The Healer and the Blindness of Anger

This is the story of a healer whose anger caused a woman to become blind for life, and the karmic retribution that followed him for many lifetimes.

That summer, beneath an old bodhi tree, rays of sunlight slanted through the leaves and fell upon the golden robes of the monks seated around the Buddha. The air was fresh and cool, yet the question the monks were asking weighed heavily on every heart.

"World-Honored One, the Venerable Chūla Panthaka is a diligent and sincere practitioner. He vowed not to lie down for the entire three-month rains retreat, and yet his eyes became red and swollen, and then he went blind. Why would someone who practices so rigorously meet with such painful retribution?"

The Buddha looked at his disciples, his eyes calm as the surface of an autumn lake. Slowly, he began to tell the story:

"Listen, my children, to a tale of the past. Many lifetimes ago, there lived a poor woman whose husband had died early, leaving her to raise three small children alone. She suffered from an eye disease that grew worse by the day, until she was nearly blind. One day, a healer passed through her village and saw her weeping by the roadside. He stopped to ask after her.

'I can cure your eyes, but the medicine will not be cheap.'

The woman clasped her hands together, trembling: 'Sir, my family is very poor. We have no money. But if you heal my eyes, I will bring my three children to serve you for the rest of our lives, as repayment of my debt.'

The healer nodded in agreement. He devoted his effort to preparing the medicine and applying it to her eyes. After only a week, her sight returned, and she could see everything clearly. But once her eyes had healed, her heart suddenly changed. She thought: 'To go with my three children and serve this man for the rest of our lives would be such a waste!' So she quietly broke her promise and never came to work for the healer again.

When the healer learned what had happened, a fury blazed up within him. His face flushed red, and his hands clenched tight. Through gritted teeth, he said: 'Very well. If you have broken your word, do not blame me!'

He then mixed a different medicine, went to her home, and pretended: 'I want to make your eyes even brighter. Let me apply one more treatment.'

The woman was overjoyed and did as he asked. But as soon as the medicine was applied, her eyes suddenly burned with pain, and then went dark. She became completely blind, unable to see anything at all. The healer turned his back and walked away, never to return. She wept bitterly, but it was too late. For the rest of her life, she lived in darkness.

The Buddha paused and looked at the silent monks. He continued:

'That healer of long ago was the former incarnation of the Venerable Chūla Panthaka. Because of his rage, because of his defiled mind, he created the karma of blindness for another. That retribution clung to him for many lifetimes. Even though in this life he met the Buddha, practiced diligently, and attained the fruits of the path, the old karma could not be escaped. His eyes still had to go blind, to repay the wrong he had done long ago.'

One monk exclaimed: 'World-Honored One, does this mean that the mind is the root of all our actions?'

The Buddha nodded, then recited this verse:

'The mind leads all things. The mind is the master that creates. If one speaks or acts with a defiled mind, suffering follows, as the cart follows the ox that pulls it.'

As the Buddha's words ended, a gentle breeze passed through, stirring the golden robes. The monks all understood deeply: every thought, every flash of anger, can plant seeds of suffering that ripen across many lifetimes to come.

The Meaning of the Story

The profound lesson: the mind is the master of all speech and action. Even a small anger, if left uncontrolled, can create heavy karma that follows us for many lifetimes. A practitioner must always remain awake and keep the mind pure, so as to avoid creating negative karma.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thích Chân Quang.