“Once there was a man rowing a boat down a river. Someone on the shore warned him, ‘Stop rowing so gaily down the swift current; there are rapids ahead and a dangerous whirlpool, and there are crocodiles and demons lying in wait in rocky caverns. You will perish if you continue.’
“In this allegory, ‘the swift current’ is a life of lust; ‘rowing gaily’ is giving rein to one’s passion; ‘rapids ahead’ means the ensuing suffering and pain; ‘whirlpool’ means pleasure, ‘crocodiles and demons’ refers to the decay and death that follow a life of lust and indulgence; ‘Someone on the shore,’ who calls out, is Buddha.”
The Teaching of Buddha (Tokyo, 1962), 90
Posted from Honolulu, Hawaii
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