Deep Commentary

These two verses were taught by the Buddha at the Jetavana monastery and concern judges. According to the story, one day, the monks went on alms round at the northern gate of Sāvatthī and returned to the monastery, passing through the city center. It began to rain, and the monks took shelter in a courthouse. There, they witnessed judges accepting bribes and confiscating the property of citizens unlawfully. The monks thought: 'These officials are not righteous; we mistakenly assumed they were just.' When the rain stopped, the monks returned to the monastery and reported the incident to the Buddha. The Buddha said: 'Monks, those who surrender to base desires and judge tyrannically cannot be called just. Only those who investigate wrongdoing deeply in a case and handle it rightly, without tyranny, can be called just.' From this, the Buddha taught these two verses. The teaching emphasizes proper conduct according to the law (Dhammattha), which includes respectful and correct adherence to principles. Rashness (Sahasa) refers to careless, presumptuous, and arbitrary behavior, often influenced by greed, hatred, delusion, or fear. A practitioner who acts rashly, speaks carelessly, lacks humility, or fails to use kind speech in interactions is not truly practicing. This demonstrates that the person still harbors many unwholesome tendencies. Living indulgently without discipline makes one unfit for spiritual life. A genuine practitioner earnestly cultivates pure conduct, harmonizes practice with understanding, and lives continually in mindfulness and clear awareness, always purifying body and mind. Moreover, one develops wisdom to discern right and wrong. The Buddha taught that a wise person lives according to the law. To do so, a practitioner must respect and uphold the precepts taken. Otherwise, peaceful and happy life for oneself and others is impossible. The story shows that even in the Buddha’s time, unjust judgments occurred. Judges of old were known to take bribes. Clearly, these judges lacked practice in meditation and mindfulness, relying instead on the power of law in their hands to manipulate outcomes. Punishments varied according to the wealth of the offender. Those who bribed generously gained advantage, while the poor suffered, and even just cases became unlawful in practice. If injustice occurred then, it is unsurprising that ethical awareness is even weaker now. Greed blinds reason, and corruption is an ancient human flaw. Even though humans in earlier times were less sophisticated, bribery and corruption still existed. After witnessing the injustice, the monks reported to the Buddha. He reminded them that only those who investigate wrongdoing thoroughly and handle it rightly, without tyranny, are truly just. This teaching warns against exploiting legal loopholes to manipulate justice, which harms the governance of a country. Judges must adhere to fairness and law, fulfilling their duties with conscience, so that ordinary people will respect and be grateful to them.