What is the moral of the spider and the fly?

Answer 1

One day, the Buddha was strolling along the brink of the lotus pond of Paradise. His eyes fell on a man named Kandata who was squirming with the other sinners in the bottom of hell. This Kandata had done so many evil things his lifeline but he had to his credit one good action. Once, while on his way through a deep forest, he had noticed a little spider creeping along beside the road. He was about to trample it to death when he suddenly changed his mind and spared the spider's life.

Now, as he looked down into hell, the Buddha remembered this good deed and thought he would like to deliver Kandata out of hell. Looking around he saw a spider of Paradise spinning a beautiful silvery thread on the lotus leaves. The Buddha took up the spider's thread in his hand and let it straight down to the bottom of hell which held Kandata securely with the other sinners in the Pool of Blood on the floor of hell.

On this day, Kandata lifted his head by chance and saw a silver spider's thread slipping down toward him from the high heavens. Kandata grasped the thread tightly in his two hands and began to climb up and up with all his might.

After climbing for a while, he was finally exhausted and could not ascend an inch higher. He stopped to rest and looked below him. What he saw filled him with fear. For, below on the thread, countless sinners were climbing eagerly after him up and up, like a procession of ants.

Kandata blinked his eyes at them with his big mouth hanging foolishly open in surprise and terror. How could that slender spider spider's thread which seemed as if it must break with him alone, ever support the weight of all those people? If it would break in mid air, even he himself would have to fall headlong back to Hell.

So Kandata cried out in loud voice. "Hey, you sinners! This thread is mine. Who gave you permission to come up it? Get down! Get down!"

At that moment, the spider's thread broke with a snap t the point where Kandata was hanging. Without even time to utter a cry, Kandata shot down and fell headlong into the darkness, spinning swiftly around and around like a top.

Answer 2

ODOWAN