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The Buddha gives five reasons to use a tooth-cleaner. |
Pāḷi |
English |
Pañcime, bhikkhave, ādīnavā dantakaṭṭhassa akhādane. Katame pañca? Acakkhussaṃ, mukhaṃ duggandhaṃ hoti, rasaharaṇiyo na visujjhanti, pittaṃ semhaṃ bhattaṃ pariyonandhati, bhattamassa nacchādeti. Ime kho, bhikkhave, pañca ādīnavā dantakaṭṭhassa akhādane.
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There are, bhikkhus, these five disadvantages of not chewing the tooth[-cleaner] stick.{1} Which five? The mouth is not good-looking and it stinks, the taste buds do not get cleansed, the bile and phlegm do not coat the food, and one is not pleased with the food. These, bhikkhus, are the five disadvantages of not chewing the tooth[-cleaner] stick.
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Pañcime, bhikkhave, ānisaṃsā dantakaṭṭhassa khādane. Katame pañca? Cakkhussaṃ, mukhaṃ na duggandhaṃ hoti, rasaharaṇiyo visujjhanti, pittaṃ semhaṃ bhattaṃ na pariyonandhati, bhattamassa chādeti. Ime kho, bhikkhave, pañca ānisaṃsā dantakaṭṭhassa khādane ti.
| There are, bhikkhus, these five advantages of chewing the tooth[-cleaner] stick. Which five? The mouth is good-looking and it doesn't stink, the taste buds get cleansed, the bile and phlegm coat the food, and one is pleased with the food. These, bhikkhus, are the five advantages of chewing the tooth[-cleaner] stick. |
 Note1. tooth[-cleaner] stick: danta·kaṭṭha, lit. "tooth-stick". Interpreting the word as tooth-pick is probably a mistake, because 1) there is a specific word for tooth-pick: danta·poṇa, and 2) until today the people of northern India use (the sap of) a particular stick to clean their teeth, which by the way makes them perfectly white. ———oOo——— Published as a gift of Dhamma, to be distributed free of charge. Any copies or derivatives of this work must mention its original source. |