Analysis of the Middle and Extremes (Taishō Volume 31, Number 1600) . The Scripture on the Monk Nāgasena: a Chinese counterpart to the Milindapañha (Taishō Volume 32, number 1670B)

Analysis of the Middle and Extremes is the first English translation of the Chinese translation of the Madhyāntavibhāga-bhāṣya from Sanskrit by Xuanzang (602–664). The Madhyāntavibhāga-bhāṣya is an explanation of Mahayana Buddhist thought, intended to explicate the full path to buddhahood via gradual advancement through the bodhisattva stages. The text can be regarded as a kind of detailed manual explaining the career of a successful Buddhist practitioner—specifically a bodhisattva—from the very beginning until their achievement of the ultimate goal, buddhahood itself. The work is comprised of primary verses (kārikā) together with interspersed commentary (bhāṣya). This text subsequently became an important component within the Yogācāra corpus. The Scripture on the Monk Nāgasena is one of two extant Chinese counterparts to the Pāli Milindapa ha, the “Questions of Milinda,” a debate on central themes of Buddhist doctrine between a king called Milinda, apparently corresponding to the Bactrian Greek King Menander (second century B.C.E.), and the Buddhist monk Nāgasena. While the actual circumstances of the translation into Chinese of this text are unknown, and the identity of the translator(s) and the time of the translation work remain uncertain, it was likely done sometime in the second or third century C.E. The actual encounter between Nāgasena and Milinda stands in the tradition of ancient Indian debate, where the point is not primarily to refute an argument with sound proofs but to successfully counter a challenge in order to win the debate and convert the opponent. The discussion reported in the Milindapada and its Chinese parallels gradually evolves from its starting point as a debate to becoming more of an exchange between teacher and pupil, and the debates are enlivened by the rich use of metaphors and similes.