A monk once said to the Lord Buddha, "Do the souls of the just survive death?"
Characteristically,, Buddha gave him no reply.
But the monk persisted. Each day he would repeat the question and each day he would get silence for an answer, till he could take it no longer. He threatened to quit unless this crucial question was answered, for to what purpose was he sacrificing everything to live in the monastery if the souls of the just perished with their bodies?
Then the Lord Buddha, in his compassion, spoke: "You are like a man," he said, "who was sying from a poisoned arrow. His relatives rushed a doctor to his side, but the man refused to have the arrow pulled out unless three vital questions were first answered:
First, the man who shot him, was he a white man or a black man? Second, was he a tall man or a short man? And third, was he a Brahmin or an outcast?"
The monk stayed on.
Characteristically,, Buddha gave him no reply.
But the monk persisted. Each day he would repeat the question and each day he would get silence for an answer, till he could take it no longer. He threatened to quit unless this crucial question was answered, for to what purpose was he sacrificing everything to live in the monastery if the souls of the just perished with their bodies?
Then the Lord Buddha, in his compassion, spoke: "You are like a man," he said, "who was sying from a poisoned arrow. His relatives rushed a doctor to his side, but the man refused to have the arrow pulled out unless three vital questions were first answered:
First, the man who shot him, was he a white man or a black man? Second, was he a tall man or a short man? And third, was he a Brahmin or an outcast?"
The monk stayed on.
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