A monk was traveling across a field and he encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger chasing 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 and snarled at him from above. Trembling and hanging there, the monk looked down to where, far below, a second tiger was waiting for him to fall, to eat him.

Then out of a crevice in the cliff two mice, one white and one black, appeared and little by little they started to gnaw away at the vine. The monk noticed a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. Delicious! How sweet it tasted!

~ Zen Buddhist parable

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