NCE UPON A TIME there was a young acolyte who was in a great deal of trouble, so he longed to meet Shakyamuni Buddha. He met up with another young acolyte who also yearned to see the Buddha. Together they set off on a pilgrimage.
They traveled over mountains and across seas, through forests and deserts. Along the way they ran out of food and water, yet they continued on thirsty and hungry. In time they became so feeble from thirst and hunger, they fainted. When they came to they saw a very small bowl of water just ahead in the middle of the road. Overjoyed, they rushed to the bowl prepared to drink their fill, but upon reaching the bowl they discovered a fish swimming in it. This caused the boys to argue: should they drink the water or should they not. The first acolyte didn't care about the fish and said, "I will drink this water in order to sustain my life so that I can meet the Buddha."
The second acolyte, remembering that Shakyamuni had taught that we should respect all life no matter how small, said to his friend, "I'm not going to drink this water because the fish will die if I do. The Buddha said no matter how small the life-form we must respect it and take care of it. The most important thing is to follow the Buddha's teachings even if it leads to my own death." So saying , the second young man suddenly dropped dead from dehydration. |
