Milinda’s Question

Time Chapter

8. Question on the Reconnection of Name-and-form

The king asked:

“Venerable Nāgasena, you talked then of name-and-form. What in there is name, and what is form?”

“Whatever in there, your majesty, is gross, that is form. Whatever in there are subtle mental states that are mental factors in the mind, that is name.”

“Venerable Nāgasena, why doesn’t just name alone reconnect, nor form alone?”

“These things, your majesty, are mutually dependent and they only arise together.”

“Please give me an analogy.”

“Just as, your majesty, there could not be just a yolk nor just an egg-shell, since the yoke and the egg-shell are both mutually dependent and they only arise together.

In the same way, your majesty, if there were no name there would be no form, and what name there is and what form there is, these are both mutually dependent and they only arise together.

Thus, there is this long extent of transmigration time.”

“You are clever, Venerable Nāgasena!”

Question on the Reconnection of Name-and-form eighth