Deep Commentary

This verse highlights the destructive nature of envy. Envious people, enslaved by their own egos, constantly belittle and falsely accuse others to elevate themselves. The Buddha warns that attempting to harm a pure, innocent person is foolish and self-destructive. In the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters, the Buddha teaches that if a malicious person tries to ruin a virtuous one's deeds, the virtuous person should remain patient and not retaliate with anger. Responding to malice with malice only brings mutual suffering. The wise use tolerance and wisdom to diffuse hatred. The Sutra recounts an incident where the Buddha was harshly insulted by an envious individual. The Buddha remained completely calm and later asked the man, 'If you offer a gift to someone and they refuse it, to whom does the gift belong?' The man replied, 'It belongs to me.' The Buddha then said, 'You have insulted me, but I do not accept it. The hostility remains with you, just as an echo follows a sound and a shadow follows a form.' An ancient proverb echoes this: 'He who spits blood at another dirties his own mouth first.' Harboring malicious intent toward a pure person is like throwing dust against the wind or spitting at the sky; the harm inevitably falls back upon the wrongdoer.