Deep Commentary

This verse was taught by the Buddha at Jetavana Monastery in connection with Venerable Angulimala. The story had already been told in the commentary beginning with the verse “The miserly do not go to heaven.” The monks asked Angulimala: “Brother Angulimala, when you saw the fierce elephant holding the parasol standing before you, were you not afraid?” He answered: “No, friends, I was not afraid.” The monks reported to the Buddha: “Bhante, Angulimala is lying.” The Buddha replied: “Monks, Angulimala was not afraid. Among the great ones who have abandoned craving, monks like Angulimala are noble and no longer fearful.” In this verse, the Buddha speaks of three qualities of spiritual heroism. First is the heroic person, noble like a great bull. This is not ordinary courage, but the courage of the noble ones: the extraordinary strength of the inner life, the power to stand upright and let go of everything. Such a person is truly great and heroic. To possess such a great heart, one must have great strength and great compassion. Through great compassion, great joy and great equanimity are fulfilled. The Buddha renounced everything and thereby gained what cannot be possessed by ordinary people: the spiritual treasure that humanity continues to honor and learn from. What worldly people cling to is only an illusory game. Because they dare not let go, they keep drifting in suffering. To let go of attachment to all things requires the strength of a great bull. Those who are still spiritually immature merely lower their heads to graze on the tender grass of the six sense objects and cannot yet become such a great bull. Second, the Buddha speaks of one who is victorious and free from sensual desire like a great sage. Victory means overcoming the circle of fame and gain. To be a great sage, one must stand outside enslavement to possessions and status. Freedom from desire means freedom from infatuation with sense pleasures. Desire can be wholesome or unwholesome, but here the Buddha teaches us to abandon the craving that feeds attachment to the body and the five aggregates. As long as there is craving and clinging, there is suffering. If there is suffering, how can one be a sage? If we cannot yet be great sages, we can at least be modest sages by reducing greed, living simply, being content, and no longer racing after material things. In this way we suffer less in the competitive world of fame and gain, because we have already restrained desire to some degree. A sage is one who lives freely, lightly, and peacefully, not bound by worldly entanglements. Worldly taste may appear sweet, but it often becomes bitter; those who have tasted it know this well. The more one indulges, the more one suffers. Third, the Buddha speaks of one who has bathed, become clean, and awakened. The bathing spoken of here is not ordinary bathing. We must bathe the body and mind with the water of loving-kindness, so they become cool and refreshed. We must bathe with the water of discipline, so body and mind become pure. More simply, every day we should wash ourselves with the four waters of the Bodhisattva path: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. We wash away the dirt and stains in the heart. Especially when we bathe in the water of equanimous letting go, the mind becomes fresh, fragrant, and at ease. With such bathing, our life is elevated and liberated.