Deep Commentary

These six verses were taught by the Buddha at Bamboo Grove Monastery and are connected with a young boy, the son of a woodcutter. According to the traditional account, in the city of Rajagaha there were two boys. One was the son of a Buddhist family, and the other was the son of a non-Buddhist family. They often played ball together. Out of habit, whenever he threw the ball, the Buddhist boy would recite, “Homage to the Buddha.” In contrast, the non-Buddhist boy would often recite, “Homage to the arahant.” During their games, the Buddhist boy usually won. The non-Buddhist boy often lost, became irritated, and observed that his friend kept winning because he recited, “Homage to the Buddha.” He thought, “Then I shall do the same.” From then on, he began to cultivate the habit of recollecting the Buddha. One day, after returning from cutting firewood in the forest, the boy and his father stopped at a cemetery outside the city to eat their meal. Toward evening, the ox that pulled the cart followed a herd of cattle into the city. The father ran after the ox to catch it, but when he came back out, it was already dark and the city gate had been closed. That night the boy had to sleep alone under the cart. While he was sleeping, two spirits suddenly appeared: one evil spirit and one good spirit. The evil spirit intended to eat the boy, while the good spirit tried to stop him. But the evil spirit would not listen. He seized the boy by both legs and was about to tear him in two. At that moment, because of his habit, the boy cried out in his sleep, “Homage to the Buddha.” Hearing this, the evil spirit became terrified and drew back. The good spirit said, “Surely we shall be punished for this.” To make amends, the good spirit guarded the boy throughout the night. Meanwhile, the evil spirit secretly entered the royal palace, took food placed on a golden dish, and brought it out. Thus the two spirits cared for the boy as though they were his parents. Before leaving, they used their supernatural power to write a message on the dish, recounting the whole story and instructing that only the king would be able to read it. The next morning, the palace discovered that the golden dish was missing. Everyone searched everywhere but could not find it. Finally, they found the dish on the boy’s cart and brought the boy to the palace for questioning. After reading the story on the dish, the king was astonished and asked, “What is the meaning of this?” The boy himself did not understand what had happened the night before. When the boy’s father heard the news and came there, he also did not understand what had taken place. Afterward, the king took the father and son to meet the Buddha. The king asked the Buddha, “Venerable Blessed One, is recollecting the Buddha a form of protection, or can recollecting the Dharma and other subjects also bring protection?” The Buddha replied, “Great king, recollecting the Buddha is not the only meaningful form of protection. A true Buddhist practitioner who deeply practices recollection of the six subjects needs no other protection, no charm, and no medicinal herb.” Thus ends the brief account of the story. On that occasion, the Buddha spoke the verses above. When analyzing verse 296, we see that the Buddha’s words contain very important phrases. The Buddha tells us that we “must always be self-aware.” This teaching is the very essence of spiritual practice. Awareness is synonymous with mindfulness. The subject of mindfulness has already been explained briefly in earlier verses. It may be said that a person who follows the Buddhist path but lacks mindfulness or awareness is not truly practicing Buddhism. Whether practitioners attain peace and happiness depends entirely on whether they possess mindfulness or awareness. If they lose mindfulness, suffering arises, because to be unmindful is to lose oneself. To have mindfulness is to be present with both body and mind in the present moment. A mindful person clearly knows what is taking place. The meaning of “mindfulness” or “awareness” is “knowing.” Knowing means coming into direct contact with reality clearly, without passing through the calculating and discriminating activity of ordinary consciousness. When discriminating consciousness intervenes, countless concepts are divided and multiplied. From there, all things become entangled in the movement of discriminating thought, and in that way we lose ourselves. Therefore, those who seek liberation must always be self-aware. To develop awareness, it must be practiced “whether by day or by night.” We must continually contemplate and look deeply into ourselves. If practice is restricted only to certain times, then our cultivation is still dependent upon a fixed schedule. A true practitioner is not limited to a timetable alone, but must make effort to cultivate mindful observation at all times and in all places. Only in this way can awakening and liberation be hoped for. Next, the Buddha teaches that one should “always recollect the Buddha.” Recollection has two meanings: remembering and knowing. Buddha means the Awakened One. Remembering the Buddha also has two levels: deep and shallow. The deeper meaning is to constantly remember one’s own awakened nature. The more ordinary meaning is to remember the Buddha as an external object of devotion. For example, a practitioner of the Pure Land tradition constantly remembers Amitabha Buddha, recollecting him through his sacred image. Because the practitioner remembers in this way continually, afflictions have no opportunity to arise. When afflictions do not arise, the mind becomes calm, quiet, and joyful. That is the more ordinary meaning of “recollection.” As for the deeper meaning of “knowing,” it means that we know everything that is occurring around us, but know it with a clear, pure, and present mind. This too is recollection of the Buddha in the deeper sense. One who constantly recollects in this way will be liberated even without deliberately seeking liberation. Liberation occurs right in this present life, not only in some future time, because one has truly returned to live again in one’s own awakened nature. In verse 297, the Buddha teaches a meaning similar to the verse above, but the difference is that here the teaching is “always recollect the Dharma.” Dharma is the teaching, the truth, and the law of reality. The meaning of the word “Dharma” is very broad. But here, the Dharma to which the Buddha refers is the teaching of the Four Noble Truths, or the True Dharma. In addition to remembering the Buddha, Buddhists must constantly give attention to studying the True Dharma. The True Dharma is the Buddha’s teaching intended to lead beings to realize the truth. This means transcending all suffering of birth and death and entering the freedom of nirvana. Furthermore, in terms of inner principle, Dharma also means wisdom, compassion, equality, patience, altruism, and so on. If we constantly recollect and deeply contemplate these qualities of the Dharma, and always develop our actions in accordance with them, then our lives will also become peaceful, joyful, and liberated. This also means that we have skillfully learned to return and take refuge in the Dharma-nature within ourselves. Verse 298 reminds us that we must constantly remember the Sangha. Sangha means the harmonious community: a community of practice living together in a spirit of respect, love, and harmony, practicing according to the true meaning of the Six Harmonies. This means that we must truly live with “understanding” and “love” in the spirit of spiritual fellowship. This refers to the outward form and visible aspect. As for the inner principle, each of us inherently possesses a pure and harmonious nature, which is our original teacher. If we skillfully return to recognize this nature and constantly live in harmony with this pure quality, then that is truly taking refuge in the Sangha within ourselves. In short, the three verses above, 296, 297, and 298, are intended by the Buddha to remind Buddhists to recollect and deeply trust the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Buddhists must live in harmony with both the outward and the inward meanings of the Three Jewels. If they can always live in this way, then they are worthy to be called disciples of the Buddha and will truly have an uplifting life of peace, joy, and liberation. In verse 299, the Buddha teaches us to “always recollect the physical body.” By this teaching, the Buddha reminds us to pay regular attention to contemplating the impurity of the body. This is a contemplation whose purpose is to end craving and attachment toward our own body and the bodies of others. This contemplation also has shallow and deep levels, but in general it does not go beyond five aspects of observation: contemplating the impurity of the seed, contemplating the impurity of the dwelling place, contemplating the impurity of its individual characteristics, contemplating the impurity of its own substance, and contemplating the impurity of its final end. Through observing in this sequence, practitioners become disenchanted with clinging to their own bodies, and from there all forms of bodily craving—especially attachment to sensual desire—are greatly reduced. However, the Buddha taught contemplation of impurity in order to see the purity within it, not so that we become disgusted to the point of despair or self-destruction. Such a mindset is contrary to the Buddha’s meaning. It should be remembered that the main purpose of this contemplation is to counteract those whose craving for sensual pleasure is extremely strong. Thanks to it, their body and mind become lighter, and they can live a peaceful and happy life. In verse 300, the Buddha teaches Buddhists to “always delight in non-killing.” This teaching emphasizes moral discipline. Among the five precepts for lay Buddhists, the precept against killing stands first. Primarily, the Buddha forbids Buddhists to take human life. From there, the principle extends downward to other living beings; one should keep the precept as much as one is able. Why did the Buddha say to always rejoice in non-killing? This is easy to understand. When we do not kill living beings, we naturally avoid karmic consequences of hatred, vengeance, and mutual repayment, both in this life and in future lives. In this life, wherever we go, we do not fear that others are lying in wait to harm us. In this way, we truly enjoy the happiness of freedom and ease. Furthermore, the body is less afflicted by illness and one may enjoy long life. This too is a great joy, arising from skillfully preserving the precept of non-killing. In verse 301, the Buddha teaches Buddhists to “always delight in cultivating meditative contemplation.” Meditative contemplation is extremely important for those who practice the Buddhist path. This matter has also been mentioned many times in earlier verses. Here it may be stated only briefly. It can be said that meditative contemplation is the doorway into the house of awakening and liberation. A practitioner without meditative contemplation is like a cook without salt. Therefore, Buddhism places great emphasis on meditative contemplation. Whatever method a practitioner follows, meditative concentration is necessary. Without concentration, how can wisdom arise? Concentration and wisdom are two inseparable dimensions. Through concentration, the mind becomes bright, clear, and pure. In this way, Buddhists naturally attain peace and liberation from all suffering in the present and in the future. Through the story summarized above, we receive a memorable lesson about the habit of recollecting the Buddha. The non-Buddhist boy, while playing ball and feeling proud and frustrated because he kept losing, thought that he lost because the Buddhist boy often recollected the Buddha and was therefore supported by the Buddha. Thinking this, he imitated the practice. Thanks to that habit, even in his sleep he uttered the Buddha’s name aloud. Because of this, he escaped the danger of being eaten by the evil spirit. This shows that one who has the habit of recollecting the Buddha will naturally avoid many harms. Not only that, such a person will also receive many practical benefits in daily life.