Professor Lin Chong'an: Theory and Practice of Zen Meditation, Lecture 3: The Sutra of the Six Similes of Life

Professor Lin Chong'an: Theory and Practice of Zen Meditation, Lecture 3: The Parable of the Six Creatures Sūtra 【Key Point】: Mindfulness of the Body 【Scriptural Basis】: Sūtra 1171 from the Saṃyukta Āgama

At one time, the Buddha was staying in the Ghosita Grove, in the kingdom of Kosambi. The bhikkhus there were engaged in meditation practice. Each evening, they would gather before the Buddha to hear his teachings. On one such evening, the Buddha said:

"Suppose a person enters an empty, unoccupied house and catches six different animals. First comes a dog, then a bird, then a venomous snake, then a jackal (a type of wolf), then a gharial (a type of crocodile), and finally a monkey. He binds all six captured animals together with six separate ropes. The dog longs to run into villages. The bird longs to fly up into the sky. The snake longs to slither into caves. The jackal longs to hide in burial grounds. The gharial longs to swim out into lakes and seas. The monkey longs to live in mountain forests. These six animals are bound together, but each has its own habits and preferences: each likes different places, and dislikes the spots the others favor. Now tied to one another, each pulls with all its might to run toward the place it loves, but cannot break free. In the end, even the strongest animal can only drag the whole group toward its preferred direction, and still cannot snap the ropes."

After the Buddha finished this parable, he continued: "Just as these six creatures each seek out the realms they enjoy and turn away from the realms they do not, so too the six sense faculties each pursue the objects they find pleasant and reject those they find unpleasant. The eye faculty is always chasing pleasing forms, and feels aversion to unpleasing ones. The ear faculty is always chasing pleasing sounds, and feels aversion to unpleasing ones. The nose faculty is always chasing pleasing scents, and feels aversion to unpleasing ones. The tongue faculty is always chasing pleasing tastes, and feels aversion to unpleasing ones. The body faculty is always chasing pleasing tactile sensations, and feels aversion to unpleasing ones. The mind faculty is always chasing pleasing mental objects, and feels aversion to unpleasing ones. These six sense faculties each move within their own distinct domains, each inhabiting their own unique realms, and none seeks out the realms of the other faculties. Of these six, the strongest is able to freely follow and perceive the realm it has chosen for itself."

Explanation: For ordinary people, all six sense faculties have a "wild" untamed nature. Take the eye faculty, which longs to see beautiful sights; the ear faculty, which longs to hear pleasant words; the nose faculty, which longs to smell fragrant scents; the tongue faculty, which longs to taste delicious food; the body faculty, which longs to touch soft, comfortable things; and the mind faculty, which longs to pursue objects it finds agreeable. Conversely, when any of these six faculties encounters an object it dislikes, it gives rise to aversion and rejection.

If we leave the six sense faculties to their own devices, with no guidance or restraint, letting each develop unchecked, over time one will grow far more powerful than the rest. For instance, someone who becomes a visual artist will have an exceptionally keen eye faculty, with a special gift for appreciating color and form. Someone who becomes a vocal musician will have an exceptionally keen ear faculty, with a special gift for discerning tone and timbre. Someone who becomes a master chef will have an exceptionally keen tongue faculty, with a special gift for appreciating complex, delicious flavors.

Even if these visual artists, musicians, chefs, and others have one highly developed sense faculty, as if the other five have been tamed, they still face suffering and affliction in daily life. Their minds remain restless, and they have not resolved the fundamental questions of life.

To help his disciples grasp how to resolve this root problem, the Buddha continued with the parable of the six creatures, saying: "It is like a man who ties these six animals to a sturdy pillar. They struggle with all their might to go where they wish, running back and forth until they are utterly worn out. But because they are bound by the ropes, they have no choice but to submit to the pillar and come to rest."

Explanation: This means that to fully resolve the problem of affliction, a person must tie all six animals to a single, unshakable pillar. Each of the six animals struggles with all its might to run to the place it loves, ramming back and forth over and over until they are utterly worn out and cannot break free. Since they are bound to the pillar by the ropes, they have no choice but to submit to it and come to rest.

With this parable, the Buddha showed his disciples how to resolve the untamed nature of the six sense faculties, and continued: "Bhikkhus, I share this parable with you to reveal its meaning. The six creatures are a metaphor for the six sense faculties; the sturdy pillar is a metaphor for the foundation of mindfulness of the body. If you practice the foundation of mindfulness of the body well, maintaining clear awareness without clinging to forms: when you see pleasing forms, you will not give rise to attachment; when you see unpleasing forms, you will not give rise to aversion. The same holds for sounds and the ear faculty, scents and the nose faculty, tastes and the tongue faculty, tactile sensations and the body faculty, and mental objects and the mind faculty: when you encounter agreeable objects, you will not crave them; when you encounter disagreeable objects, you will not give rise to aversion. Therefore, bhikkhus, apply yourselves diligently to practice, and dwell often in the foundation of mindfulness of the body."

Explanation: This means that to fully tame the untamed nature of the six sense faculties, one must practice the foundation of mindfulness of the body with dedication: staying clearly aware of every movement of one’s body, moment to moment. After sustained training in this, you’ll find that when the eyes see agreeable forms, no craving or attachment arises; when they see unpleasing forms, no anger or aversion arises. The same is true for the ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind: when they encounter agreeable objects, no craving or attachment arises; when they encounter unpleasing objects, no anger or aversion arises. This is why the Buddha urged his disciples to practice diligently, to dwell often in the foundation of mindfulness of the body, to remain constantly aware of their present bodily actions, and to bind their minds to this "great pillar" of the body. In this way, no matter how unruly the six sense faculties may be, they’ll be tamed in time – just as the six creatures, no matter how hard they struggle, will eventually submit to the pillar and come to rest.

After the Buddha finished teaching this sūtra, all the bhikkhus who had heard it rejoiced and put his teachings into practice.