Parable: Putting His Foot In the Elder's Mouth
Hundred Parables Sutra
Parable: Putting His Foot In the Elder's Mouth
Once there was a very wealthy elder. His attendants tried to court his favor by paying him all manner of deference. Whenever the elder spat, his attendants would rub it with their feet. Among them was a foolish man, who could not catch up with the others in rubbing the spit, and so he said to himself, “Whenever he spits on the ground, others rub it with their feet. Next time he spits, I’ll be the first one to do so.”
So when the elder coughed and was about to spit up, that foolish man thrust up his foot and kicked the elder’s mouth, injuring the elder’s lips and breaking his teeth. The elder asked him, “Why did you do that?” The foolish man answered, “Whenever you spit falls to the ground, those who fawn on you are quick to rub it with their feet. Although I wish to serve you, I’ve always fallen behind. Therefore, I thought that by raising my foot to your mouth when you were about to spit, I would be able to please you.”
There is a right time for doing things. If the right time has not yet arrived, then even if people apply all their energy, they will only get into trouble. For this reason, people of the world should be aware of when is the right and wrong time.
