老虎与草莓

一则禅宗寓言¹⁾

佛陀在佛经中讲了一个故事：一个人在田野中穿行，遇到一只老虎。老虎追着他，他一路逃跑。来到一个悬崖边，他抓住一根野藤的根，从悬崖边上跳了下来。老虎在悬崖上嗅着他的气味。那人颤抖着低头看向悬崖深处，另一只老虎在下面等着他。现在只有藤蔓支撑着他。

两只老鼠，一白一黑，一点一点地开始啃咬藤蔓。这时候，男人在他附近看到了一株新鲜的草莓。他一只手抓住藤蔓，另一只手摘下草莓。味道真甜！

A Parable

Buddha told a parable in a sutra: A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger encountered 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!