Looking for the only two EBT suttas where the Buddha talks about consciousness evolving from plants

Q & A
1

Hello, Ajahn Brahm sometimes mentions in his talks that there are only 2 suttas in the EBT where the Buddha talks about consciousness evolving from plants. I tried to search but i can not find them.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thank you!

2

Consciousness doesnā€™t evolve from plants, so no such Suttas exist.

3

What came to my mind was SN22.54 where consciousness is compared to a seed.

ā€œThe four grounds of consciousness should be seen as like the earth element.

Relishing and greed should be seen as like the water element.

Consciousness with its fuel should be seen as like the five kinds of plants propagated from seeds."

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4

I trust Ajahn Brahm on this one.

Check out how he answers a question at the end of ā€œthe word of the Buddhaā€ class
timestamp 1:29:50

5

Thanks for your reply! No, not that one, even though it is a wonderful metaphor for how rebirth takes place :slight_smile:

6

Do you mean passages in which plants are referred to as ekindriyaį¹ƒ jÄ«vaį¹ƒ (ā€œsingle-facultied lifeā€)? If so, these are from the Vinaya. For example, thereā€™s pācittiya 11 for monks and pācittiya 39 for nuns. Then it comes up thrice in the Mahāvagga: in the section about entering the rains residence and in the two sections that prohibit the wearing of sandals of palm leaves and sandals of bamboo leaves.

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7

Iā€™ll read them and let you know. Thank you so much for you reply!

8

I havenā€™t listened to this talk, but previously Ajahn Brahm referred to Snp 3.9 and its parallel MN 98:

I shall explain to you,ā€ said the Buddha, ā€œaccurately and in sequence, the taxonomy of living creatures, for species are indeed diverse.

Know the grass and trees, though they lack self-awareness. Theyā€™re defined by birth, for species are indeed diverse.

Next there are bugs and moths, and so on, to ants and termites. Theyā€™re defined by birth, for species are indeed diverse.

Know the quadrupeds, too, both small and large. Theyā€™re defined by birth, for species are indeed diverse.

Whether this means that consciousness evolves from plants is up for debate I thinkā€¦

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9

DN3#2.3.4 with the note implies that some people may have thought they were conscious or at least potentially conscious, but it does not say it outright.

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