眾經撰雜譬喻 1.18

1.18

All sentient beings are greedily attached to worldly pleasures, giving no thought to anitya and not considering great calamities to be suffering. For example, once a man committed an offense punishable by death; he was bound in prison, and fearing death, he escaped. By the law of the state, if a condemned prisoner broke prison and fled, a wild elephant would be released to trample him to death. Thereupon, a wild elephant was released to pursue this guilty prisoner. The prisoner saw the elephant about to reach him and fled into an abandoned well. Below was a great venomous dragon opening its mouth upward, and there were also four venomous snakes on the four sides of the well. There was a grass root; terrified, this prisoner urgently grabbed this grass root with single-minded focus. There were also two white mice gnawing at this grass root. At that time, above the well stood a large tree, and in the tree was honey; during a single day, one drop of honey fell into this man's mouth. Having obtained this single drop, that man thought only of this honey, no longer remembering the manifold sufferings, and no longer wished to leave this well. Therefore, the sages used this as a parable: “The prison is the three realms, and the prisoner is sentient beings; the wild elephant is anitya; the well is the dwelling of sentient beings; the venomous dragon below is naraka; the four venomous snakes are the caturmahābhūta; the grass root is the life-faculty of man; the white mice are the sun and the moon. The sun and moon gnaw away at human life, diminishing it day by day without pausing for a moment; yet sentient beings are greedily attached to worldly pleasures, not thinking of great calamities.” Therefore, practitioners should contemplate anitya in order to leave manifold sufferings behind.