Hi ,
Today, have checked Pali verse on guarding sense doors:
“When you see a sight with your eyes, don’t get caught up in the features and details.”
and noticed one alternative way of translating it.
The purpose of guarding sense doors is so that abhijjhādomanassā does not overcome one. This is stated in MN107, for example:
If the faculty of sight were left unrestrained, bad unskillful qualities of covetousness and displeasure(abhijjhādomanassā) would become overwhelming . For this reason, practice restraint, protect the faculty of sight, and achieve restraint over it.
After reflecting on what caused one to long for something or covet something (abhijjhā) - the answer I came up with was: focusing on the value/worth it provides.
Or: Without seeing something as valuable, will abhijjhā for it arise?
Then the guarding sense doors Pali verse states:
‘ehi tvaṁ, bhikkhu, indriyesu guttadvāro hohi, cakkhunā rūpaṁ disvā mā nimittaggāhī hohi mānubyañjanaggāhī.
The key words here are nimittaggāhī and mānubyañjanaggāhī. According to dictionary they are to be split into words nimitta-aggāhī and ma-anubyañjana-aggāhī.
Digital Pāḷi Dictionary
aggha
1. masc. value; cost; price; worth [√aggh + a]
2. nt. obligation made to a guest [√aggh]
3. pr. is worth; has the value (of) [√aggh + a + ti]
4. pr. deserves [√aggh]
5. aor. deserved [√aggh]
Finnaly, the alternate translation would read:
When you see a sight with your eyes, don’t get caught up in the the sign of its value nor its accompanying value.
Or alternatively:
When you see a sight with your eyes, don’t get caught up in its intrinsic value nor its extrinsic value.
In short, translating words nimittaggāhī: feature of value, worth, price, cost.
eg.: if one sees gold - thinks it has value - abhijjhā for it can come up.
And mānubyañjanaggāhī: accompanying worth, value.
If something lacks intrinsic value, still there might be ways how to obtain value thought it (extrinsic value).