Deep Commentary

This verse, taught by the Buddha at Jetavana Monastery, concerns a young monk disciple of Sariputta, a handsome youth born to a family of silversmiths. Knowing his disciple’s strong attachment to sensual desires, Sariputta instructed him to meditate on the contemplation of impurity. Obediently, the disciple went deep into the forest to practice. After more than a month, he made no progress and reported to his teacher, who advised him to continue. Yet even after three more months of meditation, there was still no advancement. Despite his keen intelligence, the disciple could not understand why he was unsuccessful. Reflecting on how to assist him, the teacher and disciple approached the Buddha. The Buddha discerned that the disciple’s disposition was unsuitable for contemplating impurity due to his past lifetimes as a silversmith, favoring beauty. The Buddha then instructed him to meditate on a lotus flower. The disciple picked a lotus from a pond and placed it in a pile of sand, concentrating deeply. Comparing the fresh lotus in water and the withered one on sand, he perceived clearly the impermanence, suffering, and non-self of all phenomena. Seeing the dependent origination of all things, his defilements ceased, and his mind became pure. The Buddha then appeared and spoke the verse, and the disciple attained Arahantship. The teaching highlights the importance of selecting a meditation practice appropriate to one’s disposition and the critical role of choosing a teacher who can guide according to one’s nature. True liberation arises when attachment is completely severed, like plucking a lotus in autumn: the mind becomes pure, and the practitioner experiences peace, joy, and ultimately Nibbana.