man entering a dark house with a lamp in his hand. When he places the lamp in the middle of the house, all darkness disappears, and the light illuminates all objects in the house, which the man can clearly discern. This is exactly what happens, Your Majesty, when wisdom appears and removes all the darkness of ignorance – the light of clear understanding appears, the light of wisdom illuminates noble truths, and the dedicated person can clearly discern. And then, the dedicated person correctly understands the impermanence, suffering, and impersonality of the phenomenal world. Therefore, Your Majesty, it is characteristic of wisdom to illuminate.
– Well said, Venerable Nagasena!
Common goal
The king asked:
– Venerable Nagasena, these abilities are very different. Do they have any common goal?
– Yes, Your Majesty, these abilities Different abilities serve the same purpose, even though they are diverse – they all eliminate errors.
– Explain to me with an example.
– Just like a diverse army, composed of elephants, cavalry, chariots, and soldiers, achieves a common goal by defeating the enemy on the battlefield – and all these different abilities achieve a common goal by eliminating errors.
– Wisely said, Reverend Nagasena!