Commentary on the Sutra of the Discourse Between Father and Son (220)

Why Is It Difficult for the Wealthy and Powerful to Be Guided?

The Buddha earnestly advised His father not to fixate on the worldly wealth, pleasures, and unrestrained indulgence in the five desires he currently enjoyed, nor to cling greedily to the objects of form, sound, scent, taste, and touch without ever feeling satisfied. He urged him to cease craving such states. When the mind becomes attached to the five desires and six dusts, it is difficult to attain fulfillment. The World-Honored One’s father had been a king for decades, reveling in worldly pleasures of the five desires, yet he remained unaware of their inherent suffering and ignorant of the path to liberation. The Buddha thus counseled him: he should no longer cling to the riches and joys of this world, for the sense faculties are illusory, and all phenomena are like a dream. The six faculties are all illusory: the eye faculty should not crave form, the ear faculty should not crave sound—do not lose yourself in the pleasures of the five desires or live a life intoxicated by luxury. All these are illusory; the realms of the six dusts are like dreams, unreal and destined to vanish at any moment.

Why did the Buddha repeatedly admonish His father? Because the wealthy and powerful are difficult to guide. They remain perpetually intoxicated by the pleasures of the five desires, making it hard for them to free themselves. In contrast, the poor endure lives of hardship, deeply aware of the suffering in the world. When they encounter the Buddha’s teachings, they spontaneously and diligently devote themselves to Buddhist practice—unless they are burdened by too little merit, forced to toil in worldly affairs for survival, leaving them unable to study and practice the Dharma.