SUTRA NA TIEN KHEO.

VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.

Introduction

The Sutta of the Bhikkhu Sutta is a complete set of texts reflecting the main features of the Theravada. But if that's the case, then this sutta is just an insignificant proclamation, not worthy of having a Buddhist Tripitaka position.

The characteristics of this sutta certainly are not in the same place. Its characteristic is in the very paradoxical and ineffable examples that Na Na cleverly used to shed light on the basic doctrinal themes of Theravada Buddhism. These very flexible examples are entirely devised by him to contribute to the Dharma and to accelerate the Dharma wheel.

This period appears in any period? Based on the biography of King Di Lan Da, whom Na Tien had conversed with and directly instructed, Na Tien lived in the second half of the 2nd century BC. The doctrinal dialogue between the Teacher (Na Tien) and the student (Di Lan Da), if looking into the content, found it really interesting and attractive. Therefore, the content of this dialogue at that time was chanted, worshiped by Buddhists almost on par with the sutras spoken by the Buddha. It should also be known that, especially in Burmese Buddhism, this sutta was collected in the Little Sutta, the fifth of the Five Sūtras of the Theravada Sūtra. So the date of this occurrence, as early as the first century BC. And the place where it first appeared must have been in the Northwestern part of India, on the Five Rivers basin, where that conversation occurred.

Because the content of this sutta is a very powerful Buddhist propaganda, soon, it spread quickly to the Ganges basin and from there spread throughout India, to Sri Lanka. Therefore, even though the content is inherently one, the technique of practicing meditation is different from each locality. The scriptures collected in the Ganges basin later on the Citadel of Milindapanhà (Di Lan Ðà Ðà kinh kinh), were spread to Sri Lanka and Southern Buddhists countries. The records in Northwest India were spread to Central Asia and then to China and Tibet, dubbed Na Tien Bhikkhu.

Particularly, Na Tien Bhikkhu Kinh transmitted through China also had three different translations. All three versions lost their translators' names, so it is unclear which era it was translated into. Only see the Tripitaka recorded as "Fathers East Tan". Literature is very old and somewhat obscure. Based on that, we can speculate that these translations might have been made around the time of the Three Kingdoms or the Western Jin Dynasty, that is, when Buddhism first came to China.

At present, there are only two editions of the Tripitaka, recorded 1670 A and 1670 B. The 1670 A version was published according to the Song and Yuan dynasties that were revised. Version 1067 B is based on the Ming dynasty edition but also has a comparison with the Song and the Nguyen dynasties. Despite the revision, both versions are still obscure.

Considering the first part, that is, the predestined relationship of the Milindapanhà Sutta and that of Na Tien Bhikkhu, the two sides are not the same so the righteous friends let it pass, waiting for later consultation. Instead, he wrote a "Preamble" that records biographies of King Di Lan Da and Mr. Na Tien, the same historical background at that time. The content of the dialogue is kept completely and tries to interpret how loyal to the sutta. In the case of encountering words that have now changed the meaning, the friends have optionally refrained from making a few changes, so that readers can easily grasp the main idea.

 

Preface

Millinda is the name of a Greek king [1], ruled from 163 to 150 BC, on a vast territory, east-west stretching from the west of the Ganges basin to the eastern part of Ba. From the present day, the north-south direction runs from the mouth of the Indian River up to the foot of the Himalayas, or beyond, in present-day Afghanistan. The capital is located in Sàkalà (also spelled Ságala), on the upper reaches of the Five Rivers. The king was a talented martial arts master, crystallized by two bloodlines, the Hy father, the Central Asian mother, born in the Kabal region. He was originally a general of Démétrios, the king of the Great Kingdom (Bactriane), whom he thought was the princess Agathocleia. On the way to conquer India, Démétrios and Millinda once dragged their troops to besiege the city of Patalipatra. It is believed that this capital in the capital of Dai Ha will be led by Eucratidès. King Démétrios sent Milinda to stay in Ngu Ha region, and I directed Dai Dai to suppress the rebellion, but when I was near the capital, Eucratidè ambush killed him. At that time, it was 167 BC, from which the Dai kingdom was divided into two parts: the western kingdom ruled by Eucratidès, and the eastern kingdom ruled by Apollodots I (younger brother Démétrios). By 163 BC, Apollodotes I was attacked and killed by Eucratidè, Milinda succeeded and moved the capital from Taxila to Sàkala. During 13 years of rule, he expanded the borders of the country every day. The Dharma dialogue between the king and the Venerable Naas (Nagasena) occurred in the capital Sàkala between 163 and 150 BC. At that time, it was 167 BC, from which the Dai kingdom was divided into two parts: the western kingdom ruled by Eucratidès, and the eastern kingdom ruled by Apollodots I (younger brother Démétrios). By 163 BC, Apollodotes I was attacked and killed by Eucratidè, Milinda succeeded and moved the capital from Taxila to Sàkala. During 13 years of rule, he expanded the borders of the country every day. The Dharma dialogue between the king and the Venerable Naas (Nagasena) occurred in the capital Sàkala between 163 and 150 BC. At that time, it was 167 BC, from which the Dai kingdom was divided into two parts: the western kingdom ruled by Eucratidès, and the eastern kingdom ruled by Apollodots I (younger brother Démétrios). By 163 BC, Apollodotes I was attacked and killed by Eucratidè, Milinda succeeded and moved the capital from Taxila to Sàkala. During 13 years of rule, he expanded the borders of the country every day. The Dharma dialogue between the king and the Venerable Naas (Nagasena) occurred in the capital Sàkala between 163 and 150 BC. Milinda succeeded and moved the capital from Taxila to Sàkala. During 13 years of rule, he expanded the borders of the country every day. The Dharma dialogue between the king and the Venerable Naas (Nagasena) occurred in the capital Sàkala between 163 and 150 BC. Milinda succeeded and moved the capital from Taxila to Sàkala. During 13 years of rule, he expanded the borders of the country every day. The Dharma talk between the king and the Venerable Naas (Nagasena) took place in the capital Sàkala between 163 and 150 BC.

Regarding the name Milinda, there are many different ways of writing: on the gold coins cast by this dynasty, it is recorded as Menendra, on the secret is Minapra, in the Tàranàtha it is Minara, the French text is Ménandre, The translated Chinese version is Di Lan Đà.

Panhà means "ask", Milindapanhà means "Di Lan Ðà asked". If translated into Chinese characters, they should probably be translated as "Di Lan Da consultations".

In this text, Han Chinese has all three translations translated by Chinese translations in the third, fourth and fifth centuries. The current version is the second one, translated from 317 to 420, The title is "Na Tien Bhikkhu Kinh". The original version of this book was set by Huu and written in Pràkrit writing.

Comparing the two versions of "Na Tien Bhikkhu" and "Milindapanhà" it was found that the first version was similar to the first part of the second version. Of the 7 volumes of this edition (Milindapanhà), only part of volume I, complete volume II, and volume III, is no different from the Na Tien Bhikkhu Sutta. The remaining four volumes, from volume IV to volume VII, are added gradually by Sri Lankan Buddhism from the fifth century, in accordance with the doctrinal stance of the Venerable Sri Lankan (Theravada) [2].

Apart from the extra parts, the original content was divided into two parts: the introduction and the main dialogue. The prologue includes a passage describing the city of Sákala (Xa Kiet) where King Di Lan Da was based, the legend of King Di Lan Da and his uneasy discontent on the path of enlightenment. The outline of Na Tien bhikkhus, and finally the opposite between the two.

The dialogue deals with most of the subjects that have been taught by the Theravada Dharma, such as egolessness, samsara, rebirth of the state of Arhat's status, the nature of Nirvana, the emergence of Buddha, the supreme character of the Buddha etc. In this dialogue, the most appealing question for the king is the benefit of the monastic life that has not been satisfied by anyone before. Na Tien's answer is: the renunciate certainly attains holiness, and attains more quickly the householder.

Although the content of the dialogue is nothing new to the Theravada doctrine, the presentation is very sharp, powerful, bright, sophisticated and most vivid, always accompanied by very murderous examples. , makes the reader feel his soul eloquently excited. The unique feature is precisely there.

And it is because of this unique feature that Milindapanhà is worshiped by the Sri Lankan Buddhist Church almost on par with the Pentateuch scripture; In Burmese Buddhism, Milindapanhà is classified as a holy dictionary. In the fifth century, the number one thesis of Nam Tong, Buddhaghosa, often cited this sutta as a justification for his writings, and on the Indian continent, a master treatise. the other is His Body (Vasubandhu) also mentioned the Milindaphanhà Sutta while compiling his famous commentary is the Bhikkhu attained the Abhidharmakosa Abhidharmakosa.

As above, we have seen how the value and prestige of Milindapanhà with the Buddhists is like, and the status of Milindapanhà in the lofty, sacred Buddhist scriptures.

According to the Pali text of Sri Lanka, the author is Venerable Pitakaculàbhaya, a Chinese Indian. According to the Chinese translation currently circulating in the Northern Method of Buddhism, the author is the Bodhisattva Long-life, the number one commentator of the Mahayana Buddhism commonly known as the Second Shakyamuni.

Perhaps both theories are right. And rather, the author has not only two, but many others. The proof is that the North has 3 Chinese translations based on 3 different originals.

According to true data, King Di Lan Da reigned from 163 to 150 BC. Then, the king only asked his mouth, and when Na Tien answered, he only answered his mouth. Interesting piety dialogue, of course, is propagated everywhere in the Buddhist world as well as outside the world. Later, in the first century AD, afraid of having a long-term oral transmission, from mouth to mouth, there was a difference, so it was only then that the Sangha began to assemble the book. The phenomenon is similar to the gathering of "Buddha's teachings" into the A Hamlet Dictionary or the Sutta Pitaka. Because many people have written in different languages, so the content is still the same, but the layout and style of writing are disagreeable.

Another thing to note is that in the prologue there is a hint that Buddhism was at the time of a catastrophe (Mi Tien, p. 29). So what is the disaster? We should know that when Di Lan Da ascended the throne (163), the Austhen's reign collapsed in 187, 24 years earlier. At that time, in the Ganges basin, the next dynasty belonged to the Sanga family of martial artist Pusyamitra, a pre-eminent authority of the king. This dynasty had a strong dislike for Buddhism and focused all its efforts on reviving Brahmanism. King Di Lan Da of Greek descent, who became king in Northwest India and took refuge in Buddhism, besides beliefs, there must be political reasons for the purpose of capturing the human heart, most of them are Buddhists against Pusyamitra. The catastrophe of Buddhism at that time was the catastrophe caused by Pusyamitra. Therefore, the appearance of Na Tien and the moral dialogue with King Di Lan Da is even more easily transmitted and remembered by the people, so whoever records that strength. This is the second reason why there are many different texts of Na Tien.

Finally, from the standpoint of the teachings, reciting the Sutta, we see clearly that his thought, though utterly faithful to the original teachings, has many aspects that delineate the subtle and subtle points of thought. Mahayana ideas. Perhaps because of this feature, Nagarjuna (appeared more than 2 centuries later) also pre-composed the Na Tien scripture to open the door for the teaching of the consensus. In this regard, it is clear that the Na Tien thought is a transition between Hinayana and Mahayana. Thus the status of Kinh Na Tien is also proved in this feature as well.

Regarding the biography of Venerable Na Tien, the documents currently circulating are very vague, sometimes even conflicting.

Part I of the Na Tien Bhikkhu (equivalent to the Milindapanhà Sutta) gives us some light. But the details of the biography are so sketchy and vague that Buddhist historians wistfully wonder whether the character of Na Tien is truly a historical one?

Someone once asserted that his life with King Di Lan Da (Milinda) did not see any record of an enlightened monk named Na Tien (Nagasena) at all. They speculate that perhaps the Bodhisattva Nagarjuna (Nagarjuna), the rising monk appeared after more than two centuries, because he wanted to compose a Qatari texts in question and answer so that he could spread the Buddha's teachings so that he could have King Di Lan Da. Hy-rooted in Buddhism and governing northwestern India, covering both Persia and Afghanistan in the second century BC, the Bodhisattva invented the name Nagasna, but the pronunciation was similar to the name. Nagarjana to send your own ideas. This theory was written by Doan Trung Also recorded in the title song of Na Tien Pi Kheo Kinh translated by him.

According to the historical Buddhist document, saved by the proper historians, the Bodhisattva Long Tho, appeared in the early or middle of the 2nd century AD, and the Milindapanhà Sutta in Pali was once circulated in the first century. of the Western calendar. Thus, the above hypothesis is hard to stand. Phuong chi, the Nam Tong tradition according to the Pali literature has little sympathy with the Long Tho thought, and what originated from Long Tho has been left out by that tradition, never mentioned. So if Na Tien Bhikkhu is truly a composition of Long Tho, then fear that Nam Tong would not gather, as they would not have accepted the famous works in the school of the Bodhisattva " This song "is Trung Quan, Thap Nhi Mon Quan etc.

Therefore, it is only possible to accept the hypothesis presented at the beginning of this Preface, with a real Na Na.

His biography, based on the first part of Na Tien Bhikkhu, or Volume I of Milindapanhà, is roughly the following:

He was born in the village of Casangala (Kajangala), at the foot of the Greek mountain, in northwestern India, in a Brahmin family whose father was named Sonattara. According to the Chinese translation, this village belongs to Ke Tan (Kashmir). He was ordained as a monk with the Luo Han dynasty (Rohana), who was accompanied by his guru to study and travel at temples on the Greek Mount. Next he was sent to a religious life with Arhat An Nhut (Assagutta) at Ho Tan Temple (Vattaniya). During the time of his teachings with Arhat A Nhut, a time to speak to a female senior believer heard, his father and the old lady suddenly fell into the legal effect "pure eyes", and both attained the preliminary results "Projections" save "but sublime enter the holy. After that, he was La Han An Ba Nhat Nhut to travel, to receive teachings with La Han Dat Ma Ra When We (Dhammarakhita) at Asoka Temple (Asokàrama) in Hoa Thi (Pataliputra). He understood the Tripitaka and attained Arhat here. Since then, the famous reputation, he went here to teach. Finally, he stopped at San Khe Da Pagoda (Sankkheyà) in the capital Xa Kiet (Sagala) in the upper part of Ngu Ha (Punjab). Here, he met King Di Lan Da, who had previously taken refuge with the elder Da Hoa La (Ayupàla), who had come to the church many times and was not very satisfied. The paradigm between Di Lan Da and him is the focal point of the Sutta Milindapanhà or Na Tien Bhikkhu Stilts which content will be presented again in the following dialogue. Earlier he took refuge with the elder Da Hoa La (Ayupàla), who the king had many times to ask for his religion and was not very satisfied. The paradigm between Di Lan Da and him is the focal point of the Sutta Milindapanhà or Na Tien Bhikkhu Stilts which content will be presented again in the following dialogue. Earlier he took refuge with the elder Da Hoa La (Ayupàla), who the king had many times to ask for his religion and was not very satisfied. The paradigm between Di Lan Da and him is the focal point of the Sutta Milindapanhà or Na Tien Bhikkhu Stilts which content will be presented again in the following dialogue.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.11/6/2020.