Deep Commentary

This verse was taught by the Buddha at Bamboo Grove Monastery, concerning Uggasena. The story is fully detailed in the commentary for the verse beginning with "Abandoning past, present, and future." At that time, the bhikkhus said to the Buddha: "Venerable Sir, Uggasena says, 'I am not afraid' — surely he has lied." The Buddha replied: "Bhikkhus, like my son, one who has cut off all fetters is no longer afraid." Cutting off all fetters means eliminating all defilements. As we know, defilements are of many types, heavy and light. In the suttas, they are generally divided into two main categories: root defilements and secondary defilements. Root defilements consist of ten types divided into two: upper fetters and lower fetters. A fetter means bondage; "usages" means driving forces. This division is based on the nature of heaviness and lightness. Heavy ones such as greed, hatred, ignorance, conceit, doubt — these five belong to experiential defilements, have deep roots and are difficult to remove. The lighter five include: personality belief, extreme views, wrong view, attachment to views, and attachment to rites and rituals — these belong to intellectual defilements and are relatively easier to cut off. Whether fundamental or derivative, the Buddha taught that practitioners, especially monastics, must eliminate all of them. Only then can one be free from fear and anxiety, transcend all bondage, and attain liberation.