Page:Henry Mulford Tichenor - The Buddhist Philosophy of Life.djvu/49

 Rh "O my Lord! I did not intend to eat thee! Spare thou my life!"

"Very well," said the lobster; "fly over and put me in the lake."

Upon this the crane flew to the edge of the lake, and stooped down to drop the lobster. Then the lobster cut through the crane's neck as clean as one would cut a lotus stalk with a knife, and entered the water.

Not only was the greedy tailor once outwitted in this manner, but in after existences likewise suffered from his greedy intrigues.

When the Buddha was in the neighborhooud of Savatthi, a man of great riches, who had lost his health, came to him and said: "I suffer greatly from bodily ills, so that I cannot move without pain."

The Buddha, observing the luxuries with which the man was surrounded, asked him: "Wouldst thou know the cause of thy troubles? There are five things which afflict thee: Overeating, love of ease, desire for pleasure, aversion to study, and lack of useful work."

The rich man profited by the words of the Buddha; and, regaining his health, came to him and said:

"Master, thou hast healed my body. I now come to thee to seek enlightenment of my mind."

And the Buddha replied: "The worldling nourishes his body, but the wise man nourishes