The Sore on the Heel

In the late afternoon, within a quiet forest, an elderly monk walked slowly, leaning on his staff. With each step that touched the ground, he furrowed his brow in pain. Beneath his right heel lay a large, festering sore, oozing and aching ceaselessly. For many years, he had lived with this wound, walking with a limp, never once healed.

This monk had taken refuge and ordained when he was young. Although he practiced diligently, the sore followed him throughout his entire life. He tried every kind of medicine, from traditional herbal remedies to modern Western drugs, yet the wound showed no sign of improvement. Sometimes it seemed as if it might dry up, but after only a few days, it would bleed and ooze again, preventing him from walking normally.

One day, unable to endure the torment any longer, he sought out his own teacher. He knelt before him and asked through tears, “Venerable teacher, I have practiced for so many years and made countless offerings and blessings from merit. Why does this foot still not heal? No medicine works. Please guide me.”

His teacher looked at his disciple for a long moment, then spoke slowly. “My child, in a previous life, you used this very foot to kick your wife in the abdomen, causing her to miscarry. It is because of that karma that this sore afflicts your heel in this life. It will never heal until the day you die. The day it heals will be the day you leave this world.”

Hearing this, the younger monk was stunned. He remembered nothing of his past lives, but his teacher’s words sent a shiver down his spine. He understood clearly that cause and effect (karmic law) never errs. Every action we take, no matter how small, leaves a trace in the cycle of rebirth known as samsara. He bowed his head, quietly accepting the truth, and intensified his practice to repay this debt of karma.

From then on, whenever he saw the sore on his heel, he no longer complained about his fate. Instead, he reminded himself that cause and effect (karmic law) is an undeniable truth that no one can escape. He lived with greater humility and compassion, using his own pain to remind others not to create negative karma.

The Meaning of the Story

Cause and effect (karmic law) is incredibly subtle and precise. Wounds and illnesses in this life may be the ripening results of unwholesome actions from the past. Understanding this, we must engage in repentance, continue our spiritual practice, and never create further bad karma.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thich Chan Quang