Good-Will and Purging Poison - Metta for Taming the Wild Elephant Within

Good-Will and Purging Poison

Reflecting further on recent events across the globe, we are reminded again of the Buddha's teachings regarding the three poisons and the importance of treating them medicinally. We have chosen good-will (as antidote) and ill-will (as poison) as our first topic, but we promise to address the others as well. This post deals with how to go about taming the wild elephant within.

As a reminder, mettā (loving-kindness or good-will) is an antidote to the poisonous effects of anger, hatred, and aversion, summed up by the Pāli term dosa, one of the three poisons or unwholesome roots. All these descriptors characterize the burning fervor of ill-will, which courses through the veins of the poisoned.

Interestingly, the Pāli dosa comes from the Sanskrit dveṣa, which looks and sounds an awful lot like division. While that may be mere coincidence, it nonetheless captures the feeling of division caused by ill-will, the effects of which we can unfortunately witness all around us.



Countless cases document the effectiveness of good-will as a medicinal treatment, as water to douse the fires of ill-will and support the flourishing of the garden we cultivate inwardly as we transform our own consciousness from a battleground to a refuge. We may rest assured that good-will is a timeless antidote with no expiration date for purging poison from the mind. This particular poison is ill-will in all is divisiveness. Our task is to weed it out by its roots.

By purging poison, good-will serves a protective function. Protection against what? Protection against the spread of poison throughout the system, like medicine that fights off disease. Good-will also prevents the spread of fires in the wilderness of the mind by stopping the flames in their tracks. Fire is consumed by water. Ill-will is completely transformed into good-will, similar to how the raging fire of saṃsāra may be transformed into the cool peace of nirvāṇa. Relief at last.

The Wild Elephant

Similar to the story of the tree spirits serving as background for the “Metta Sutta,” the protection provided by loving-kindness or good-will is further supported by the story of Nāḷāgiri the wild elephant. In a plot to kill the Buddha out of jealous competition, the Buddha’s cousin and rival Devadatta set Nāḷāgiri loose on a rampage.

Note that Nāḷāgiri was no ordinary elephant. In addition to her formidable power and gargantuan stature, Nāḷāgiri had a proclivity toward intoxication. Perhaps she was drunk on ill-will. Poison, after all, can seriously distort the consumer’s perceptions and behavior. In this case, it made Nāḷāgiri the wild elephant especially uncontrollable. Not only that, but the Buddha’s cousin Devadatta repeatedly beat Nāḷāgiri in order to further provoke her, hoping she would then be enraged enough to do total damage. At that point, her potential to wreak havoc was at its peak.



How would you approach a drunk elephant intent on killing you? Is that even wise? Shouldn't you run for your life?

Painting a vivid picture of the Buddha’s confrontation with Nāḷāgiri the wild elephant, Ācariya Buddharakkhita recounts this case in detail, again illustrating the functioning of mettā, loving-kindness or good-will, as a form of protection.

As the intoxicated elephant rushed towards the Buddha trumpeting fearfully, the Buddha projected powerful thoughts of metta towards it. Venerable Ānanda, the Buddha's attendant, was so deeply concerned about the Buddha's safety that he ran in front of the Buddha to shield him, but the Buddha asked him to stand aside since the projection of love itself was quite sufficient. The impact of the Buddha’s metta-radiation was so immediate and overwhelming that by the time the animal neared the Buddha it was completely tamed as though a drunken wretch had suddenly become sober by the magical power of a spell. (Buddharakkhita, Mettā: The Philosophy and Practice of Universal Love, p.45)

Imagine a wild elephant full of rage chasing you down. This is definitely a nightmarish situation to be in. Even the Buddha’s loyal attendant Ānanda was ready to risk his life to save the Buddha, but nothing could stand in the elephant’s way.



Except something did stand in her way. The Buddha applied good-will as an antidote to ill-will. Miraculously, the Buddha’s good-will completely pacified and transformed Nāḷāgiri’s ill-will in a mere instant. The Buddha survived unharmed, relieving onlookers and leaving us with a happy ending, almost too good to be true.

Taming the Wild Elephant Within

Could all this about the wild elephant really have happened? It may seem rather far-fetched, but at least not completely outside the realm of possibility. How could one person’s good-will transform a wild beast’s ill-will? And what about Devadatta, the one responsible for the whole mess? We need not necessarily take this story literally in order to appreciate its symbolic value.

As illustrated by the story, one may cultivate good-will in order to avert the catastrophic effects of ill-will, in this case taming a wild elephant on a rampage and thus avoiding death. Whether taken literally or metaphorically, the message loses no strength of meaning.



Perhaps the story actually documents an event witnessed by others. Maybe the Buddha was literally chased down by a crazed elephant but he remained calm and did not provoke her any further. It could be the case that the elephant felt no sense of threat in the Buddha’s presence and lost her will to attack.

Perhaps the elephant is a symbol for the wild beast within each of us. Metaphorically, have you ever felt as if a wild elephant was running a rampage through your mind? Have there ever been times that ill-will has gotten the better of you? The next time you feel ill-will taking over, try to train the elephant-like mind with good-will instead. Good-will is a means of metaphorically taming the elephant within, quelling the fires within before they get out of hand and erupt volcanically. This simple strategy, while easier said than done, could save us from a lot of stress.



Good-will transforms us from the inside out. Again shedding valuable light on the situation, Ācariya Buddharakkhita references Buddhaghosa’s Path of Purification, reflecting, “According to the Visuddhimagga, metta is a ‘solvent’ that ‘melts’ not only one’s own psychic pollutants of anger, resentment and offensiveness, but also those of others. Since it takes the approach of friendship, even the hostile one turns into a friend.” Thus the elephant is tamed. The wild beast is pacified. One’s own mind is brought to peace.

Such images, whether the elephant or fire, characterize the worldly mind when it is plagued with unhealthy tendencies. When we cultivate good-will, we restore order to the wilderness within. The forest, where tame elephants dwell at ease, may then flourish.

To be continued.