A Zen story : A Parable

Written By: Sky Yang

Buddha told a short story in the sutra:

There was once a man traveling across a jungle. He encounters a tiger, locked eyes with the beast and instantly decided to make a run for it. Sure enough, the tiger pursuits after him.

Coming to a precipice, he leaped over and caught the root of a wild vine. It swung him down over the edge.

The tiger sniffs and searches for the man from above.

Trembling, the man looked down far below and saw another tiger was looking up at him, waiting.

Only the vine sustained him.

Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine.

The man held on the vine for dear life.

He looks around and saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other.

How sweet it tasted!

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