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Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
"Suppose that there is a foolish, inexperienced,
unskillful cook who has
presented a king or a king's minister with
various kinds of curry: mainly sour, mainly bitter, mainly
peppery, mainly sweet, alkaline or non-alkaline, salty or
non-salty. He does not take note of1
his master, thinking, 'Today my master likes this curry, or he
reaches out for that curry, or he takes a lot of this curry, or he
praises that curry. Today my master likes mainly sour curry...
Today my master likes mainly bitter curry... mainly peppery
curry... mainly sweet curry... alkaline curry... non-alkaline
curry... salty curry... Today my master likes non-salty curry, or
he reaches out for non-salty curry, or he takes a lot of non-salty
curry, or he praises non-salty curry.' As a result, he is not
rewarded with clothing or wages or gifts. Why is that? Because the
foolish, inexperienced, unskillful cook does not pick up on the
theme of his own master.
"In the same way, there are cases where a foolish,
inexperienced, unskillful monk remains focused on the body in
& of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside
greed & distress with reference to the world. As he remains
thus focused on the body in & of itself, his mind does not
become concentrated, his defilements2
are not abandoned. He does not take note of that fact.3
He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves... the mind
in & of itself... mental qualities in & of themselves —
ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed &
distress with reference to the world. As he remains thus focused
on mental qualities in & of themselves, his mind does not
become concentrated, his defilements are not abandoned. He does
not take note of that fact. As a result, he is not rewarded with a
pleasant abiding here & now, nor with mindfulness &
alertness. Why is that? Because the foolish, inexperienced,
unskillful monk does not take note of his own mind.4
"Now suppose that there is a wise, experienced, skillful
cook who has presented a king or a king's minister with various
kinds of curry: mainly sour, mainly bitter, mainly peppery, mainly
sweet, alkaline or non-alkaline, salty or non-salty. He takes note
of his master, thinking, 'Today my master likes this curry, or he
reaches out for that curry, or he takes a lot of this curry or he
praises that curry. Today my master likes mainly sour curry...
Today my master likes mainly bitter curry... mainly peppery
curry... mainly sweet curry... alkaline curry... non-alkaline
curry... salty curry... Today my master likes non-salty curry, or
he reaches out for non-salty curry, or he takes a lot of non-salty
curry, or he praises non-salty curry.' As a result, he is rewarded
with clothing, wages, & gifts. Why is that? Because the wise,
experienced, skillful cook picks up on the theme of his own
master.
"In the same way, there are cases where a wise,
experienced, skillful monk remains focused on the body in & of
itself... feelings in & of themselves... the mind in & of
itself... mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent,
alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with
reference to the world. As he remains thus focused on mental
qualities in & of themselves, his mind becomes concentrated,
his defilements are abandoned. He takes note of that fact. As a
result, he is rewarded with a pleasant abiding here & now,
together with mindfulness & alertness. Why is that? Because
the wise, experienced, skillful monk picks up on the theme of his
own mind."
-- Samyutta Nikaya XLVII.8
Notes
1. Lit.:
"pick up on the theme of."
2. Comy: the
five Hindrances (niivara.na).
3. Or:
"does not pick up on that theme."
4. Or:
"does not pick up on the theme of his own mind."
| Source: Copyright
© 1997 Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Reproduced and reformatted from
Access to Insight edition © 1997 For free distribution. This
work may be republished, reformatted, reprinted, and
redistributed in any medium. It is the author's wish, however,
that any such republication and redistribution be made available
to the public on a free and unrestricted basis and that
translations and other derivative works be clearly marked as
such. |
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