This article is based on the Buddhist scripture Zāḥāgama Sutra, Volume 8-227.
In everyday life, we often find ourselves overthinking — planning, organizing, or calculating — until our minds spin in circles. In the Saṃyukta Āgama, the Buddha shows how such thought patterns cause troubles, offering a chance to reflect on the habit of being calculating.
The “Calculating” Disease — The Hidden Struggle of Our Minds
Being calculating…
This is a kind of mental sickness.
But there are many ways of being calculating—counting, measuring, planning… Can all of these really be called a kind of sickness?
I don’t think any of those are necessarily bad…
Ah, but I guess overthinking isn’t good either.
For example, when making a plan, we consider all sorts of possibilities, and in the end, we sometimes end up doing nothing at all. That happens, right?
But managing risks is important too.
I agree that overthinking or relying only on theoretical ideas isn’t good, but just winging it can be dangerous as well, right
Being calculating is indeed a kind of sickness.
I’m not saying it’s bad in itself. But for us, this sickness represents an unavoidable kind of suffering.
Overthinking can give us headaches.
Hmm… if you ignore a sickness, it will get worse, right? That can’t be good, can it?
If you understand it and deal with it properly, it can improve.
It’s like observing and then treating it.
I see.
Also, understanding a sickness helps you maintain your health—or, in other words, stay in a good state.
Ah, so it’s about prevention.
Jumping to the conclusion that “sickness = bad” would be too quick.
Right. Now, getting back to the main point: we need to think carefully about what it means when being calculating is a kind of sickness.
Counting, measuring, planning… Those kinds of thinking are essential for living, but we need to be careful not to let them get out of hand, right?
The Meaning of Planning and Scheming
For example, take “planning ahead.”
Planning ahead… you mean like scheming? That sounds a bit negative to me.
Not necessarily. Planning that helps both yourself and others isn’t bad at all.
I see… but if the plan only benefits yourself, it can give a very bad impression.
Exactly. And if you always think only about what’s good for you, that kind of mindset can even affect your relationships with others.
The Calculating Mind that Breeds Conflict and Doubt
Buddha, is having that kind of mindset what you call a sickness?
How about we have some tea?
By the way, I received some delicious sweets. Please join me.
Oh, thank you! I do love sweets.
I see. I’ll cut them for you now.
Thank you very much.
I’ll take this piece, then.
Wait a moment— isn’t that piece bigger?
Do you want the bigger one?
It looks like it’s packed with more filling.
Also, I prefer the edge piece.
The edge? Right, you do like that.
I think I’ll go for the one with more filling.
Don’t fight over it, okay?(laughing)
By the way, if this had turned into a real argument, what would you have done?
Disciple 1
Hmm… I guess if not dividing it fairly would cause complaints, I’d try to split it evenly—like by size, maybe?
Then you’d really need to measure it, down to the centimeters.
Right… (laughing)
Just the size?
Well, if you care about the filling, you’d have to weigh it in grams.
And what about the edges you mentioned?
Why do you like the edge, anyway?
I think it’s the texture.
So firmness? Because of the bite?
Hmm… maybe.
Well, if you wanted, even firmness or softness could be measured.
Yes, there are even units for firmness, though we don’t usually use them for food.
Really?
You could also measure sweetness, ingredients, and other things.
Setting rules in advance to avoid arguments is also a kind of planning, isn’t it?
We said we’d divide it evenly, but if we think about all angles too precisely, it gets endlessly complicated… and gives me a headache.
Also, one-third is actually 1 ÷ 3 = 0.333…, so it can’t be perfectly divided anyway.
True… (laughing)
Being calculating is convenient and essential, but it can definitely give us headaches.
Even with the sweets, if we don’t overthink, we can divide them fairly evenly.
Right, and being calculating can become addictive. It’s an endless cycle if we get too caught up in it.
Buddha, I think I understand why being calculating is considered a sickness.
So, what should we do about it?
Shifting Perspective
Avoid thinking in terms of “me” or “what belongs to me.”
So in the sweets example, does that mean we shouldn’t say, “This is mine,” or “I want this one”?
Then should we just give everything away?
Don’t take my words as fixed rules.
That kind of rigid interpretation is itself a form of calculating.
…?
We weren’t actually fighting.
And we naturally shared based on what each of us preferred.
So this isn’t about erasing the self and giving everything to others?
Right. You often say that terms like “no-self” shouldn’t be taken literally.
Wow… this is getting complicated.
That’s how calculating works.
What starts as an attempt to clarify things often ends up making them more complicated.
So we’re not being told to abandon ourselves and give everything away.
Exactly.
Thinking “I must give up myself for others” already comes from measuring “self” and “possessions.”
When that kind of measuring stops,
the sense of clinging to what you think you hold naturally falls away.
…?
So have we been overthinking all along?
Did we do something wrong?
No, not at all.
By the way, how were the sweets? Would you like some more tea?
Thank you.
This tea is delicious too.
I’m glad we could talk like this—
learning from one another while sharing tea and sweets.
That’s a bit much…
Now you’re making me blush. (laughing)
Sometimes discussions turn into harsh arguments.
Even tea and sweets can become causes of conflict—
who gets more, who gets less, what belongs to whom.
That kind of measuring can easily become the spark of conflict.
That’s true…
Wait—does that also come from “calculating”?
Buddha smiles warmly, and the room falls quiet for a moment.
A brief note on translation
The Japanese verb hakaru (計る) carries a range of meanings—measuring, calculating, weighing, and assessing—that naturally overlap.
In this text, that sense of overlap is reflected in the phrase being calculating.
It is not intended as a strict equivalent, but as a way of holding those nuances together within a single expression.
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