Deep Commentary

These three verses were taught by the Buddha at Jetavana Monastery, in connection with a conceited monk. The story tells that there was a monk who accidentally broke a blade of grass. Troubled in conscience, he went to a fellow monk, told him what had happened, and asked: “Brother, if a monk breaks a blade of grass, is that a serious matter?” The other monk answered: “Do not make it important by thinking that breaking grass or plants will bring consequences. It is enough simply to confess the fault, and the fault is cleared.” After saying this, he pulled up an entire clump of grass and threw it away. The monks went and reported the matter to the Buddha. The Buddha strongly reproached that conceited monk and then spoke the three verses above. In verse 311, the Buddha uses kusa grass, a fragrant kind of grass, as a comparison for those who have gone forth but pursue wrong conduct and therefore fall into hell. Fragrant grass represents the material pleasures and sensual enjoyments of the world. When practitioners have not yet restrained craving and desire, they naturally still have many longings. Although we have gone forth, our cultivation may still be too immature, our consciousness not yet well trained; therefore the monkey-like mind remains restless and careless, always delighting in running after sense objects in order to enjoy them. Because of foolishness, we become attached to the fragrant grass of the five sensual pleasures. Seeing fragrant grass, the mind wants to possess it at any cost, but we forget that within that fragrance there may be hidden poison. Once we grasp it, we cannot avoid the harm of that poison swelling the hand. In this world, is there any rose without thorns? Though people know there are thorns, they still pluck roses, break them off, and play with them. Sometimes the thorns pierce the skin and draw blood, yet people still do not awaken. The Buddha said this is the state of those who are deeply deluded. If it is so, they cannot avoid falling into degradation and bringing suffering upon themselves. Wrong conduct means unwholesome actions that do not accord with truth. To live according to wrong conduct is a path that leads to suffering. One who has gone forth must constantly live according to right conduct. Right conduct is the path that leads to the peace of Nirvana. In verse 312, the Buddha points out three essential matters that obstruct our practice on the path toward liberation. These three important obstacles are things that sincere practitioners must restrain, subdue, and overcome. The first is laziness. Laziness means indolence, living carelessly and being dragged along by objects. If a practitioner carries this sickness of laziness, it is truly difficult to advance on the path and dignify the body and mind. If one wishes to be liberated from suffering but spends day and night wandering about, joking idly, and discussing the empty affairs of the world, how can one possibly be liberated from suffering? Laziness is the sworn enemy of diligent effort. Because of laziness, we easily become negligent and heedless. We live without the reins of discipline to restrain us. This is a way of life that leads to decline and degeneration, and the Buddha said such a person falls into hell as swiftly as an arrow. The second is defilement. Because one lives heedlessly, drifting along with the current of worldly life, countless forms of impurity arise from there. One spends an entire life willingly becoming a slave driven by desire and ignorance, creating many unwholesome karmic actions. Outwardly, one is stained by the six sense objects; inwardly, the mind is agitated and obscured by afflictions and impurities that cover the awakened nature. This is the misfortune of a practitioner who lacks the practice of meditation and mindfulness. The third is doubt. Doubt is a great obstruction to the path of practice. A person who constantly carries doubt in the heart cannot accomplish anything beneficial for oneself or for others. Therefore, the Buddha said that doubting the practice of the holy life makes it impossible to attain the great fruits of sainthood. In verse 313, the Buddha encourages us that once we have entered the path of practice, we must make every effort and do what should be done with all our strength. Practitioners of ancient times cherished even the smallest portion of time and devoted all their effort to the work of meditation and contemplation. When they had not yet awakened to the path, they were always determined to practice until they did awaken. Even after awakening to the path, they still did not dare to be lax, careless, or disrespectful. They constantly contemplated and remained mindful in every moment, living naturally according to conditions, in harmony with all things, beyond dualistic opposition. They carefully preserved this state: “When facing conditions, the mind is unmoved; when hungry, eat; when tired, sleep.” If we have not yet awakened to the path as they did, then we should be careful not to imitate too quickly the saying “when hungry, eat; when tired, sleep,” lest we fall into degradation and suffer throughout life. The ancient practitioners, for the sake of resolving birth and death, firmly resolved to study and practice so that they might quickly awaken and soon escape the path of birth, death, and suffering. The examples of the Buddha, the patriarchs, and the ancient virtuous practitioners are bright models for us to learn from and follow. Speaking honestly, when our present-day practice is compared with theirs, the distance is immeasurably great. An ancient master lamented: “For countless lives we have followed worldly dust and have never turned back to reflect; time is swallowed up, months and years pass away in vain…” This means that for many lives we have been absorbed in chasing after worldly objects and have never had even a moment of self-reflection. If we had known how to reflect, surely we would not have drifted aimlessly through the six realms of rebirth for immeasurable lives. Time passes swiftly, yet we feel no regret. We do not know how to make use of time to apply ourselves earnestly to practice. In the story cited above, the Buddha severely reproached the monk because of his conceit. Pulling up grass and throwing it away was an action lacking compassion. Although it is an insentient thing, it still has life. To harm its life without cause, in the case of one who has gone forth, was considered by the Buddha an act without loving-kindness. If the Buddha valued even insentient things in this way, how much more would he value sentient beings? The Buddha’s reproach of that monk’s action was not merely because he had thrown away some grass. The Buddha’s main intention was to teach him a lesson in compassion and to remove his arrogance and conceit. One who has gone forth should not have this arrogant and self-important nature.