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Parable: The Water Bucket

From Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia
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Hundred Parables Sutra
Parable: The Water Bucket



Once there was a man who was thirsty and tired from traveling. He drank some fresh water that was running into a wooden bucket. Having drunk his fill, he raised his hands in front of the wooden bucket and said to the water, “I’ve had enough to drink. Stop flowing!”

But the water kept on flowing. Then the man got angry and yelled, “I’ve had enough to drink and I told you to stop. Why don’t you listen?” An onlooker said to him, “You are very foolish and ignorant. Why don’t you just leave?” Then he drew him away.

People of the world are this way, too. Someone driven by the thirsty craving of birth and death drinks the salty water of the five desires, After getting tired of the five desires, he says to them, “Get out of my sight—form, sounds, smells, and tastes!” and yet the five desires continue without cease. Then the person gets angry and yells, “Quickly get out of my sight! Why do you keep arising so that I have to look at you?”

A wise man tells him, “If you wish to separate from the five desires, gather in your six senses organs by closing your mind. If polluted thinking does not arise, you will achieve liberation. Why do you need to tell them to be out of your sight so they won’t arise again?” This is just like the story of the foolish man who drank the water.


Source

cttbusa.org