Deep Commentary

These two verses were taught by the Buddha at Jetavana Monastery, in connection with the story of a young monk named Culla Dhanuggaha Pandita, meaning “the skilled archer.” According to the story, one day a young monk returned from almsround and found that there was no drinking water. He went to a lay supporter’s house to ask for some. A young woman in the house saw him and immediately became attached to him. She said, “Venerable sir, whenever you need drinking water, please come here and do not go elsewhere.” From then on, the monk often went to her house, where she offered him many kinds of food. This gave her opportunities to approach him and speak with him. After several warm and familiar conversations, the monk began to think of leaving the monastic life and marrying her. He fell into sorrow and inner conflict: on one side he still wished to continue his practice; on the other, he felt weary of the discipline and hardship of monastic life. His mind was deeply divided and unsettled. Other monks noticed this and reported it to his preceptor, who then brought the matter before the Buddha. The Buddha reproached the young monk, saying that one who has gone forth should live in the peace and freedom of renunciation. Why had he allowed defilements to overpower him and bring him into distress? This was a serious fault. The Buddha then told a story from the past. Long ago, Culla Dhanuggaha had been a young man known as the Skilled Archer. Because of his great mastery of archery, his teacher gave him his daughter in marriage. One day, near Benares, he killed fifty bandits with fifty arrows. When his arrows were gone, he seized the leader of the bandits and asked his wife to hand him his sword. But when she saw the bandit, she was overcome with desire and handed the sword to him instead. The bandit killed the Skilled Archer and took the woman away. Before long, however, he abandoned her, fearing that she might kill him as she had caused the death of her own husband. Seeing this faithless woman, who not only betrayed her husband but also used another man’s hand to kill him, Sakka, king of the gods, appeared in disguise to shame her. He came with his charioteer and a celestial musician. Sakka became a jackal, the charioteer became a fish, and the musician became a bird. Together they mocked the woman with ironic and cutting words, causing her deep humiliation. After telling the story, the Buddha concluded: “At that time, you were the young archer, and that woman was the same woman who gave you drinking water. I myself was Sakka. She merely saw the bandit and, overwhelmed by passion, brought about the death of the most skilled archer in India. Monk, you must uproot your craving for this woman.” Having admonished him, the Buddha spoke these two verses. Verse 349 teaches that those disturbed by unwholesome thoughts continually seek more sensual pleasure. All craving arises from thought. Within each person there are seeds of the wholesome and the unwholesome, and both may direct desire. When wholesome desire arises, speech and action move in a beneficial direction and bring good to others. When unwholesome desire arises, speech and action cause harm and suffering. The Buddha teaches practitioners to nourish and strengthen wholesome aspiration, while constantly observing and removing harmful desire. Thought is like a king ruling the mind. A king may be wise and compassionate, bringing peace to the people; or he may be ignorant and cruel, throwing the whole land into disorder. In the same way, the mind directs body and speech. When thoughts are clear and virtuous, body and speech serve the welfare of beings. When thoughts are confused and harmful, they spread suffering. Evil thoughts cannot endure without consequence; they destroy the very person who harbors them, just as rust arises from iron and consumes the iron itself. In the same way, unwholesome thoughts damage us and drag us into decline, not only in this life but through many future lives. Because people are full of ambition and chase after sensual pleasures without restraint, they are bound ever more tightly by suffering. Therefore the Buddha says that the more one longs for sensual pleasure, the stronger one’s fetter becomes. Verse 350 teaches that one should contemplate impurity in order to weaken and uproot sensual passion, and not allow Māra to bind the mind. By contemplating the body and mind as impure, unstable, and insecure, attachment to beauty and material things can gradually lessen, and eventually be cut off at the root. Only in this way can true liberation be hoped for. The Buddha taught contemplation of the body as impure so that one may see its nature clearly: it is not clean, not secure, and not permanent. Physical pleasure is only a fragile sensation. It passes quickly, then gives way to fatigue, dullness, dissatisfaction, and suffering. This is a truth that cannot honestly be denied. In the delusion of passion, people may forget everything; yet impurity and impermanence remain plainly present. The wise see things as they truly are and are not drowned by the waves of desire. Only by using wisdom and sustained contemplation can one escape the bondage of sensual craving. The story shows that karmic connections across many lives are profound and difficult to fathom. Though one may have the conditions to enter the monastic life, deep habits of sensual desire and defilement accumulated over many lifetimes are not easily transformed. If a practitioner does not cultivate deep spiritual strength, it is difficult to escape the net of passion. The young monk is a clear example of the ordinary human mind caught between the path of liberation and the pull of desire. Yet he had the great fortune to meet noble spiritual guides, above all the Buddha himself. The Buddha rescued him from the danger of sensual bondage in this life and in future lives, and in the end he attained liberation. That happened in ancient times. As for the present day, many practitioners still fall into situations similar to that young monk’s. But how rare it is to meet a fully awakened teacher like the Buddha who can rescue us in such a direct way. Desire may be the same in every age, but circumstances and environments differ greatly. In our time, it is not easy to meet such a great and noble spiritual friend. Reflecting on this, we should take the story as a mirror, examine ourselves, and firmly strive to rise above our own bondage. This is the best path of self-awareness and self-rescue leading toward liberation.