Chappanaka Sutra (SN) beautifully illustrates how the mind
is hindered by the struggle of the six senses as it is dragged in different
directions by the different sense stimuli.
Here the Buddha draws our attention to a simile of six
animals having different habits and diverse fields of action tied together in by
six ropes. The six animals are a crocodile, a fox, a dog, a bird,
a monkey and a snake, a piece of rope is tied to the tail of each of these six
animals and the other ends of those ropes are tied together in one knot and the
animals are let free. What happens next is simply chaos, the crocodile tries to
run to the water, the bird tries to fly in the air, the dog tries to run to a
village, the fox tries to flee to a cemetery, the monkey tries to go to the
forest, and the snake tries to creep into an anthill. Each animal tries to drag
all the other animals to each one’s respective habitat. The animal which
becomes stronger at a given time succeeds in moving towards the place it wants
to go dragging the others but only until another animal becomes stronger and
pull everyone else to where it wants to go.
Now let’s assume that one takes the knotted end of the
ropes that binds the animals together and tie them to a post fixed to the
ground. As before each animal will still try to go towards its respective
habitat but even the strongest one will not succeed now as they all are tied on
to a post that is fixed to the ground. After making many attempts the animals
will get exhausted and eventually will give up and lie down on the ground.
The
Buddha has said, the six senses are constantly seeking gratification in their
own spheres like the animals whose tails are tied together but still free to
move. In addition the sense that takes the lead usually directs the other
senses to follow, in experiencing the objects it encounters like in the case of
the animals being dragged by the stronger one. However, as the six animals get restrained when their tails are tied to the post on ground, Mindfulness meditation helps one to restrain
the six senses.
