Guarding the Sense Doors: Alternate Translation

Hi :slightly_smiling_face:,

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).

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SN16.13 uses the analogy differently:

It’s like native gold, which doesn’t disappear as long as counterfeit gold hasn’t appeared in the world.
But when counterfeit gold appears in the world then native gold disappears.

In this sense, guarding the sense doors would mean paying no attention to the counterfeit gold. Ve. Thanissaro has the following note on the analogy:

Gold, of course, does not go out of existence simply because there is counterfeit gold. What happens is that it goes out of use: People find that counterfeit gold is easier to use. An added implication of this statement may be that as long as there is only genuine gold, people will not doubt its authenticity. When there is both genuine and counterfeit gold, doubts will arise as to what is genuine — all gold becomes doubtful — and people will end up using whichever is easier or more to their liking.

Perhaps you should double-check. I believe no dictionary splits those compounds this way. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Thank you, have double checked, yes you are right, the dictionary states that the ending is gāhi. It seems I got confused by the double g’s in there.
Then I suppose I should check what gāhi means - that is if it carries a connotation such as “grasping for value of items” by any chance. If someone knows its detailed meaning & Sanskrit gāhi of , I would appreciate it for sharing.

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You can also learn more about it here Grahin, Grahi, Grāhī, Grāhi, Grāhin: 22 definitions

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