(Photo source: Envato)
There was a group of young people who used to be children of noblemen or prominent businessmen. They lived a wealthy life and could do whatever they wanted and only decided to become monks together when they were moved by the Dharma expounded by the Buddha. After spending a period of time in the Sangha group, they became restless because they were not used to living a disciplined and ascetic life of spiritual practice. They started to gather to talk about their past and their words and actions were starting to affect the thoughts of other practitioners.
The Buddha observed this and told Ananda: "Ananda, gather the newly bhikkhus, I have something to say to them". Ananda gathered all the bhikkhus to listen to the Buddha's teachings as he understood the Buddha's intention. He knew that not only the new bhikkhus but the more senior bhikkhus affected had to be reminded to stay vigilant too. After everyone had gathered, the Buddha said: "New bhikkhus, do you still miss worldly pleasures?" Then the Buddha told a story to teach them about the horror of ‘desire’.
There was a little leopard looking for food alone in the wilderness, but it could not find food. Suddenly, he saw an elephant lying on the ground. He moved closer and realised that the elephant was already dead. He was so happy that he took a bite on the elephant’s trunk, but it was as hard as wood! He bit the elephant's ear, but it was like biting a piece of iron; biting the elephant's belly was just as tough; even the elephant's tail was as hard as steel!
The little leopard then walked round the elephant and finally found that the elephant's anus was relatively soft. He kept biting at it happily and did not realise that he was gradually moving into the elephant's stomach. There were many internal organs in the elephant's belly. He ate a lot of it and fell asleep when he was full and when he was thirsty, he drank the watery blood in the stomach of the elephant corpse. When he was hungry again, he continued eating.
After a few days under the hot sun, the skin of the elephant's corpse turned dry, and its anus tightened. The little leopard found that the space in the stomach was getting narrower and narrower, so he scrambled inside anxiously. A few days later, there was heavy rain and the elephant corpse started to swell and rot. The little leopard mustered his strength and finally managed to get out.
"The world out here is so huge and free!"
The little leopard was very happy but soon, not only did his body started to feel weak, but hair on his body were falling off because he had soaked in blood for several days and had struggled desperately in it. The little leopard felt very sad. He blamed himself for getting into the dirty world in search of pleasure instead of cherishing the vast and free environment he was blessed with and when he was finally out, he was no longer the same old self!
The Buddha warned the bhikkhus: "Ordinary people are like the little leopard. With all kinds of greed and desire, people will exit the pure world and enter the realm of filth that is difficult to escape. Everyone should take care of their own heart and not be obsessed by desire for it will cause harm to ourselves and benefit no one.” This also tells us that only by getting rid of greed and opting for simplicity can we get rid of the self-imposed troubles and lead a pure and stable life.
Translated by Lee Mui Hoon
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