{"collection":"Samyutta Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_sn47.20/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_sn47.20","id":"suttacentral_sn47.20","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/sn47.20/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Samyutta Nikaya"],"text":"So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Sumbhas, near the town of the Sumbhas named Sedaka. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, \u201cMendicants!\u201d \u201cVenerable sir,\u201d they replied. The Buddha said this: \u201cMendicants, suppose that on hearing, \u2018The finest lady in the land! The finest lady in the land!\u2019 a large crowd would gather. And the finest lady in the land would dance and sing in a most thrilling way. On hearing, \u2018The finest lady in the land is dancing and singing! The finest lady in the land is dancing and singing!\u2019 an even larger crowd would gather. Then a person would come along who wants to live and doesn\u2019t want to die, who wants to be happy and recoils from pain. They\u2019d say to him, \u2018My 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. And a man with a drawn sword will follow right behind you. Wherever you spill even a drop, he\u2019ll chop off your head right there.\u2019 What do you think, mendicants? Would that person lose focus on that bowl, and negligently get distracted outside?\u201d \u201cNo, sir.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ve made up this simile to make a point. And this is what it means. \u2018A bowl of oil filled to the brim\u2019 is a term for mindfulness of the body. So you should train like this: \u2018We will develop mindfulness of the body. We\u2019ll cultivate it, make it our vehicle and our basis, keep it up, consolidate it, and properly implement it.\u2019 That\u2019s how you should train.\u201d","title":"The Finest Lady in the Land","tradition":"Samyutta Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":275}