Vīnopama Sutta: Discourse on the simile of vīnā
By Dr. Ari Ubeysekara
Introduction
All of the discourses delivered by the Lord Gautama Buddha, who lived and preached in India during the 6th and 5th century BC, were grouped into five collections at the first Buddhist council that was held three months after the passing away of the Buddha in 483 BC.
1. Collection of long discourses (dīgha nikāya)
2. Collection of middle length discourses (majjhima nikāya)
3. Collection of connected discourses (samyutta nikāya)
4. Collection of numerical discourses (anguttara nikāya)
5. Collection of minor discourses (khuddaka nikāya)
The collection of the connected discourses (samyutta nikāya), consist of the Buddha’s discourses on related topics grouped into five sections called Vaggas. They are named Sagātā Vagga, Nidāna Vagga, Khanda Vagga, Salāyatana Vagga and Mahā Vagga. Each Vagga is further sub-divided into groups called samyuttas, containing a number of discourses on related topics. Each samyutta is again sub-divided into smaller units called vaggas, each containing around ten discourses. Vīnopama sutta is included in the Āsivisa vagga, of the Salāyatana samyutta of the Salāyatana Vagga. (1)
In several of the discourses, the Buddha and the Buddha’s main disciples have used similes and parables to explain deep and difficult to understand aspects of the Buddha’s teaching. It was because some disciples may find it easier to understand them through similes and parables than when they were stated directly. In this discourse too, the Buddha has used parables such as a rice eating bull, a watchman and the Indian string musical instrument called Vīnā.
Content of Vīnopama sutta
At one time the Buddha was staying at Sāvatti in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapindika’s monastery.
[At the time that this discourse was delivered, the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana monastery in Sāvatti which was built and donated to the Buddha by the chief benefactor Anāthapindika. It was named Jetavana, as the land on which it was built was bought from a prince named Jeta. Sāvatti was a favourite residence of the Buddha and it is recorded that the Buddha spent twenty five rainy retreats at Sāvatti.]
There, the Buddha addressed the monks:
“Monks, if desire, passion, hatred, delusion or aversion should arise in a monk or a nun with regard to forms cognizable by the eye, such a one should restrain the mind from them thinking: “This path is fearful, dangerous, thorny and overgrown, an evil path, a path beset by scarcity. It is a path followed by people of no integrity, not a path followed by people of integrity. This is not worthy of you. In this way, the mind should be restrained with regard to forms cognizable by the eye.”
[When an un-enlightened person with no sense restraint sees forms (rūpa) through the sense base of eye (cakku), desire, passion, hatred, delusion and aversion arise based on the three unwholesome roots of greed (rāga), hatred (dosa) and delusion (moha). The Buddha has stated how one should develop sense restraint by reflecting on the dangers (ādīnava) of the development of those mental defilements due to lack of sense restraint.]
“Monks, if desire, passion, hatred, delusion or aversion should arise in a monk or a nun with regard to sounds cognizable by the ear, such a one should restrain the mind from them thinking: “This path is fearful, dangerous, thorny and overgrown, an evil path, a path beset by scarcity. It is a path followed by people of no integrity, not a path followed by people of integrity. This is not worthy of you. In this way, the mind should be restrained with regard to sounds cognizable by the ear.”
“Monks, if desire, passion, hatred, delusion or aversion should arise in a monk or a nun with regard to smells cognizable by the nose, such a one should restrain the mind from them thinking: “This path is fearful, dangerous, thorny and overgrown, an evil path, a path beset by scarcity. It is a path followed by people of no integrity, not a path followed by people of integrity. This is not worthy of you. In this way, the mind should be restrained with regard to smells cognizable by the nose.”
“Monks, if desire, passion, hatred, delusion or aversion should arise in a monk or a nun with regard to tastes cognizable by the tongue, such a one should restrain the mind from them thinking: “This path is fearful, dangerous, thorny and overgrown, an evil path, a path beset by scarcity. It is a path followed by people of no integrity, not a path followed by people of integrity. This is not worthy of you. In this way, the mind should be restrained with regard to tastes cognizable by the tongue.”
“Monks, if desire, passion, hatred, delusion or aversion should arise in a monk or a nun with regard to touches cognizable by the body, such a one should restrain the mind from them thinking: “This path is fearful, dangerous, thorny and overgrown, an evil path, a path beset by scarcity. It is a path followed by people of no integrity, not a path followed by people of integrity. This is not worthy of you. In this way, the mind should be restrained with regard to touches cognizable by the body.”
“Monks, if desire, passion, hatred, delusion or aversion should arise in a monk or a nun with regard to mind objects cognizable by the mind, such a one should restrain the mind from them thinking: “This path is fearful, dangerous, thorny and overgrown, an evil path, a path beset by scarcity. It is a path followed by people of no integrity, not a path followed by people of integrity. This is not worthy of you. In this way, the mind should be restrained with regard to mind objects cognizable by the mind.”
[The Buddha has advised the monks to reflect on the dangers of lack of sense restraint resulting in mental defilements with regard to all of the six sense bases and their respective sense objects. This will help one to develop sense restraint and avoid the development of such mental defilements.]
“Suppose, monks, the rice plants have ripened, and the watchman is negligent. If a rice eating bull enters the rice field, it would indulge itself as much as it likes. In the same way, monks, an uninstructed worldling, who does not exercise restrain over the six bases of sense contact indulges himself as much as he likes in the five cords of sense pleasure.”
“Suppose, monks, the rice plants have ripened and the watchman is vigilant. And if the rice eating bull enters the rice field, the watchman would grab it firmly by it’s muzzle. Having grabbed it firmly by it’s muzzle, he would firmly hold it down by the forehead. Having firmly held it down by the forehead, he would give it a sound beating with a stick. Having given it a sound beating with a stick, he would let it go.”
“For the second time, monks, the rice plants have ripened and the watchman is vigilant. And if the rice eating bull enters the rice field, the watchman would grab it firmly by it’s muzzle. Having grabbed it firmly by it’s muzzle, he would firmly hold it down by the forehead. Having firmly held it down by the forehead, he would give it a sound beating with a stick. Having given it a sound beating with a stick, he would let it go.”
“For the third time, monks, the rice plants have ripened and the watchman is vigilant. And if the rice eating bull enters the rice field, the watchman would grab it firmly by it’s muzzle. Having grabbed it firmly by it’s muzzle, he would firmly hold it down by the forehead. Having firmly held it down by the forehead, he would give it a sound beating with a stick. Having given it a sound beating with a stick, he would let it go.”
[The Buddha has used the simile of a rice field and a rice eating bull to describe how the mind of a person with unrestrained senses can be invaded by the sense objects received through the sense bases. The watchman who can be neglectful or vigilant represents unrestrained senses due to lack of mindfulness and restrained senses due to mindfulness respectively.]
“Thus, monks, the rice eating bull, whether it has gone to a village, or to the forest, whether it is accustomed to standing or to sitting down, remembering the beating it received with a stick before, will never enter the rice field again.”
“In the same way, monks, when a monk’s mind is disciplined, well disciplined, with regard to the six bases of sense contact, it becomes inwardly steady, unified, and concentrated.”
[Sense restraint with the help of mindfulness helps a meditator to develop concentration of the mind (samadhi) which is essential to gain insight into reality of all phenomena.]
“Suppose, monks, there was a king or a king’s minister who had never heard the sound of a vīnā before. If he hears the sound of a vīnā, he might say: ‘Good man, what is making that sound, so delightful, so tantalizing, so intoxicating, so entrancing, so enthralling?’ They would say to him: ‘Sir, it is a vīnā that is making this sound, so delightful, so tantalizing, so intoxicating, so entrancing, so enthralling’. Then he would say to them: ‘Go and bring me that vīnā’.”
[Vīnā is a plucked string musical instrument which was originally created in Southern India. It belongs to the family of chordophone instruments of India and there are different types of vīnā such as Rudra vīnā, Sarasvati vīnā, Vichitra vīnā etc.]
“They will bring that vīnā to him and say: ‘Sir, here is the vīnā which made that sound, so delightful, so tantalizing, so intoxicating, so entrancing, so enthralling’. He would say: ‘Enough of your vīnā. Bring me just the sound’. Then they would say to him: ‘This vīnā, Sir, is made up of many parts, a great many parts. It sounds through the activity of many parts: That is, dependent on the body, dependent on the skin, dependent on the arm, dependent on the head, dependent on the strings, dependent on the bridge and appropriate effort of a person. So, this vīnā is made up of many parts, a great many parts and it gives off a sound when one plays on it’s numerous parts’.”
“The king would then split the vīnā into ten or hundred pieces. Having split it into ten or hundred pieces, he would reduce them to splinters. Having split them to splinters, he would burn them in a fire and reduce them to ashes. Having reduced them to ashes, he would winnow the ashes in a strong wind or let them be carried away by the swift current of a river. Then he would say: “There is nothing to this vīnā, or whatever is called a vīnā. People have been heedless about it and utterly taken in by it’.”
“In the same way, monks, a monk investigates form to the extent of it’s range; he investigates feeling to the extent of it’s range; he investigates perception to the extent of it’s range; he investigates formations to the extent of it’s range; he investigates consciousness to the extent of it’s range. As he investigates form to the extent of it’s range; feeling to the extent of it’s range; perception to the extent of it’s range; formations to the extent of it’s range; consciousness to the extent of it’s range, whatever notions of ‘I’ or ‘mine’ or ‘I am’ that had occurred to him before, no longer occur to him.”
[The Buddha has used the simile of the vina to help the monks to reflect on the reality of the five aggregates of clinging (panchaupādānakkhanda). The five aggregates of clinging are: Form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saññā), mental formations (sankhāra) and consciousness (viññāna). According to Buddhist teaching there is no metaphysical self, and an individual or personality is nothing but a Psycho-physical complex (nāma-rūpa), consisting of the five aggregates of clinging which are interdependent and none of them can exist without the presence of others. They are conditioned phenomena in a state of continuous flux, arising and ceasing from moment to moment with no persisting or permanent nature in them. One has no ownership or control over them and when one identifies with them as “I” or “me”, it can only lead to suffering (dukkha) due to their very transient nature.] (2)
In the Vīnopama sutta, the Buddha has first used the simile of a rice eating bull and a watchman who is vigilant to emphasise the significance of sense restraint to avoid the development of mental defilements from the sense objects received through the six internal sense bases. Sense restraint with mindfulness is necessary in developing concentration of the mind. Then the Buddha has used the simile of the vīnā, an Indian string musical instrument, and it’s sound to help the monks to gain insight into the reality of the five aggregates of clinging that a person is made of. The king in the simile could not find sound in any of the component parts of the vīnā and similarly, there is no self in any of the five aggregates of clinging that a person is made of. It is through craving (tanhā), conceit (māna) and wrong view (ditthi), that the five aggregates of clinging are falsely taken as ‘mine’, ‘I’ and ‘I am’.
References
- Bhikkhu Bodhi 1999, Vīnopama sutta, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, A Translation of the Samyutta Nikāya, Wisdom Publications.
- Bhikkhu Bodhi 1999, Khanda sutta, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, A Translation of the Samyutta Nikāya, Wisdom Publications.
End.
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