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The Raw Grain Series: Dust on a Fingernail and the Few Who Choose Well
Everyday life

The Raw Grain Series: Dust on a Fingernail and the Few Who Choose Well

Appakā te sattā

The Buddha places a little dust on his fingernail and compares it with the great earth: beings who are born as humans, who care for their mothers and fathers, respect their elders, abstain from alcohol, from killing, stealing, lying, divisive and harsh speech, from cheating with scales and from bribery, are as few as that dust. This rarity is a reason to value this life and to act well.

8 points

In the Āmakadhañña Peyyāla at the end of the Sacca Saṃyutta, Saṃyutta Nikāya, the Buddha picks up a little dust on the tip of his fingernail and asks the monks which is more, this dust or the great earth. The earth, they say; the dust on the fingernail does not compare even to a fraction of it. Just so, he says, few are the beings reborn among humans, because they have not seen the four noble truths. Therefore one should make an effort to understand as it really is: this is suffering, this is its origin, this is its cessation, this is the path leading to its cessation.

There follows a series of short discourses using the same simile: few have the noble eye of wisdom; few abstain from alcohol; few care for their mother, father, ascetics and brahmins; few respect the elders of the family; few abstain from the unwholesome courses of action such as killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive, harsh and idle speech; and few abstain from cheating with scales and measures, bribery, deception and violence. The series is named after one of its discourses, on abstaining from accepting raw grain.

At the end the fingernail simile returns: few beings, passing away from among humans, gods, hell beings, animals or ghosts, are reborn as humans or gods, while many more are reborn in hell, the animal realm or the ghost realm. This page presents these discourses as a reminder to value the life we have, not as a cause for fear.

  1. 1

    Dust on a fingernail and the great earth Parittaṃ nakhasikhāyaṃ paṃsuṃ āropetvā

    The Buddha picks up a little dust on the tip of his fingernail and asks the monks to compare it with the great earth. They say the dust does not compare at all. This simile is repeated throughout the series.

    Applying it in daily life

    When the good you do feels too small, or makes you stand out from those around you, remember the dust on the fingernail. Being few doesn't mean worthless; it means rare.

  2. 2

    Human birth is a rare opportunity Appamattakā te sattā ye manussesu paccājāyanti

    He says that the beings reborn among humans are as few as the dust on the fingernail, while those reborn elsewhere are far more. The human life we have now is an opportunity not to be wasted.

    Applying it in daily life

    This morning, before starting work, consider that today is a hard-won opportunity, and resolve to do one good thing you've been putting off.

  3. 3

    Few care for mother and father and respect elders Appakā te sattā ye matteyyā

    He says few care for their mother, few care for their father, and few respect the elders of the family; those who do not are far more.

    Applying it in daily life

    Call your parents or the elders in your family once this week, with no particular reason, just to ask how they are.

  4. 4

    Few abstain from alcohol Surāmerayamajjapamādaṭṭhānā paṭiviratā

    He says few abstain from drinking liquor and wine, which are a basis for heedlessness; those who do not abstain are far more.

    Applying it in daily life

    At a party where everyone drinks, asking for water can feel odd. Remember that being in the minority here is a choice of real worth.

  5. 5

    Few abstain from killing, stealing and lying Pāṇātipātā paṭiviratā

    The second chapter of the series says few abstain from killing living beings, taking what is not given, sexual misconduct and lying; those who do not abstain are far more.

    Applying it in daily life

    The five precepts are not something everybody keeps. Keeping all of them for a whole day is something to appreciate in yourself.

  6. 6

    Few guard their speech Pisuṇāya vācāya paṭiviratā

    He goes on to say few abstain from divisive speech, harsh speech and idle chatter; those who do not abstain are far more.

    Applying it in daily life

    In a group chat where people gossip or speak harshly, choosing not to join in is a good deed few notice, but it is truly rare.

  7. 7

    Few refrain from cheating and bribery Tulākūṭakaṃsakūṭamānakūṭā paṭiviratā

    In the last chapter of the series he says few abstain from cheating with scales, false metal and measures, and few abstain from bribery, deception and fraud.

    Applying it in daily life

    In sales or purchasing, weighing and measuring honestly and refusing under-the-table benefits is a goodness as rare as dust on a fingernail.

  8. 8

    The reason is not seeing the noble truths, so make an effort Adiṭṭhattā bhikkhave catunnaṃ ariyasaccānaṃ

    Every discourse in the series gives the same reason: it is because the four noble truths have not been seen. And it concludes that one should make an effort to understand as it really is: this is suffering, this is its origin, this is its cessation, this is the path to its cessation.

    Applying it in daily life

    When you see most people choosing paths that lead to suffering, don't just judge them. Let it spur you to study and understand suffering and its causes more clearly yourself.

Try it in daily life

Reading this series may make you feel there are few good people in the world. Seen the other way, it says each good choice is rare and precious. Not drinking at a party, refusing a kickback, or calling your mother puts you directly among the dust on the fingernail.

There's no need to wait for the majority to act first. The discourses already tell us that most won't. Goodness is not a matter of following the crowd.

Many items in the middle of the list, such as not accepting gold and silver, raw grain or land, and not buying and selling, are practices for renunciants, and some, such as not eating at the wrong time, belong to the Uposatha precepts. Lay people can choose the items that fit their own lives.

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