The Wound Born of Talent

The courtyard of my old university still appears in memory, with its rows of flame trees glowing red each summer. The bell calling students to class rang out on schedule, but in the heart of one young student — myself, Thích Chân Quang back then — complex thoughts were stirring. This young man had the highest grades in the class, an ordinary background but exceptional talent. Whenever a professor presented a difficult theorem and the whole class sank into hopeless silence, he would walk up to the board and write out each line of proof with clarity and logic. His reputation rose so high that he was entrusted with tutoring his classmates in every subject.

But light that shines too brightly often casts long shadows. The class monitor, a young man with a fine record but only average grades, began to feel uneasy. At first it was only glances and distant, cutting remarks. Gradually, that unease transformed into deep jealousy. He felt his position was threatened, his standing overshadowed by another's talent. Dark thoughts took root in his mind: "Why is he better than me? Why does everyone admire him?"

One afternoon of pouring rain, as the talented student was preparing to leave the lecture hall, he had no idea he was stepping into a dangerous trap. The class monitor had secretly written a formal accusation, slandering him with serious charges, hoping the police would arrest him and sentence him to prison. His sole purpose was to destroy his rival, to remove the thorn from his eye.

The young man lived in distress and anxiety, but thanks to his good fortune and clean record, the matter was eventually resolved. He escaped harm and continued his studies. As for the class monitor, after several years of failing in his schemes, feeling ashamed and wounded in his pride, he dropped out, changed fields, and went to work as an official in the western region. Time passed, and the two lost all contact.

Nearly twenty years later, having already donned the monastic robes, I was reading the newspaper on a quiet afternoon. A brief news item caught my eye: "A former police officer who seriously violated the law was sentenced to sixteen years in prison." The name... was exactly the name of that class monitor from years ago. I sat in silence, my heart filled with sorrow. Not the joy of victory, but deep compassion for a life swept into the whirlpool of karma.

I remembered those days of being slandered, remembered the scheming face of my old classmate. It was precisely the jealousy, the resentment of another's talent, that pushed him onto a wrong path, destroying his own future and freedom. If back then he had known how to cultivate himself, how to rejoice in the success of his friends, perhaps his life would have turned toward a brighter direction.

The Meaning of the Story:

This story highlights the terrible consequences of a jealous mind toward the talents of others. When people cannot control their envy, they easily act without clear judgment, even breaking the law to bring others down. The karmic results of such cruel actions cause suffering not only to the victim but also destroy the very life of the one who planted those seeds. The costly lesson is this: learn to rejoice in the talents of others, rather than letting jealousy turn you into your own worst enemy.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thích Chân Quang