Deep Commentary

This verse was taught by the Buddha at Bamboo Grove Monastery in connection with the nun Dhammadinna. According to the story, before she went forth, Dhammadinna had a husband named Visakha, a devoted lay follower of the Buddha. After hearing the Buddha’s teaching, Visakha attained the fruit of non-returning. One day, he behaved very differently from before. He paid no attention to his wife and ate in silence, instead of inviting her to eat as he usually did. She was surprised and wondered whether he was angry with her, though she could find no fault in herself. After the meal, he said: “From today onward, I hand over all the property in this house to you. Please take care of it.” She was even more surprised and asked: “What about you?” He replied: “From now on, I will no longer be involved in worldly affairs.” She said: “I will not gather up what you have spat out. Let me go forth as a nun.” He agreed immediately. She went forth, practiced diligently, and before long attained arahantship. Later, she guided him also to liberation. The conduct of this husband and wife is rare in the world. Visakha was a layperson, yet he practiced and attained the fruit of non-returning, the third of the four noble fruits. One who has reached this stage has not yet eradicated all defilements like an arahant, but has removed the coarse defilements. Spiritual attainment cannot be judged by outward form. What each person realizes is hard for others to know; it is like drinking water and knowing for oneself whether it is warm or cold. Some people may appear outwardly not to practice much, while inwardly they are very careful. Whenever a thought arises, they recognize it immediately. Whenever defilements arise in the mind, they see them at once. Who, then, can know the peace and liberation within them, except the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and most directly themselves? Whether one practices truly or falsely, one knows oneself. One also knows where one stands now and where one is headed. That is certain. What is remarkable is that, after understanding the Dharma and the essence of practice, Visakha immediately handed all his possessions to his wife and no longer clung to them. If he had not attained the path, this would not have been easy. Wealth is something few people do not desire. Most people want to possess more for themselves and do not want to release it to others, even to those closest to them. His wife was also extraordinary. Her words, “I will not gather up what you have spat out,” could hardly be spoken by one without deep practice. She regarded property as something already discarded. This shows how peaceful and liberated her mind was. It is a statement worthy of great admiration. Eventually she went forth, practiced with energy, attained arahantship, and returned to guide her husband to liberation. In this verse, we should note the Buddha’s teaching: “Regarding the past, future, and present, he has nothing at all.” This reminds us of the Diamond Sutra, where the Buddha also teaches that the mind cannot be found in the three times. The mind that appears is the deluded mind. The true mind cannot be grasped as an object. When deluded thought arises, it carries images and marks of the six sense objects. Even if those marks are subtle, their nature is empty because deluded thought arises dependent on conditions. “Empty” here means empty of deluded, inverted thinking; it does not mean the absence of true mind. One should not misunderstand this. Since the root of delusion is false, whatever the mind grasps and labels as real cannot be truly real. Time is empty, space changes, and nothing remains fixed. In short, all phenomena are empty in nature. To awaken to this emptiness is to realize the path. Emptiness here means the absence of defilement and fixed self-nature; it is not nihilistic nothingness. The Buddha then says: “One who clings to nothing is called a Brahmin.” Clinging to nothing means letting go of everything. This does not mean only letting go of external objects. More importantly, it means letting go of the tangled defilements in the mind. Only by letting go in this way can the original mind become peaceful, free, and liberated.