Samyutta Nikaya

SN 47.8 Sūda Sutta (Simile of the Kitchen Chef) SN 47.8

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The Connected Discourses: SN 47.8 - Sūda Sutta, (Simile of the Kitchen Chef). (Duration: 17:55)

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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”

“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:

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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.

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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.

“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.

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.

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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.

“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

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