Deep Commentary

This verse was taught by the Buddha at Bamboo Grove Monastery, in connection with Venerable Jatila. According to the story, for seven successive lives Jatila was abandoned in a river shortly after birth, and this present life was his final one. Because his two elder children did not help their father, they were not able to share in the mountain of gold; only the father and the youngest child received it. After giving instructions to his children, the treasurer followed the Buddha into the monastic life and before long attained arahantship. On one occasion, the Buddha and the community of monks went to the homes of Jatila’s children for alms, and the children offered food to them continuously for half a month. Later, the monks discussed the matter and asked Jatila directly: “You left behind a mountain of gold and your children to go forth. Do you feel regret or pride about it?” Jatila replied that he felt neither regret nor pride. The other monks thought his answer was insincere, that he was merely deceiving himself, and that this amounted to false speech. Hearing this, the Buddha told the monks: “Monks, it is true that he has neither regret nor pride concerning what he has done.” Material wealth and possessions are things that not everyone can abandon. Only those who have awakened to the truth can do so. When one sees clearly that all things in life are impermanent and illusory, one can courageously let go without the slightest regret. A well-known story tells of a devoted lay practitioner who, after realizing the essence of Zen, threw all the gold his family had accumulated into a river. Many people felt deep regret at his action because they did not understand his intention. Out of their own attachment, they pitied him and criticized him. Some wondered why he had not given the gold to others, thinking that such an act would have been more useful. But they did not understand that he had abandoned craving. If one has let go of craving but then gives wealth to others in a way that only increases their desire, one may simply be stirring up more attachment in them. Having renounced attachment oneself, one should encourage others to do the same, not help them strengthen greed. Thinking in this way, he cast everything away without regret. Afterward, he and his family worked simply, earning only enough to live from day to day. In this way, greed could truly be uprooted. Such an action is extremely difficult for ordinary people. From the Buddhist perspective, although he did not shave his head and enter a monastery, his heart had already gone forth. For the deeper meaning of going forth is to leave the house of afflictions. In truth, he had left the house of defilement, even while his body still lived in the ordinary world. To leave the house of afflictions is what truly matters. Conversely, one may live in a monastery while the mind remains attached to worldly objects, still full of greed, anger, delusion, ego-clinging, and desire for sense pleasures. Such a person, the Buddha says, has not truly gone forth. That is only the outward form of renunciation; the mind has not yet renounced. To go forth in the true sense means that both body and mind must go forth. One’s inner life and outward conduct must be different from worldly ways. Only then, the Buddha says, is one worthy of being called a renunciant and a monk. The story of Venerable Jatila is a clear example of this. He abandoned everything without the slightest regret. Because he let go in this way, his mind was no longer bound by attachment. Therefore, his practice of meditation soon bore fruit. He completely ended the defilements and became an arahant.