Deep Commentary

For verse 373, the Buddha taught that a monastic who withdraws to a quiet place, where the mind is often calm, and who contemplates the Dhamma with insight, will experience a superhuman joy. The Buddha and the early monks lived a wandering life, often in forests and mountains, seeking solitude for meditation. External seclusion greatly aids in purifying the mind. Even the Buddha and his disciples, with their high spiritual capacities, sought quiet places; for ordinary people today, living amidst constant noise and distraction, it is even more essential to find stillness. A calm mind allows one to observe oneself clearly and to investigate truth. When one lives in contemplation of the Dhamma, one attains peace of mind—a joy that only those who truly realize the truth can understand. Outsiders cannot fathom it.