Hanging Upside Down from a Branch: What Benefit Does the Fool Find in Ordinary Life?

Have you ever met someone wearing the robes of a practitioner, appearing ascetic on the outside, yet whose words make you feel anxious and afraid? The story from today’s Dhammapada will invite you to reflect deeply on the true value of a human being.

The Fool Hanging Upside Down: Intimidation for Gain?

In ancient times, in the city of Vesali, there was an ascetic who hung his feet upside down from a tree branch. He spent all day without clothes, placing only a hat on the ground to collect money. Passersby were impressed, believing he possessed great spiritual attainment. However, behind this appearance of austerity, he went everywhere predicting disasters: telling people they would soon face accidents or that their houses would burn down. He used fear to intimidate others into making offerings.

When the Buddha learned of this, He spoke these verses:

What benefit is there in a fool? Sick hair and goat-skin robes. Inside, the mind is full of afflictions, while outwardly pretending to be solemn.

This means that although one wears goat skins and acts like a holy ascetic, if the heart is filled with greed and delusion, it is merely hypocrisy. The Buddha taught that external appearances do not create a genuine practitioner. The robe does not make the monk; it is the inner soul that matters.

Eat According to Need, Not According to Merit

Everyone needs food to survive. Basic material needs are equal among all people, whether they are bosses or workers. However, blessings from merit differ: some are wealthy and powerful, while others are poor. Yet, a person doing heavy labor requires more energy, while someone doing less work requires less. The Buddha taught us not to eat according to our accumulated merit, but according to the body's actual need.

Many misunderstand this principle, thinking that eating lavishly because one has much merit is correct. This is a grave error. Venerable Thich Chan Quang shared a story about a high-ranking official who refused a suitcase containing three million dollars given by a visitor. He said, "I only eat three meals a day. What use is the money? Whether I accept it or not, I still eat three meals. I will not go hungry." This is a person who understands the Dharma, unable to be bought by wealth.

Need Without Attachment is True Practice; Need Turning into Greed is False Practice

A monastic also needs food, clothing, and a temple to enshrine the Buddha. But when these needs transform into greed, scheming, and manipulation, the person loses their original ideal. Venerable Thich Chan Quang emphasized that needing things without attachment makes one a true practitioner, whereas letting need turn into greed makes one a false practitioner.

A true practitioner receives offerings with a peaceful heart. If there are no offerings, it is fine. A false practitioner sets prices, calculates profits, and opens services for personal gain. When devotees come to make offerings, the teacher who sincerely helps calculate costs is a true practitioner. The teacher who quotes higher prices to take profit has turned themselves into a service provider, no longer a humble seeker. Buddhist devotees can sense who is sincere and who is fake simply by observing their attitude and facial expressions.

Do Not Waste Your Heart on Those Who Are Not Yet Saints

In life, we often love someone with all our heart. But the challenge arises when closeness reveals their true nature: aggression, selfishness, or greed. Venerable Thich Chan Quang told a story from a poem about a soldier marching through a village who saw a girl and thought she was a fairy. But if he returned alive, married her, and lived with her, she might become irritable, petty, and disrespectful. This is because they have not practiced enough to attain the fruit of Stream-Entry.

The teacher advised that only those who have attained at least the stage of Stream-Entry are worthy of our wholehearted love. For ordinary beings, we must understand they still carry many afflictions. When we meet someone with karmic ties from past lives, we may feel affection quickly, but such love is fragile. Do not be surprised when you see people fall madly in love. With just one trial, their negative nature will reveal itself immediately.

Living Amidst Afflictions, Silently Rise Above

It is natural for sentient beings to live amidst sorrow and conflict. We cannot change others, but we can cultivate ourselves. Venerable Thich Chan Quang said that we have only one path: having stepped into this worldly life full of suffering, we must silently rise above it through practice.

Amidst a world full of selfishness, let us strive to love. Among people addicted to pleasure, let us kneel before the Buddha, bowing and praying. As we practice, we become more holy, and cause and effect gradually transforms. Karmic law tends to repeat itself: if we do not practice, we repeat old karma, meeting the same people again, leading to further conflict and hatred. But if we practice, we escape the cycle of samsara.

Do not let the goat-skin robe hide your soul. Start today by living truly and practicing genuinely, so as not to waste this precious human life.