Deep Commentary

This verse was taught by the Buddha at Bamboo Grove Monastery, in connection with a monk who, before ordaining, had been a mime actor. According to the story, the circumstances were much like the account summarized just before this, with only a slight difference in the Buddha’s words: “Monks, he has abandoned both liking and disliking.” Liking and disliking are opposing forces that often throw the mind into confusion. Both are disturbances of consciousness. Liking moves in the direction of attraction: it stimulates passion and satisfies craving. It is a sweet substance that can quietly lead one toward suffering without one realizing it. People usually like an object because it suits their personal preference. This, too, is a form of greed, arising from the discriminating and deluded mind. Every preference begins from an initial habit. When that habit is repeated over and over, it accumulates as karmic tendency. Used day after day, it becomes a pattern of conduct. Once the seed of liking has matured, it gains the power to drive one to act under its command. From a relative point of view, habits of liking have two sides: beneficial and harmful. Beneficial habits are wholesome patterns that help oneself and others, such as reciting scriptures, recollecting the Buddha, giving, and other acts of goodness. There are also healthy forms of recreation, such as exercise, walking, and swimming, which are helpful for one’s health. Such good habits should be cultivated, for they make life brighter and more joyful. By contrast, harmful habits—such as gambling, addiction, and drinking—bring great damage to one’s life. If one wishes to live honestly and happily, one should keep away from such unwholesome habits. In doing so, one wisely builds a peaceful, joyful, and happy life for oneself and one’s family. This is the relative view according to worldly life. But from the absolute point of view, the Buddha teaches us to rise above these two opposing categories. He teaches us to let go of what is pleasing and what is displeasing. Only by letting go in this way can the mind become purified. Then these dualities no longer disturb us. Such a person is truly called by the Buddha one who is heroic beyond the world, because the defilements that cause suffering have come to an end. At that point, one becomes a person of complete freedom and liberation.