In short: in the Simile of the Bowl of Oil (SN 47.20) the Buddha compares mindfulness of the body to carrying a bowl full to the brim with oil through a crowd watching a dancer, without spilling a drop: steady attention even when everything pulls it away.
A crowd gathers to watch "the finest lady in the land" dance and sing. A man is told: carry this bowl, "full to the brim with oil", between the crowd and the dancer, "and a man with a drawn sword will follow right behind you". If you spill a drop, he'll cut off your head. Would that man get distracted? Never.
What it means
The bowl of oil is "mindfulness of the body". The dancer is every distraction. The sword is the urgency that keeps attention steady. An image worth remembering when your phone buzzes. See the four foundations of mindfulness and walking meditation.
Read the full guide
The full text in Pāli and English
Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato, from SuttaCentral (SN47.20). Ellipses (…) are abbreviations in the original. Notes are ANEW's.
| Pāli | English |
|---|---|
| Evaṁ me sutaṁ— | So I have heard. |
| ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sumbhesu viharati sedakaṁ nāma sumbhānaṁ nigamo. | At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Sumbhas, near the town of the Sumbhas named Sedaka. |
| Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: | There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, |
| “bhikkhavo”ti. | “Mendicants!” |
| “Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. | “Venerable sir,” they replied. |
| Bhagavā etadavoca: | The Buddha said this: |
| “Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, ‘janapadakalyāṇī, janapadakalyāṇī’ti kho, bhikkhave, mahājanakāyo sannipateyya. | “Mendicants, suppose that on hearing, ‘The finest lady in the land! The finest lady in the land!’ a large crowd would gather. |
| ‘Sā kho panassa janapadakalyāṇī paramapāsāvinī nacce, paramapāsāvinī gīte. | And the finest lady in the land would dance and sing in a most thrilling way. |
| Janapadakalyāṇī naccati gāyatī’ti kho, bhikkhave, bhiyyoso mattāya mahājanakāyo sannipateyya. | On hearing, ‘The finest lady in the land is dancing and singing! The finest lady in the land is dancing and singing!’ an even larger crowd would gather. |
| Atha puriso āgaccheyya jīvitukāmo amaritukāmo sukhakāmo dukkhappaṭikūlo. | Then a person would come along who wants to live and doesn’t want to die, who wants to be happy and recoils from pain. |
| Tamenaṁ evaṁ vadeyya: | They’d say to him, |
| ‘ayaṁ te, ambho purisa, samatittiko telapatto antarena ca mahāsamajjaṁ antarena ca janapadakalyāṇiyā pariharitabbo. | ‘My man, this is a bowl full to the brim with oil. You must carry it in between this large crowd and the finest lady in the land. |
| Puriso ca te ukkhittāsiko piṭṭhito piṭṭhito anubandhissati. | And a man with a drawn sword will follow right behind you. |
| Yattheva naṁ thokampi chaḍḍessati tattheva te siro pātessatī’ti. | Wherever you spill even a drop, he’ll chop off your head right there.’ |
| Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave, | What do you think, mendicants? |
| api nu so puriso amuṁ telapattaṁ amanasikaritvā bahiddhā pamādaṁ āhareyyā”ti? | Would that person lose focus on that bowl, and negligently get distracted outside?” |
| “No hetaṁ, bhante”. | “No, sir.” |
| “Upamā kho myāyaṁ, bhikkhave, katā atthassa viññāpanāya. | “I’ve made up this simile to make a point. |
| Ayaṁ cevettha attho— | And this is what it means. |
| samatittiko telapattoti kho, bhikkhave, kāyagatāya etaṁ satiyā adhivacanaṁ. | ‘A bowl of oil filled to the brim’ is a term for mindfulness of the body. |
| Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ: | So you should train like this: |
| ‘kāyagatā sati no bhāvitā bhavissati bahulīkatā yānīkatā vatthukatā anuṭṭhitā paricitā susamāraddhā’ti. | ‘We will develop mindfulness of the body. We’ll cultivate it, make it our vehicle and our basis, keep it up, consolidate it, and properly implement it.’ |
| Evañhi kho, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti. | That’s how you should train.” |
| Dasamaṁ. | |
| Nālandavaggo dutiyo. | |
| Tassuddānaṁ | |
| Mahāpuriso nālandaṁ, | |
| Cundo celañca bāhiyo; | |
| Uttiyo ariyo brahmā, | |
| Sedakaṁ janapadena cāti. |
Try it
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Questions people ask
What is the bowl of oil simile?
In SN 47.20 the Buddha compares mindfulness of the body to carrying a bowl brim-full of oil through a crowd watching a famous dancer, with a swordsman behind ready to strike if a drop is spilled.