The Four Difficult Questions.
A certain King put four questions to a Sangha-raja, or Superior of the Buddhist monks. The first one was, “How deep is the sea?” the second, “How many stars are there?” the third, “Which is the centre of the earth?” and fourthly, he must tell the King what he, the King, thought. The Sangha-raja was allowed a certain time in which to find answers to the questions.
One day a monk seeing him sad, asked him the reason, and was told that the King had put these questions to him, and had threatened to take his life if he could not answer them.
The monk told him not to have any fear, and said that he would go on the appointed day, and answer the King. When the day came round, the monk dressed himself in the Sangha-raja’s robes, and appeared before the King, saying that he was ready to answer the questions.
The King asked him, “How deep is the sea?” He replied, “At first it is knee-deep; as you go on it is waist-deep; further on it is up to the neck; and beyond that it is over the head.” The King was satisfied.
He next asked, “How many stars are there?” “Twenty lakshas (two millions),” said the monk. “If you do not believe it, count them.” With this answer, also, the King was satisfied.
He then inquired, “Where is the centre of the earth?” The monk took a staff which he had brought with him, and fixed it upright in the ground. “Here is the centre,” he said. “Measure each way from it, and you will find the distance the same.” The King was satisfied with this answer also.
“Lastly, you must tell me what I am thinking,” the King said. The monk replied, “You think I am the Sangha-raja, but I am only one of his monks.” So the four questions were all answered satisfactorily.
I heard the following version in Cairo:—