Sutras
and Commentaries:
Be a Lamp (Nirvana Sutra) World Honored One Flicks Dirt with His Toe (Vimalakirti Sutra) Order of Enlightenment (Maka Shikan) Calming and Contemplation of Anger (Maka Shikan) Effect of Thunderbolts on Ivory (Maka Shikan) Blind Heir of a Wealthy Merchant (Maka Shikan) Mongolian Wisdom (ancient sayings) Mighty Bodhisattva Warriors (13th Dalai Lama) Seeing Ourselves as Suchness (Shinnyo kan) Wu-lung and I-lung (Writings of Nichiren Daishonin) Parables:
Essays:
Humor:
|
The Spider Thread
The Buddha was in a lotus-filled garden when he perceived a man named “Kandata” who was squirming in the depths of Hell. He had been a murderer, an arsonist, and thief. A lifetime of these causes had put him in hell. He was in the company of others like him. The Buddha looked further into Kandata’s life and saw an incident where Kandata came upon a spider. He raised his foot to stomp on it. Suddenly, he reconsidered, thinking, "There is no doubt that this spider is also a living being and it is a shame to take its life for no reason." In the end he spared the spider. Knowing this, the Buddha took a spider
thread and lowered it to into depths of Hell with the intention of saving
Kandata.
After some progress, he looked down and saw hundreds of others behind him climbing on the same spider thread. He shouted back at them: “Get off!
This is mine!” Just then, the thread broke and Kandata fell back into Hell.
|