Deep Commentary

This verse was spoken at the Banyan Grove regarding Rohini, a princess of the Sakya clan. According to the legend, the Venerable Anuruddha returned to Kapilavastu with five hundred monks. He learned that all his relatives had come to the monastery to welcome him, except for his sister, Rohini. Upon inquiring, he discovered she was absent because she was suffering from a skin disease and felt too ashamed to appear in public. Anuruddha summoned her, and she reluctantly obeyed. After a discussion, he advised her to sell her jewelry to fund the construction of a monastery and prepare offerings for the Buddha and the Sangha. She followed his counsel, and upon the completion of the offerings, her skin condition vanished. The Buddha then explained that her ailment was the result of past karmic retribution rooted in anger and jealousy from a previous life when she, as a queen, had harmed a court dancer. Despite this past action, her sincere devotion and generosity in the present life led to her rebirth in the Tavatimsa heaven, where she enjoyed great beauty and happiness. The story illustrates that anger is a deep-seated, destructive defilement that burns both the self and others. It serves as a reminder that current suffering is often rooted in past unskillful actions, and that through mindfulness, cultivation, and the release of attachment to the mind and body (nama-rupa), one can transcend suffering and achieve liberation.