The Poisoned Arrow
This morning as my kids play, I am flipping through some things thinking about things to post, photo or writing or haiku or something completely different. I happened to pick one of my Buddhism books off the shelf and flipped it open to a random page. Wouldn't you know it—it opened to one of my favorite stories.
A few months ago I posted a Buddhist parable called 83 Problems. It was fairly popular. Maybe you all will enjoy this one as well.
Parable of The Poisoned Arrow
One day a disciple questioned the Buddha about whether the universe was infinite.
The Buddha responded:
‘There was a man who was struck by a poisoned arrow. His friends and family immediately ran and got a doctor to heal him. Just as the doctor was about to take the arrow out, the man stopped him and asked:
‘“Who shot this arrow? What is his name? What is his age? Is he tall or short? What village does he come from? What kind of bow does he use? Who are his parents? Why did his parents raise him in such a way for him to shoot people?” and on and on and on.
‘What do you suppose happened to such a man? With so many questions before removing the arrow, he would likely have died.
‘You who hold such questions are this man. Life is short. It shouldn't be wasted in endless metaphysical speculation that doesn't bring us any closer to the truth.’
title graphic photo released to the public domain by Martin Vorel, available here
❦
 | David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. More? |
If this blog post has entertained or helped you, please follow/upvote/resteem. Also, consider buying me a beer.
BTC: 1Gvrie5FDBNBb6YpGBiaTvA5AyvsP814BN
ETH: 0x2Ce5c2b5F3f1a888b50A7bA9002E4F742784dF9c
LTC: LUVLvatsFqCubrJAVmCNQaoUdFAdnUCysU
BCH: qrzdazep5xfxax0ydppun89cxfts2vup9q4wnfn025