Deep Commentary

The Buddha emphasizes that the main reason most practitioners fail to achieve liberation is their profound addiction to worldly, sensual pleasures. This is a deep-rooted habit spanning many lifetimes. By blindly following their desires, they sink deeper and deeper into the mud of sensory indulgence, much like a wild buffalo wandering lost in a dense forest with no way out. To lead the buffalo out, the herder must skillfully lure and guide it. Similarly, to escape the grip of sensory desires, a practitioner must skillfully use methods like Buddha-recitation or meditation to focus and tame the mind. We must constantly reflect that all worldly phenomena are impermanent and illusory. Everything is merely a temporary combination of conditions, with no solid reality; the things of this world are nothing but a fleeting dream. Through such contemplation, the craving for sensual pleasures gradually diminishes, and the mind finally achieves light and peaceful liberation.