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Mihintalava - The Birthplace of Sri Lankan Buddhist Civilization

Vesak 2549 - 2005


Simile of the bee

The bee, is a social insect. Even the colour of the fly reminds us the complexion of the South Asian peasant who toils exposing himself both to the tropical hot sun and the rain. People of our part of the globe work both for themselves and others like bees, i.e. to sustain their families. And they collectively work to nurture the society at large.

This article aims at showing some important points as to how the bee has become a simile and a metaphor in Buddha's discourses and in the post canonical Pali literature.

Buddhaghosa, the Pali commentator, compares the mentality 'vitakka' (applied thought) to the bee's diving towards a lotus to follow up the scent of the flower. And 'Vicara' (sustained thought) is compared by him to the bee's buzzing above the lotus after it has dived towards it.

Again Buddhaghosa shows us the way as to how the bee goes from one cell of the comb to the other seeking a pure one to store the pollen it has brought from afar. The bee never stores up the pollen inconsiderately in an impure cell. A bee that has gone into an unpurified hive (Vism. 152), having known that particular cell or the hive is not clean enough to store the pollen, immediately comes out of it like a king who returns from an unclean park without enjoying. In the same way, Buddhaghosa says; that Jhanic attainment cannot be achieved without purifying the mind. Let us see how Ven. Bhikkhu Nanamoli translates Buddhaghosa into English.

"When a bhikkhu enters upon a jhana without (first) completely suppressing lust by reviewing the dangers in sense desires etc. and without (first) completely tranquillising bodily irritability by tranquillising the body, and without (first) completely removing stiffness and torpor by bringing to mind the sign of serenity etc. and without (first) completely purifying his mind of other states that obstruct concentration, then that the bhikkhu soon comes out of that jhana again, like a bee that has gone into an unpurified hive, like a king who has gone into an unclean park." (The Path of Purification, p. 157-158).

However, when the bee enters a purified cell it stores the pollen in it. The bee travels through the forest far away and collects pollen as much as possible and stores it in the cell and makes a honey comb. This honey comb or the hive is useful not only to the bee or the bees who collected pollen, but for many. At first the bee consumes it, even while collecting it from the flowers whenever it feels hungry. Worker bees including the 'queen' and young ones feed on collected honey which is stored up clean and neat in the cells of the hive. Apart from the members of the colony many other living beings make use of bee-honey. Specially the man-kind, even at the beginning of the recorded history, collected bee-honey and used it.

Coming back to Ven. Buddhaghosa's simile, we are told that one cannot attain higher states in his mind without purifying it before hand. That is to say one has to clear up his mind or his way of thinking by brushing out thoughts harmful to both the individual and to the other members of the society he lives in. As human beings we cannot differentiate ourselves from our minds or our processes of thinking. In simple words from our ways of thinking. One great philosopher said that, "I am, because I think". Accordingly the criterion of the progress or the development of both the individual and that of the society becomes our mentality or what we think. Because all the actions performed by human beings are directed by their minds or what they think as shown by the very first verses of the Dhammapada.

As human beings we should try our best to avoid thoughts which are harmful to us. Let us compare ourselves to the cells of a honey comb, and the human society (or the whole globe at large) to a bee-colony. Without making our way of thinking free from contaminated thoughts such as hatred, ill-will and malice or whatever name we call them, which are harmful both to us and our society, we cannot have hope of better future for the mankind.

It is after purifying our inward thoughts first and then making our minds full of peaceful thoughts like 'metta and karuna' and acting accordingly. We can make the world a better place for us, like a sweet honey comb free from contaminated matter as a result of the defensive and collective efforts of each and every bee of a colony.

However, some poison or contaminated matter can accidentally get mixed up with pollen in a comb. For instance, a carcass of a mouse or a lizard can fall in a bee colony. Sometimes such an insect may try to 'steal' honey and as a result can be attacked by worker bees to death. The carcass can be so heavy that the worker bees cannot push it out of the colony. Still the bees have a solution. They will quarantine the carcass preventing the other parts of the colony being contaminated.

Thinking ways of the individuals in human society can be contaminated or polluted by thoughts harmful both to oneself and to the society due to innate reasons of the human nature and as a result the particular person can be corrupted. Accordingly such a person, directed by those evil thoughts, may act wrongly. However in a civilized world such culprits are 'quarantined' by getting them into custody or imprisonment by the maintaining authorities of law and order of that particular human society.

Ven. Buddhaghosa gives us other similes of three types of bees. They are:

1. The too clever bee (aticheko)

2. The bee not clever enough (acheko) and

3. The clever bee (cheko)

Like all other things in the phenomenal world, a flower blooms but for a limited period of time. A bee collecting honey should reach the flower on time.

A too clever bee having known that a flower is blooming in a particular direction sets out hurriedly, overshoots the aimed tree, turns back and arrives at the flower late, when the pollen is finished. The second bee who is not clever enough sets out with slow speed. Because of his laziness it arrives at the flower late and would not be able to collect pollen.

But the third one who is clever will first decide the speed appropriate for the flight from the colony to the blooming tree. Without any unnecessary haste and also without being late on the way it will arrive on time to the flower. Having enjoyed the pollen it will bring it to the colony as well, and a sweet honeycomb will be made.

In the same manner a meditating bhikkhu who will force his energy thinking of reaching the mental stage 'absorption' (namely appana), soon will fall into mental agitation because of his over exerted energy and will end up without reaching the desired mantel stage. Another bhikkhu, having seen the defect in over-exertion, slackens its pace. His mind lapses into idleness because of his mind too is lax. However the bhikkhu who frees his mind from idleness even when it is slightly, idle and from agitation when slightly agitated reaches the goal.Ven. Buddhaghosa uses these similes of the bee to illustrate some inward mental process of those who cultivate their mind under the guidelines given in his commentary.

Some of us today may see them as irrelevant topics to the general public. But some in-depth study will show us that what these similes give us is equally important to lay society as well.

Most peoples specially those nations known as under developed and developing countries including that of ours can be seen aiming at goals that expected to be achieved 'instantly', and most of us have 'accelerated development programs. We have ample evidence in the world today of the disasters due to such hasteful activities of man.

One of the most charming similes that speaks of the behaviour of the bee comes in the following Dhammapada (49) verse

'Yathapi bhamaro puppham

vannagandham ahethayam

paleti rasamadaya

evam game muni care'

(As the bee collects honey from the flower without harming its colour or fragrance so should the sage wander in the village)

According to the commentary to the Dhammapada this verse has been uttered by the Buddha in praise of Ven. Moggallana who successfully converted a merchant named Macchariya Kosiya who is well-known for his miserly nature.

The verse says that muni or sage wander in the village like a bee. Bhikkhus live on the food and other materials offered by the people of a particular area or a village. He lives without being a burden to the people, while sustaining himself from what he would humbly obtain from them.

Like a bee the bhikkhu nurtures the whole society.

The bee collects honey from the flower without harming its colour or fragrance. This is only what can be seen by the normal human eye. But when we watch the bees' behaviour deeply it is evident that the same bee helps the whole eco-system as well.

It is through the bee's going from flower to flower the process of pollination takes place. Without pollination the trees would not bear fruits.

Though the bee in the forest collects honey without harming the flower there are still other species of insects who completely eat out the whole flower. Such insects are more in number than those species of bees who help the spread and growth of the trees.

Such insects eat out not only the flower but also the leaves and barks of the tree. And they also leave out the tree, after laying their eggs in tiny holes on the trunk of the tree. It is a wonder of the nature that such insects, after doing all the harm eventually get wings to fly away as butterflies.

In the above given verse the conduct of the Bhikkhu was compared to the bee's behaviour but not to those of other insects who harm the plants. The message given is equally important to all who follow the Buddha's words.

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