“HEAL YOUR OWN WOUND WITHOUT BLAMING OTHERS ANY LONGER”

“HEAL YOUR OWN WOUND WITHOUT BLAMING OTHERS ANY LONGER”

Most people tend to complain that they are not in a position to lead righteous lives as they currently live in a society filled with hatred, injustice, stinginess etc. They are compelled to lead unsatisfactory lives while putting the blame on the society.  So, they keep waiting for a day where the society becomes refined so that they could also become a refined, righteous lot. They don’t see that they are also a part and parcel of this same society with same negative qualities. The tendency to blame on the society for someone else’s faults existed in the past and it would continue to last in the future to the same extent. If this is the reality, what is the point in blaming the society for individual problems?

The Buddha, analysing similar situations in the society, taught that it would be ridiculous for one to blame others for one’s self-inflicted wound in the hand. The only advisable strategy would be to heal one’s wound in the hand and relieve the pain of it. We find the following verse in the Dhammapada (collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form ) which corroborates this point.

               “ panimhi ce vanonassa

                hareyya panina visam

               nabbanam visamanveti

               natthi papam akubbato”

“If there is no wound in one's hand,

  One may carry poison in it.

  Poison does not affect one who has no wound.

[Similarly] There is no ill for him who does no wrong.”

This verse shows a hidden aspect of our existence.  Therefore, it is advisable to study the background story connected with this verse.

In the Buddha’s time, there was a rich man's daughter who lived in the city of Rajagaha. One day, she saw a young hunter who goes to the city to sell his game meat and fell in love at first sight. She waited until the hunter returned from the city and followed him, disguised herself as a servant girl, to his hit in the jungle. She ended up becoming the hunter’s wife finally. As the wife, she used to help the hunter to get his bows, arrows, nets and other utensils ready before he goes on hunting.  As a result of the marriage, she gave birth to seven sons in succession. In the course of time, these sons got married to seven wives respectively.

One day, when the Buddha surveyed the world early in the morning with his divine eye, the Buddha saw this hunter and his family members who had the potential to attain stream entry (sotapanna) on that day. So the Buddha went to spot where the hunter had set up the snare for hunting animals. The Buddha placed his footprint close to the snare and sat under the shade of a tree nearby.

Later, the hunter came searching for the snare and found no animals caught in it. He saw some foot prints close to the snare and assumed that someone would have freed the animal from the snare. He saw the Buddha who was seated under a nearby tree and thought the Buddha to be the person who would have freed the captured animal. This infuriated the hunter who was about to draw the bow and arrow to shoot the Buddha. The hunter was immobilised and petrified like a statue as a result of Buddha’ s resolve.  The sons, who noticed the delay of their father’s return home, went in search of their father one after the other and suffered the same fate in the presence of the Buddha. As no one returned yet, the hunter’s wife, along with the seven daughters-in-law, went to the jungle searching for her husband and sons. On seeing the husband and all the sons with their arrows drawn at the Buddha, the woman began to shout,

 “ Do not shoot at my father”. On hearing this, the hunter thought the Buddha to be his father-in-law and the sons thought the Buddha to be their grandfather. At this stage the Buddha willed that the hunter and his sons be able to move from immobilised positions and leave their bows and arrows aside. Once they put their bows and arrows away, the Buddha expounded Dhamma to them. In the end, the hunter, his seven sons and their seven wives attained the fruition of stream entry (sotapanna).

When this story was related to other monks by Ananada Thero, they were skeptical about the hunter’s wife’s failure to attain the fruition of stream entry at the time the Buddha was expounding the Dhamma. The Buddha explained to these monks that the hunter’s wife was already a “stream enterer” (a noble one who has attained the fruit of sotapanna). She had attained stream entry when she was a small girl.

The Buddha’s answer created a sensation among these monks. They began to inquire, “How a Sotapanna, having married to a hunter, could get the bow, arrows, nets ready for her husband for the purpose of hunting? Doesn’t she accrue demerit (akusala) by assisting the hunter for killing?”. The Buddha analysing this incident clarified, “ O’ Monks, the sotapannas do not kill, nor they get others to get kill. The wife of the hunter was only obeying her husband in getting things ready for him. She had no intention of harming or getting someone else to harm. This is analogues to an individual’s hand that has no wound, is not affected by poison, even though he carries poison in his hand”.

The Buddha’s invaluable advice sheds some light on our troublesome day to day lives as well. If someone suffers from a wound, it would be his responsibility to cure it as quickly as possible. It would be absurd to complain that outsiders always inflict pain on his wound. We are born with potential to attract germs from the outside world. Therefore, it is our utmost duty to protect the wound from external germs while treating the wound for speedy recovery. It would be practically impossible to eliminate germs existent in the outside world. It would be a great folly to think of eradicating external germs present in the environment.

We are leading lives filled with agonies, discomforts, distresses etc. We always try point a finger at someone else when confronted with issues connected with our lives. We always blame others for most of our distressful situations. However, the primary fault lies with us. When there is a wound, invariably it would be subjected to pain by external causes. It is the wound that attracts external germs and causes further infections and damage. In this circumstance, our priority should be to expedite the treating process all day long and let the wound heal fast.

What is the most notable wound that inflicts so much pain upon us all day long? It is our mind filled with greed (lobha), aversion (dosa), conceit (mana), and jealousy (issa). Our mind is a fertile land abundant with these defilements and they generate mental pain all the time. The more germs we find in our minds, the more pain they generate as a result. The extent of pain that we have to experience would depend on the size of the wound. Intense pain results from an infested, big wound. Less pain is experienced from fairly small-sized wound. If there is no pain, that is a sign of complete healing of the wound. Then, no one is able to inflict any pain by manipulating your wound any more.

This brings us to an important threshold in terms of the discomforts, stresses that we have to experience on a daily basis. No one is responsible for pains associated with our existence. We have to take responsibility for all our pains and stresses because we are primarily at fault. We cannot blame the world for our own faults and stresses. Outsiders cannot be held accountable for our pains. Therefore, we need to take our attention away from the outside world and concentrate within to investigate our own wounds and find a way to cure them. This new approach to investigate within would prevent you from experiencing further pains inflicted by the outside world. This would keep you on task of taking appropriate measures to heal your wound. The action plan for systematic healing is very well laid down by the Buddha. This is the only time-tested, authentic approach for healing.

Once your wound is completely healed in accordance with the Buddhist teachings, you are able to touch, carry any sorts of poison without having any adverse impact. This is the lesson that the Buddha taught us based on story of the hunter’s wife.

So, let’s give up the habit of blaming the world for our own pains and do our best to heal our wounds ourselves without any further delay. This would also free us from the pains as well as the cycle of rebirth and death.         

BY: Athula Sibera