Knowing A Better Way To Catch A Snake

This sutra is a wonderful example of how easy it is to misunderstand teachings of the Buddhadharma. The sutra recounts a story of one of the Buddha's monks, Arittha, who lived in the Anathapindika Monastery in the Jeta Park with the Sangha...Arittha was heard by his brothers to say that 'sense pleasures were not an obstacle to the practice', which of course went contrary to the teaching of the Buddha. The monk, in his refusal to admit that he was wrong, continued to spread this message wherever he went. The point to this sutra is that, not only is it easy to misunderstand the Buddha's 'words,' but also the spirit of such teachings, and in doing so, actually bring harm to oneself and others... the Buddha uses a metaphor of knowing how to properly catch a snake, and intrigues us with a very deep and intricate teaching about the six 'wrong' perceptions.