He thinks that the Commandments are not enough, but does not know how to recognize other laws. The Chosen One thought he had to discover Beauty instead of pain. The Monk found a false escape from pain through the Church. But both are on the wrong road. Gabriel becomes angry with them and says that they have learned nothing.
Life is nothing without pain.
One sorrow can be terrible, but a thousand sufferings bring people closer to fulfillment and self-knowledge. The highest notes portray this completion. Throughout the cantata Schoenberg shows us that a realistic life involves suffering, which we survive in various ways. The test of life is that we cleanse ourselves through our sufferings, which often come from our own sins. The Monk is the most interesting character in the cantata.