Deep Commentary

The Buddha delivered this verse at the Jetavana Monastery concerning five lay followers who attended a discourse. While the Buddha taught with impartiality, only one listener paid attention; the others were distracted by habits ingrained from their past lives—sleeping, playing with the earth, staring at the sky, or fidgeting with branches. The Buddha explained that these behaviors were vestiges of their previous existences (as a snake, an insect, an astrologer, and a monkey, respectively). Only the listener who had practiced as a Brahmin chanting the Vedas for five hundred lives was prepared to fully grasp the teachings. The Buddha used this occasion to illustrate the profound impediments of 'Tham, Sân, Si' (Greed, Hatred, and Delusion). He warned that lust acts as a consuming fire, hatred as a restrictive grip, delusion as a binding net, and craving as an overwhelming river. This teaching serves as a timeless reminder that deep-seated mental habits and defilements obscure the truth and prevent the mind from receiving spiritual wisdom, emphasizing the urgent need to purify the heart to achieve lasting peace.