SN 9.14: Gandhatthena Sutta. The Thief of a Scent.

[mikenz66]

SN 9.14 PTS: S i 204 CDB i 303 Gandhatthena Sutta: The Thief of a Scent
translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Have you ever wished for a guardian angel to warn you before you do something foolish? Here's one with an important lesson.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html


I have heard that on one occasion a certain monk was dwelling among the Kosalans in a forest thicket. Now at that time, after his meal, returning from his almsround, he went down to a lotus pond and sniffed a red lotus.

Then the devata inhabiting the forest thicket, feeling sympathy for the monk, desiring his benefit, desiring to bring him to his senses, approached him and addressed him with this verse:

• You sniff this water-born flower
  that hasn't been given to you.
  This, dear sir, is a factor of stealing.
  You are a thief of a scent.

[The monk:]

• I don't take, don't damage.
  I sniff at the lotus
  from far away.
  So why do you call me
  a thief of a scent?
  
  One who
  digs up the stalks,
  damages flowers,
  one of such ruthless behavior:
  why don't you say it of him?

[The devata:]

• A person ruthless & grasping,
  smeared like a nursing diaper:
  to him
  I have nothing to say.
  It's you
  to whom I should speak.
  
  To a person unblemished,
  constantly searching for purity,
  a hair-tip's worth of evil
  seems as large
  as a cloud.

[The monk:]

• Yes, yakkha, you understand me
  and show me sympathy.
  Warn me again, yakkha,
  whenever again
  you see something like this.

[The devata:]

• I don't depend on you
  for my living
  nor am I
  your hired hand.
  You, monk,
  you yourself should know
  how to go to the good destination.
  The monk, chastened by the devata, came to his senses.

See also: SN 9.1; SN 9.9.

[mikenz66]

SN 9.14 PTS: S i 204 CDB i 303 Gandhatthena Sutta: Stealing the Scent
translated from the Pali by Andrew Olendzki

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .olen.html

[A devata:]

• This lotus blossom which you sniff,
  Though it's not been offered to you,
  Is thus something that's been stolen.
  You, sir, are a stealer of scents!

[Bhikkhu:]

• But I don't take, nor do I break;
  I sniff the lotus from afar.
  So really what reason have you
  To call me a stealer of scents?
  
  He who uproots them by the stalk,
  And consumes the pale lotuses;
  The one engaged in such cruel work,
  Why do you not say this of him?

[Devata:]

• A person who's ruthless and cruel,
  Defiled like a workman's garment,
  To him my words would mean nothing.
  But it's fitting I speak to you.
  
  For an unblemished person, who's
  Always pursuing purity,
  Even a hair-tip of evil
  Seems to him as large as a cloud.

[Bhikkhu:]

• Truly, O yakkha, you know me,
  And have concern for my welfare.
  Do please, O yakkha, speak again,
  Whenever you see such a thing.

[Devata:]

• I don't live to serve upon you;
  Nor will I do your work for you.
  You should know for yourself, O monk,
  How to go along the good path.

Translator's note:

This lively exchange between a forest-dwelling monk and a benevolent deity is filled with poetic movement and gives us a glimpse of the care with which some people practiced in the time of the Buddha. Since the working definition of stealing was "taking what has not been given," the Devata is correct — in a very strict sense. Notice that the monk at first reacts defensively, denying that he is doing anything wrong, and then tries to shift the blame to others who do even worse. After recognizing a veiled compliment, he finally realizes that the Devata is trying to help him, at which point he encourages further help. The Devata ends the exchange sharply, revealing an intriguing and capricious character who is willing to help, but only on his own terms. This is a role often played by nature spirits and other minor deities in the Pali texts.

[mikenz66]

From Bhikkhu Bodhis' notes:

• An identical story, including the verses, is at Ja No. 392 (III 307-10), with the Bodhisatta in the role of the bhikkhu.
  
  Spk: When she saw the bhikkhu sniff the lotus, the devatā thought: “Having received a meditation subject from the Buddha and entered the forest to meditate, this bhikkhu is instead meditating on the scent of flowers. If his craving for scent increases it will destroy his welfare. Let me draw near and reproach him.”

“We don’t live with your support,
Nor are we your hired servant.
You, bhikkhu, should know for yourself
The way to a good destination.”

• Spk: The devatā, it is said, thought: “This bhikkhu might become negligent, thinking he has a deity looking after his welfare. I won’t accept his proposal.”

[SarathW]

This sounds like a parent admonishing a child.
I remember my mother admonishing me like this when I was young.

[pegembara]

How about being thief of sights, sound, taste, touch, thoughts and memories? Good advice for those seeking higher goals to not approprate things not given.

"Whatever is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit. And what is not yours?

"The eye is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit. Forms are not yours... Eye-consciousness is not yours... Eye-contact is not yours... Whatever arises in dependence on eye-contact, experienced either as pleasure, as pain, or as neither-pleasure-nor-pain, that too is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit.

"The ear is not yours: let go of it...

"The nose is not yours: let go of it...

"The tongue is not yours: let go of it...

"The body is not yours: let go of it...

"The intellect is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit. Ideas are not yours... Intellect-consciousness is not yours... Intellect-contact is not yours... Whatever arises in dependence on intellect-contact, experienced either as pleasure, as pain, or as neither-pleasure-nor-pain, that too is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit.

"Suppose a person were to gather or burn or do as he likes with the grass, twigs, branches, & leaves here in Jeta's Grove. Would the thought occur to you, 'It's us that this person is gathering, burning, or doing with as he likes'?"

"No, lord. Why is that? Because those things are not our self nor do they pertain to our self."

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[dagon]

Is this about stealing something so subtle that refrain is the perfection of the ethical quality of not taking what is not given.

Or is it something more in that we only have a given number of breaths, with each breath being an opportunity for development and smelling the flower is stealing from that preciouses resource.

Or is it both?

metta
dagon

[SarathW]

I think this Sutta is not only referring to stealing.
It is about the five sense contact and the inappropriate attention.
Here stealing refer to greed or Thanha.

[Cormac Brown]

The sutta can be read as a rejoinder to some modern day proponents of "mindfulness," who might advocate "mindfully" noticing the beautiful scent of a flower as part of one's practice (note: the bhikkhu is sniffing "from far away")(1). The deva's admonishment seems to be suggesting, as SarathW does above, that such activity is a factor of greed. The main issue appears to be the bhikkhu's failure to exercise sense-restraint, which is part of his job description (2).

The sutta also seems to include a firm critique of those who dig soil and damage plant life:

One who
digs up the stalks,
damages flowers,
one of such ruthless behavior:
why don't you say it of him?
[The devata:]
A person ruthless & grasping,
smeared like a nursing diaper:
to him
I have nothing to say.

It is worth noting that Ghatikara, the potter at the time of Buddha Kassapa (kindly brought closer to my attention by mikenz66), is said to have refrained from these activities as a layperson (on top of the eight precepts). He was a non-returner. (3)

The bhikkhu is later chid doubly for apparently wishing to "steal" the devata's time. The Buddha can occasionally be seen praising practitioners, lay and ordained, who don't "pester" or "trouble" him with questions on Dhamma (4). The implication is that we should lessen the burden we place on others by taking responsibility for our own practice.

Metta

Cormac

(1)Also compare to Dhp 47-48:

The man immersed in
gathering blossoms,
his heart distracted:
death sweeps him away —
as a great flood,
a village asleep.

The man immersed in
gathering blossoms,
his heart distracted,
insatiable in sensual pleasures:
the End-Maker holds him
under his sway.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html
(2)http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html If the deva is astute, it should be assumed that the bhikkhu is not noting the scent with discernment, but is rather "grasping at a theme or detail", i.e. that of beauty, which is giving rise to defilement.
(3)https://suttacentral.net/en/mn81
(4)http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html

[mikenz66]

Hi Cormac,

The sutta can be read as a rejoinder to some modern day proponents of "mindfulness," who might advocate "mindfully" noticing the beautiful scent of a flower as part of one's practice (note: the bhikkhu is sniffing "from far away")

Can you explain what you mean by "from far away"?

As far as the role of mindfulness is concerned, it seems to me that the Bhikkhu is not being mindful enough. The implication seems to be that he's indulging in a subtle sensual pleasure. One could argue that he needs to be more mindful of his attraction to the scent, so as not to be drawn to it.


Mike

[Cormac Brown]

Hi Cormac,

The sutta can be read as a rejoinder to some modern day proponents of "mindfulness," who might advocate "mindfully" noticing the beautiful scent of a flower as part of one's practice (note: the bhikkhu is sniffing "from far away")

Can you explain what you mean by "from far away"?

Hi Mike, it was a quote from the verse:

[The monk:]
I don't take, don't damage.
I sniff at the lotus
from far away.
So why do you call me
a thief of a scent?

He is not sniffing the flower from up close - he is at quite some distance from it and its scent is strong enough to reach him. This is actually the first time I'd noticed that phrase, whereas previously I had a cartoon image of him up close, bending over to indulgently take in its aroma. "From far away" makes it clear that this isn't the case; thus, as you say, the devata is actually reproving him for quite a subtle lapse in heedfulness.

As far as the role of mindfulness is concerned, it seems to me that the Bhikkhu is not being mindful enough. The implication seems to be that he's indulging in a subtle sensual pleasure.

Yes, a form of wrong mindfulness with which I am all too familiar: Focusing on the beautiful aspects of an object and so likely giving rise to lust/desire in one's mind. In fact the devata seems to be suggesting that he shouldn't be focusing on this particular object at all. In the commentary it is suggested that he should get back to an appropriate meditation theme. To use the terms of another sutta, he has left his "ancestral territory" (1) i.e. mindfulness immersed in the body. In leaving the safety of one's body for the sake of a sensual pleasure, one leaves oneself open to an attack from Mara.

It's easy to think that we are simply passive receptacles of the sensory stimuli that surround us, that they impinge upon us. But in Dependent Co-arising, contact is not the activity of external forces, but an activity of the mind, specifically a mind engaged in inappropriate attention. In the case of the bhikkhu, an intention would have arisen prior to the scent. The intention, while subtle, is covetous. To paraphrase Ajahn Chah, when you find yourself irritated by a sound: It isn't the case that the sound's bothering you; it's you who are bothering the sound.

One could argue that he needs to be more mindful of his attraction to the scent, so as not to be drawn to it.

Yes, and of the danger of this attraction/craving. It's quite possible to mindful of lust and not do anything about it, which would count as wrong effort or "acquiescence." (2) The duty as regards craving, in terms of the Four Noble Truths, is abandoning.

Perhaps what is needed is deeper "rapture and pleasure apart from sensuality" so that the mind is happier in itself and thus not tempted to go out looking for external pleasures:

MN 14 PTS: M i 91
Cula-dukkhakkhandha Sutta: The Lesser Mass of Stress
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu

"Even though a disciple of the noble ones has clearly seen as it actually is with right discernment that sensuality is of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks, still — if he has not attained a rapture & pleasure apart from sensuality, apart from unskillful mental qualities, or something more peaceful than that[4] — he can be tempted by sensuality. But when he has clearly seen as it actually is with right discernment that sensuality is of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks, and he has attained a rapture & pleasure apart from sensuality, apart from unskillful mental qualities, or something more peaceful than that, he cannot be tempted by sensuality.

Metta

Cormac

(1) http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html

(2)

AN 11.18 PTS: A v 347
Gopalaka Sutta: The Cowherd
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu

"And how does a monk not pick out flies' eggs? There is the case where a monk acquiesces with an arisen thought of sensuality. He does not abandon it, dispel it, demolish it, or wipe it out of existence...This is how a monk doesn't pick out flies' eggs.

[Cormac Brown]

Also, see this similar rebuke from the Blessed One himself:

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html

Metta

Cormac

[mikenz66]

I'm not sure if it is related, but I recall being occationally told by Thai lay people that I should not sniff flowers that I am picking to place in the Vihara with the Buddha Rupas, etc.

Regarding meditation practice, it's certainly the case that one can start to relish little sensual pleasures on a retreat - warm shower, food, nice scenery, and so on. This sutta is a good reminder. The shower wasn't an issue on my last retreat - the water heater in my kuti didn't work...


Mike

[SarathW]

In Sri Lanka, as children we were asked not to sniff flowers placed before Buddha.
One reason is the purity. Other reason may be the danger of bees in flowers.

=========
By the way in regard to Op, I think a monks are expect to be mindful of sense contact in terms of "this is not me, this is not mine and this is not myself"
If sent is not yours sniffing will be a stealing.