One scripture offers the following account of how Upali overcame his lowly birth to become one of the Buddha's disciples. When Shakyamuni was a hermit in an earlier existence, he once asked the palace barber to shave his head, but the barber refused contemptuously because of the hermit's wretched appearance. The barber's nephew, who was an inexperienced novice, condemned his uncle's unkindness and did his best to shave the hermit.

It is important for people to value their own individuality and live with pride. Misunderstanding this, though, can lead to arrogance—such as being overly proud of yourself or intimidating other people—and at times, even spread the dangerous mood among people everywhere that war is acceptable.

It is important for people to value their own individuality and live with pride. Misunderstanding this, though, can lead to arrogance—such as being overly proud of yourself or intimidating other people—and at times, even spread the dangerous mood among people everywhere that war is acceptable. Faced with that reality, I feel that Soseki’s poem is imbued with the wish to be like a roadside violet that blooms quietly, lives vigorously but inconspicuously, and is a presence that

One day, observing workers in his family's fields, he saw how the spade turned up earth teeming with white insects, which were crushed to death in the next instant by blows of the hoe. He observed the farmers whipping groaning oxen forced to pull heavy loads. Through these images, Maha-Kassapa came to understand the transience of life and the great suffering required to support his life of luxury.