Like a fish in a puddle, what joy is there
Upvote:3
Absolutely. Sn 4.15 Attadanda Sutta:
"When embraced, the rod of violence breeds danger & fear:
Look at people quarreling. I will tell of how I experienced dismay.
Seeing people floundering like fish in small puddles,
competing with one another — as I saw this, fear came into me.
The world was entirely without substance.
All the directions were knocked out of line.
Wanting a haven for myself, I saw nothing that wasn't laid claim to. Seeing nothing in the end but competition, I felt discontent.
And then I saw an arrow here, so very hard to see, embedded in the heart.
Overcome by this arrow you run in all directions.
But simply on pulling it out you don't run, you don't sink.
In Pali this reads like a poem, 8 syllables per line. Sometimes the authorship is attributed to the Buddha himself. Apparently at one time the poem was a standard part of the ritual for new person joining the early Sangha.
The line you're interested in says something like "I saw people crowding like the fish in shallow puddle, getting in each other's way, this really had scared me."
More post
- 📝 What is the Buddhist text quoted by the Hindu philosopher Yogaraja?
- 📝 Is it ok for a Buddhist to participate in a demonstration?
- 📝 Origin of the concept of «Oneness» in (Zen-) Buddhism
- 📝 Did the Buddha narcistically judge people unfairly with self-conceit?
- 📝 What would Buddhists say about 'pantheism'
- 📝 How to recognize stream entry?
- 📝 Can you skip the 7 purifications and gain straight insight into phenomenon?
- 📝 Why and how is Theravada and Mahayana Abhidha(r)(m)ma different?
- 📝 As a Buddhist, how shall we make sense of the notion that there is no such thing as a Soul?
- 📝 What really Sekha means?
- 📝 Is the true self reborn?
- 📝 What is the Buddhist Perspective on Dreaming?
- 📝 How do you contemplate delight you get due to action that leads to detachment?
- 📝 Is suspending judgement a way to avoid wrong view?
- 📝 What is the nature of impermanence, desire and anatman?
- 📝 Is realizing anatta, will it help meditation?
- 📝 Right action when being lied to
- 📝 Can a bad karma happen just only with a thought without any physical or verbal action?
- 📝 Does Buddhism have an answer to disturbing sexual fantasies?
- 📝 What is wisdom in vipassana meditation?
- 📝 Taking Refuge in the Dhamma
- 📝 Is practice of Vedanta a prelude to practice of Buddhism?
- 📝 Feeling others thoughts
- 📝 Fear of Samsara in Others
- 📝 Buddhism about the Big Bang and Science in general
- 📝 Do geshe degrees change over time?
- 📝 Could the Buddha have touched goal and gems in the 7 weeks after enlightenment
- 📝 What is the story where some of the Buddha's followers commit suicide?
- 📝 Recognizing the loss of fetters
- 📝 How to get a nymph rebirth in deva heavens?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Like a fish in a puddle, what joy is there
- 📝 What am I doing to my self to make my natural state "I am trapped in pain" (This seems like a must for me and there is nothing I can do about it)
- 📝 What is it like to experience enlightenment?
- 📝 What if there was no one to offer food to monastics?
- 📝 What is Buddhist law of marriage ? Is there any?
- 📝 What if there is no rebirth?
- 📝 Is there any mention of child adoption in any Buddhist writings and what is the view on child adoption with regard to Buddhism?
- 📝 Plants may be sentient beings like animals so how do you decide what to eat?
- 📝 Is there anything like "positive suffering" for Buddhists?
- 📝 What is the symbol sometimes depicted on images of the Buddha which looks like a swastika?
- 📝 What concordances are there for the Pali Canon?
- 📝 If there is no self what or who is it that gets enlightened?
- 📝 If there be no soul or transmigrating entity that takes rebirth, who or what bears or enjoys the consequences or fruits of karma?
- 📝 What is known about enlightenment before the lifetime of the Buddha? Are there any claims that he was the first?
- 📝 What Does It Feel Like to Be in Nirvana?
- 📝 Is there a generally agreed upon idea of what Buddha nature is?
- 📝 Are there buddhists who criticize Eckhart Tolle as it is not really a buddhist teach? If so, what is their critique?
- 📝 Be like water - but what if i fail
- 📝 What is it like to perceive without 5 Skandas?
- 📝 If there is no Self , what Self is there to be affected by the karma which non-Self now performs?
- 📝 What are the differences between joy (piti), bliss (sukha) and peace (santi) and how do the qualities relate to Nibbana?
- 📝 What does "heard" mean in "I allow fish and meat that is pure in three respects: One has not seen, heard, or suspected..."
- 📝 If there is no "I", who or what is controlling my animalistic urges?
- 📝 In what Sutta(s) is there a References to Imagine the Body Inside Out and What is Below the Skin
- 📝 What does "Nothing like anything" mean according to Buddism?
- 📝 Are there other things like life?
- 📝 Is there any Buddhist society / group / organisation in Mumbai, India? Where we can meet similar like minded people, attend cultural events
- 📝 What is life like after having achieved nirvana?
- 📝 Is there anything like mahamudra without guru yoga
- 📝 I enjoy sex just like I enjoy good movie. What is wrong about it?