Deep Commentary

The Buddha taught these verses at the Bamboo Grove monastery, regarding the tragic death of Venerable Moggallana. He was beaten to death by bandits hired by ascetic rivals who were jealous of the alms the Buddha and His disciples received. Moggallana accepted his fate, knowing it was the unyielding karmic retribution for a grave sin in a past life: murdering his blind parents. The Buddha explained that even a highly realized Arahant with supreme psychic powers cannot escape the law of karma. However, unlike ordinary beings who suffer mentally, an Arahant feels only physical pain; having eradicated the ego, their mind remains completely liberated and at peace. The Buddha further declared that anyone who harms a pure, harmless person will inevitably face ten severe consequences, ranging from loss of wealth and physical injury to rebirth in hell. Drawing upon profound teachings (similar to those in the Sutra of Forty-Two Sections), the Buddha compared harming the innocent to spitting at the sky or throwing dust against the wind—the harm only returns to the perpetrator. He urged practitioners to maintain strict patience and forbearance; retaliating in anger only destroys one's own lifetime of accumulated spiritual merit.