The Questions of King Milinda: Bilingual Edition (Pali / English), Paperback

The "Questions of King Milinda" or Milindapanha is an amazing and unique ancient Buddhist text. It records the encounter between a Greek king and a Buddhist monk around 200 BC and reads like a modern dialogue between East and West. The Greek schooled king, whose world view echos some of the views and reasoning which built our Western civilization approaches the Buddhist philosophy like a typical "Westerner." To see the intriguing relevant replies by the Buddhist monk feels like a mirror of our own times. This book contains a "word by word" (interverbal or paraphrased) translation of the Milindapanha as well as the original Pali text. This bilingual way of presentation follows an ancient tradition in Buddhist countries. It is a perfect way to learn Pali and to get a deeper understanding of core Buddhist terminology. The "Questions of King Milinda" - with its Western approach by king Menandros and the precise and sharp response by Ven. Nagasena - make this a perfect match to study the teachings of early Buddhist thought with an easy and enjoyable read.