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SN 47.8 
Saṁyutta Nikāya 
The Connected Discourses 
 
Mahāvagga Saṁyutta 
(Connected Discourses on the Great Section) 
Satipaṭṭhāna Saṁyutta 
(Connected Discourses on the Establishments of Mindfulness) 
Ambapālī Vagga 
(The Section on Ambapālī, the Courtesan) 
 
Sūda Sutta 
“Simile of the Kitchen Chef” 
 
Translated by Bhikkhu Candana 
Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2024 
 
“Bhikkhus, imagine there was a rather talentless kitchen chef, who while being 
incompetent, unintuitive, unskilled, and stupid, decided to prepare a meal for the king or his 
royal minister by cooking a spread of a variety of curries.  
 
“However, due to his lack of knowledge and understanding of flavors, all his dishes were terribly 
prepared as they were excessive in the quantity of spices and seasonings; being unbalanced in 
their flavor, they came out heavy in their sour taste, their bitterness, their spicy and pungent 
flavor, their sweet or salty taste, and were thus utterly unappetizing, let alone palatable, and in 
the case of some dishes, completely tasteless and bland.  
“That talentless kitchen chef, being incompetent, unintuitive, unskilled, and stupid, is too self-
absorbed to even look at the king’s behavior at the table, nor is he curious about the king’s 
expressions while eating, not getting the hint from his body language while he sits there tasting 
the dishes he had prepared; thus, he does not try to observe nor see as to which curry dish the 
king reached for more, or did not care much about, and those he totally avoided.  
“Thus, he remains clueless as to which dish received praises, if any, and which ones did not, as 
he is unconcerned to even consider: 
 
‘Today, this curry dish was pleasing to my master,’ or ‘… he reached for this one, or kept 
reaching for that one over there,’  or ‘… he kept complimenting me on this dish here,’ or ‘… the 
sour curry pleased my master today,’ or ‘… he reached for the spicy dishes more,’ or ‘… he took

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a lot of the sweet-tasting one,’ or ‘… he spoke in praise of the bitter one,’ or ‘… the bland curry’ 
or ‘… the pungent curry’ or ‘… the sweet curry’ or ‘… the salty curry’ or ‘… the mild curry’ or 
‘… the bitter curry’ or ‘… I see my master is more pleased with these kinds of sauces and curries 
more than the others.’ 
 
“And, because of his lack in concern, and inattention, that talentless, unintuitive, unskilled, 
incompetent, and stupid kitchen chef does not obtain any special gifts from his master, be it gifts 
of money, clothing, promotions, or any kind of perks and bonuses from the court.  
 
“And what is the reason for this? 
 
 “It is because that talentless, unintuitive, unskilled, incompetent and stupid kitchen chef is 
uninterested to even look at the behavior of his master or his body language. Thus, he has no clue 
as to what is taking place, nor does he get the hint.  
 
a. “In just the same manner, Bhikkhus, the incompetent, unintuitive, unskilled, and stupid 
Bhikkhu, in trying to meditate by being fully attentive and aware of the body, attempts to stay 
with it, while observing whatever he detects as the most pronounced bodily sensation occurring 
at the time. He does so, but without any thoughts or attitudes of either longing or resentment 
towards the world.  
 
“However, as he does so, he is easily distracted, for he is not driven, hence he is unable to enter 
into samādhi; therefore, he does not even come close to eradicating the defilements that corrupt 
the heart. This, because he is uninterested to even look at the behavior of his mind. Thus, he has 
no clue as to what is taking place, nor does he get the hint.  
 
b. “Also, such a Bhikkhu, in trying to meditate by being fully attentive and aware of feelings, 
attempts to stay with them, while observing whatever he detects as the most pronounced feeling 
that is occurring at the time. He does this, but without having any thoughts or attitudes of either 
longing or resentment towards the world.  
 
“However, as he does so, he is easily distracted, for he is not driven, hence he is unable to enter 
into samādhi, therefore, he does not even come close to eradicating the defilements that corrupt 
the heart. This, because he is uninterested to even look at the behavior of his mind. Thus, he has 
no clue as to what is taking place, nor does he get the hint.  
 
c. “Also, such a Bhikkhu, in trying to meditate by being fully attentive and aware of states that 
are occurring in the heart (citta), attempts to stay with them, while observing whatever he detects 
as the most pronounced state that is occurring in the citta, at the time. He does this, but without 
having any thoughts or attitudes of either longing or resentment towards the world.  
 
“However, as he does so, he is easily distracted, for he is not driven, hence he is unable to enter 
into samādhi; therefore, he does not even come close to eradicating the defilements that corrupt 
the heart. This, because he is uninterested to even look at the behavior of his mind. Thus, he has 
no clue as to what is taking place, nor does he get the hint.

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d. “Also, such a Bhikkhu, in trying to meditate by being fully attentive and aware of whatever 
mental objects he witnesses, as they occur, attempts to stay with them, while observing whatever 
he detects as the most pronounced mental phenomenon or object occurring at the time. He does 
this, but without having any thoughts or attitudes of either longing or resentment towards the 
world.  
 
“However, as he does so, he is easily distracted, for he is not driven, hence he is unable to enter 
into samādhi; therefore, he does not even come close to eradicating the defilements that corrupt 
the heart. This, because he is uninterested to even look at the behavior of his mind. Thus, he has 
no clue as to what is taking place, nor does he get the hint.  
 
“In this manner, that incompetent, unintuitive, unskilled, and stupid Bhikkhu is then not able to, 
here in this very life, enter into, nor dwell in happy and soothing states of being, for he is unable 
to grow and develop in his mindfulness and full awareness. 
 
“And what is the reason for this? 
 
“It is because that incompetent, unintuitive, unskilled, and stupid Bhikkhu is uninterested to even 
look at the behavior of his mind. Thus, he has no clue as to what is taking place, nor does he get 
the hint.  
 
 
“On the other hand, Bhikkhus, imagine there was a rather talented kitchen chef, who 
while being intuitive, skilled, competent and dedicated in his craft, decided to prepare a meal for 
the king or his royal minister by cooking a spread of a variety of curries.  
 
“Thus, with his vast knowledge and expertise, he prepares a variety of dishes that are perfectly 
orchestrated, with just the right quantity of spices and seasonings in them, not too much, not too 
little; being well-balanced in their flavor thus, they came out perfect in their sour taste, their 
bitterness, their spicy and pungent flavor, their sweet or salty taste, being both appetizing and 
delicious. 
“Now, that kitchen chef, being talented, intuitive, skilled, competent and dedicated, is quite 
interested in the outcome of his work, and thus he carefully looks at the king’s behavior at the 
table, for he is curious about his expressions while eating; and thus, he keeps getting the hint 
from his master’s body language, as he sits there tasting the dishes he had prepared; he observes 
to see as to which curry dish the king reached for more, as well as those he did not care much 
about, and those he totally avoided.  
“Thus, he keeps gathering clues as to which dish received praises, and which ones did not, as a 
result of which he concludes, while considering: 
 
‘Today, this curry dish was pleasing to my master,’ or ‘… he reached for this one, or kept 
reaching for that one over there,’  or ‘… he kept complimenting me on this dish here,’ or ‘… the 
sour curry pleased my master today,’ or ‘… he reached for the spicy dishes more,’ or ‘… he took 
a lot of the sweet-tasting one,’ or ‘… he spoke in praise of the bitter one;’ or ‘… the bland curry’ 
or ‘… the pungent curry’ or ‘… the sweet curry’ or ‘… the salty curry’ or ‘… the mild curry’ or

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‘… the bitter curry’ or ‘… I see my master is more pleased with these kinds of sauces and curries 
more than the others.’ 
 
“Therefore, because of his concern and attention, that talented, intuitive, skilled, competent and 
dedicated kitchen chef does obtain many special gifts from his master, be it as gifts of money, 
clothing, promotions, and all kind of perks and bonuses, received from the king’s court.  
 
“And what is the reason for this? 
 
 “It is because that talented, intuitive, skilled, competent, and dedicated kitchen chef is quite 
interested in the behavior of his master, as he closely observes the king’s body language during 
the meal. Thus, he keeps gathering many clues as to what is taking place, and how to proceed in 
the future, and therefore, he is one who does get the hint.  
 
a. “In just the same manner, Bhikkhus, the intuitive, skilled, competent, and dedicated Bhikkhu, 
in trying to meditate by being fully attentive and aware of the body, enthusiastically stays with it, 
while observing whatever he detects as the most pronounced bodily sensation occurring, at the 
time. He does this, but without having any thoughts or attitudes of either longing or resentment 
towards the world.  
 
“Now, as he does so, he maintains his resolve while carefully navigating through the mental 
hindrances along the way; thus, he is able to enter into samādhi. He is then able to even eradicate 
the defilements, that are responsible for corrupting the heart. This, because he is interested to 
look at the very behavior of his mind. Thus, he keeps getting clues as to what is taking place and 
how to proceed next, and therefore, he is one who does get the hint.  
 
b. “Also, such a Bhikkhu, in trying to meditate by being fully attentive and aware of feelings, 
enthusiastically stays with them, while observing whatever he detects as the most pronounced 
feeling that is occurring, at the time. He does this, but without having any thoughts or attitudes of 
either longing or resentment towards the world.  
 
“Now, as he does so, he maintains his resolve while carefully navigating through the mental 
hindrances along the way; thus, he is able to enter into samādhi. He is then able to even eradicate 
the defilements, that are responsible for corrupting the heart. This, because he is interested to 
look at the very behavior of his mind. Thus, he keeps getting clues as to what is taking place and 
how to proceed next, and therefore, he is one who does get the hint.  
 
c. “Also, such a Bhikkhu, in trying to meditate by being fully attentive and aware of whatever 
state that is manifesting within the heart (citta), enthusiastically stays with it, while observing 
whatever he detects as the most pronounced state that is occurring in the citta, at the time. He 
does this, but without having any thoughts or attitudes of either longing or resentment towards 
the world.  
 
“Now, as he does so, he maintains his resolve while carefully navigating through the mental 
hindrances along the way; thus, he is able to enter into samādhi. He is then able to even eradicate 
the defilements, that are responsible for corrupting the heart. This, because he is interested to

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look at the very behavior of his mind. Thus, he keeps getting clues as to what is taking place and 
how to proceed next, and therefore, he is one who does get the hint.  
 
d. “Also, such a Bhikkhu, in trying to meditate by being fully attentive and aware of mental 
objects he witnesses as they occur, enthusiastically stays with them, while observing whatever he 
detects as the most pronounced mental phenomenon that is occurring, at the time. He does this, 
but without having any thoughts or attitudes of either longing or resentment towards the world.  
 
“Now, as he does so, he maintains his resolve while carefully navigating through the mental 
hindrances along the way; thus, he is able to enter into samādhi. He is then able to even eradicate 
the defilements, that are responsible for corrupting the heart. This, because he is interested to 
look at the very behavior of his mind. Thus, he keeps getting clues as to what is taking place and 
how to proceed next, and therefore, he is one who does get the hint.  
 
“In this manner, that intuitive, skilled, competent, and dedicated Bhikkhu is then able to, here in 
this very life, enter into and dwell in numerous happy and soothing states of being, for he 
constantly grows and develops in his mindfulness and full awareness. 
 
“And what is the reason for this? 
 
“It is because that intuitive, skilled, competent, and dedicated Bhikkhu is always curiously 
interested to look at the very behavior of his mind. Thus, he keeps getting clues as to what is 
taking place and how to proceed next, and therefore, he is one who does get the hint.” 
 
 
Sādhu  
Sādhu  
Sādhu
