Deep Commentary

The four preceding verses were taught by the Buddha at Jetavana Monastery in connection with the story of the golden fish Kapilamaccha. According to the tradition, long ago, during the time of Buddha Kassapa, two brothers were born into a noble family and later went forth as monks. The elder was named Sodhana and the younger Kapila. Their mother, Sadhini, and their sister, Tapana, also went forth as nuns. After ordination, both brothers fulfilled the duties of monastics. One day they asked their preceptor how many principal duties a renunciant had. The preceptor replied that there were two: study and meditation. Hearing this, the elder brother devoted himself to meditation and eventually attained arahantship. The younger brother, however, devoted himself only to learning. He mastered the Three Baskets but did not practice meditation. Enticed by the demon of fame and gain, he became arrogant, relying on his learning, despising virtuous elders, forming factions, and ignoring his brother’s advice. In the end, Kapila fell into the Avici hell. At that time, five hundred bandits, pursued by the law, fled into the deep forest. There they met a hermit and asked for refuge. The hermit told them that there was no safe refuge equal to taking refuge in virtue, and asked whether they could keep the Five Precepts. They all agreed. He then advised them that, having vowed to keep the precepts, they must not break them under any hardship, even at the cost of their lives. They resolved to observe them. Before long, the villagers discovered their hiding place and killed them all. Because they had kept the precepts purely, they were reborn in heaven. For many lives they enjoyed heavenly merit. When their heavenly merit was exhausted, they were reborn together in the human world during the time of Buddha Gotama. As for Kapila, after his life in hell ended, due to the remaining result of his evil karma, he was reborn as a fish in the Aciravati River. The fish’s body shone like gold, but its breath was extremely foul. The golden fish was caught in the nets of fishermen. Recognizing it as extraordinary, they brought it to the king. The king, amazed by it, took it to the Buddha and asked the reason for its condition. The Buddha then told the story of Kapila’s former life in the time of Buddha Kassapa. Although Kapila had created evil karma by abusing true and virtuous monks, because he had recited the scriptures, taught the Dharma, and praised the Buddha, he received the result of having a golden body. After hearing the Buddha recount Kapila’s past life and the fate of his relatives, including that his mother and sister had also fallen into hell for slandering virtuous monks, while only the elder brother Sodhana had been liberated through meditation, the whole assembly was deeply moved. On that occasion the Buddha taught the verse: Living always in right view, practicing always in purity, this is the radiant jewel, more precious than all. Craving, in Sanskrit tanha, means thirst, attachment, longing, and clinging. There are three kinds of craving. First is craving for sensual pleasure: attachment to the five sensual desires and the six sense objects. Second is craving for existence: delighting in bodily and material pleasures, thinking that after death nothing remains, and therefore fearing neither wrongdoing, rebirth, nor karmic results. Third is craving for non-existence or continued indulgence under wrong views: while absorbed in material pleasure, one imagines that one will continue to enjoy such pleasures forever. In some explanations, bhava-tanha is craving for existence in refined realms, and vibhava-tanha is craving connected with formless states or annihilating views. Craving and desire are the root of birth and death in samsara. The Buddha taught that attachment is the root of all defilements. From attachment arises desire; from desire arises anxiety; from anxiety arises suffering. This is the painful cycle in which beings become entangled. In the twelve links of dependent origination, craving and clinging are the causes that lead to present suffering. Ultimately, craving and desire arise from the deluded mind; thus the mind is the true root. To escape the root of samsaric suffering, one must cut off craving and desire. This is especially true for those who follow the path of renunciation, whether the disciple path, the bodhisattva path, or the Buddha path. For those practicing for human or heavenly blessings, craving cannot yet be completely abandoned. There are wholesome aspirations and unwholesome desires. Practitioners at this level should abandon unwholesome desire while preserving wholesome aspiration, because wholesome aspiration enables people to create merit, do good, and benefit others. Wholesome aspiration is the noble wish to rise upward, to build a pure, peaceful, and happy life for oneself, one’s family, and society. However, if one wishes to follow the transcendent path and go beyond birth, death, and suffering, one must completely abandon sensual desire and attachment, because they are what make the mind restless. They stir us up and drag us along without pause. The passions and cravings of the heart keep people troubled and unstable. In verse 334, the Buddha teaches that if one lives heedlessly, craving keeps increasing. Indeed, human desire never knows enough. The ocean may be sounded, but the depth of the human heart is hard to measure. The more one craves, the more one suffers. Those who do not know contentment can never truly live in peace. One may think that the richest people in the world must be very happy, but this is not necessarily so. Outwardly they seem to possess much wealth, yet inwardly they may not be at ease. They may live in loneliness, worry, and calculation, with few moments of true peace. Conversely, one may think that the poor can never be happy, but that is also not necessarily true. Many poor people are deeply happy because they know contentment. Their hearts are fresh and peaceful. They do not struggle and compete endlessly with the world. If one knows how to live simply and adapt wisely, one may have much peace and happiness. Though happiness is difficult to define precisely, true happiness is present when the mind is peaceful and no longer enslaved by desire. For those who do not know enough and do not restrain craving, the Buddha says that craving grows like birana grass spreading from life to life, and like a monkey leaping from tree to tree in search of fruit. This image clearly describes the heedless and restless mind. Our mind is like a monkey jumping from branch to branch, searching for the fruits of sensual objects. Only when the monkey stops leaping in search of fruit does it find peace. Likewise, only when the mind stops chasing and clinging to the six sense objects can our life truly know peace. In verse 335, the Buddha teaches that when one is bound by craving in this world, sorrow grows like birana grass after rain. Craving arises from thought; if thought does not arise, how can craving appear? Birana grass already spreads by nature; when rain falls, it grows even more vigorously. Likewise, the human mind is naturally inclined toward desire, and when surrounded by attractive material objects, it easily becomes heedless and attached. The moment a thought of craving arises toward an object, we are already bound and tightened by that object. To avoid such suffering, we must quickly transform the seeds of craving and desire within us. Only then can life become peaceful and happy. In verse 336, the Buddha teaches that one who conquers craving, difficult though it is to conquer, will have sorrow fall away like drops of water from a lotus leaf. Although the Buddha’s teachings are vast, they can be summed up as awakening and liberation. Awakening is seeing directly what is present. Liberation is untying and releasing the bonds. This release does not come from outside; it takes place within one’s own mind. The mind is full of defilements, knots, and entanglements. The root of these inner knots is craving. This knot is not easy to subdue. Whoever subdues and conquers it is truly victorious. This is the most heroic victory, and it is true liberation. When that happens, worry, sorrow, and fear disappear, like water rolling off a lotus leaf. Water and lotus leaf do not cling to each other; in the same way, mind and object no longer become entangled. Mind is mind, object is object. In verse 337, the Buddha tells us to uproot craving completely, just as one who removes grass must pull out its roots. He also warns us not to let Mara harm us like reeds swept away by a flood. The roots of craving are deep and strong. To pull them out completely is not easy. Without firm determination and the sharp sword of wisdom, practitioners will find it difficult to cut off craving. Usually we are weak and are controlled by it. It has commanded us not only in this present life but through countless past lives. Therefore the Buddha says its roots are very deep. When it is inactive, we imagine it is absent; in reality it is lying hidden. Its nature is habit-energy. Normally we may not notice it, but when we meet favorable or unfavorable conditions, it reveals itself. In favorable conditions, it appears as pleasure and delight. In unfavorable conditions, when its demands are not satisfied, it appears as anger and violence. When desire is frustrated, it can cause great destruction. Wars, bloodshed, and social chaos arise from greed and hatred. The Buddha clearly recognized this demon of craving. It is always thirsty, always demanding satisfaction through physical, biological, and psychological needs. Yet how can craving ever be fully satisfied? People perish because of greed, just as birds are trapped by bait. Many suffer imprisonment, execution, ruin, and deep misery because they cannot overcome the demon of craving. Thus the Buddha compares it to reeds struck by a flood, a danger beyond measure. From the story above, two lessons are especially important. First, although both brothers went forth, the elder attained liberation because he practiced meditation, while the younger focused only on learning, neglected meditation, relied on his knowledge, despised true practitioners, and fell into suffering. Thus a practitioner who only studies doctrine and theory without practice gains no real benefit on the path to liberation. Second, the story of the bandits shows that although they had done evil, after awakening to their wrongs and meeting a good spiritual friend, they resolved to keep the Five Precepts. Even when pursued and killed, they chose death rather than breaking the precepts. Because of this, they were reborn in heaven and enjoyed great merit. By contrast, Kapila created evil causes and fell into Avici hell; after that, he was reborn as a foul-smelling golden fish. His mother and sister, because they followed him in forming factions and committing evil deeds, also fell into hell. This teaches us that the law of karma never fails. Therefore we should avoid evil, diligently do good, and keep the mind pure. If we do so, we will surely experience good results in the present and the future; otherwise, suffering will be great.