[Buddha-l] Singing for one's supper

[Richard Hayes]

On Nov 18, 2009, at 3:08 PM, Mike Austin wrote:

> Dear Friends,
>
> I was browsing Access to Insight and found the Kasi Bharadvaja  
> Sutta. In
> this sutra, the Buddha referred to food that has somehow been  
> associated
> with chanting. There are two apparently quite different  
> translations. It
> is not clear to me what the intended meaning is.
>
> In the first translation, it seems that food may have been chanted  
> over
> (blessed?) during preparation. In the second translation, it seems  
> that
> food might be received as payment for recitation. Can anyone explain?

The verse in question is the following:
Gāthābhigītaṃ me abhojayyeṃ
Sampassataṃ brāhmaṇa nesadhammo
Gāthābhigītaṃ panudanti buddhā
Dhamme satī brāhmaṇa vuttiresā.

According to the Pali Text Society dictionary, this is the only  
occurrence in the Pali canon of the phrase "gāthābhigītaṃ" and its  
usual interpretation in the commentaries is the second of the two  
translations you refer to. The Buddha is saying that that which has  
been acquired by chanting verses is not suitable to be eaten by him.  
Brahmins make their livelihood by performing rituals that include  
chanting verses, but that is not how the Buddha or his disciples make  
their livelihood. Put into modern idiom, the idea is that real  
men(dicants) don't sing for their supper; they beg.

Please send your donation to my PayPal account. Or send me a singing  
telegram.

Richard