Always be ready for the sublime

by DRM


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!