Thursday, November 08, 2007

Daily Dharma: The Sweetest Strawberry


Today's Daily Dharma from Tricycle poses an interesting parable from the Buddha:

The Sweetest Strawberry

Buddha told a parable in a sutra:

A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.

Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!

~ Paul Reps, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones; from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book.


1 comment:

Unknown said...

For me, rather than having a strawberry be my last meal, I'll take the strawberry you have pictured. Looks mighty tasty.