蜘蛛の糸

One

One day, the Buddha was strolling alone along the edge of the lotus pond in Paradise. The lotus flowers blooming in the pond were all as white as jewels, and from the golden stamens in their centers, an indescribably pleasant fragrance continuously filled the air. It must have been morning in Paradise.

Soon, the Buddha stood by the edge of the pond and looked down through the lotus leaves covering the water's surface. Beneath this lotus pond in paradise lies the very bottom of hell, and through the crystal-clear water, the scenery of the River of Three Crossings and the Mountain of Needles could be seen as clearly as if looking through a spyglass.

In the depths of that hell, the figure of a man named Kandata caught the Buddha's eye, writhing among the other sinners. This man, Kandata, was a great thief who committed various evil deeds such as murder and arson. However, he had one memory of a good deed. Once, while walking through a deep forest, he saw a small spider crawling along the roadside. Kandata immediately raised his foot to crush it, but then thought, "No, no, even though it's small, it surely has a life. It's too pitiful to take its life without reason." With this sudden change of heart, he spared the spider's life.

The Buddha, while observing the state of hell, remembered that Kandata had once saved a spider. With this single good deed in mind, he thought to rescue the man from hell if possible. Fortunately, as he looked around, he saw a spider from paradise spinning a beautiful silver thread on a lotus leaf of jade-like color. The Buddha gently took the spider's thread in his hand and lowered it straight down between the white lotus flowers, all the way to the depths of hell below.

Two

This is Kandata, floating and sinking with other sinners in the pool of blood at the bottom of hell. No matter where you look, it's pitch dark, and if you occasionally think you see something faintly rising from the darkness, it's the terrifying needles of the mountain of needles glinting, so you can imagine the hopelessness. Moreover, the surroundings are as silent as a grave, and the only thing you occasionally hear is the faint sighs of the sinners. This is because those who have fallen here are already exhausted from the various torments of hell and have lost even the strength to cry out. Therefore, even the great thief Kandata, choking on the blood of the pool, was merely struggling like a dying frog.

At one time, it so happened that Kandata casually raised his head and looked up at the sky above the Pool of Blood. In the still darkness, from the far, far heavens, a silver spider's thread, as if fearing to be seen, came gliding down towards him, shining faintly. Seeing this, Kandata clapped his hands in delight. If he could cling to this thread and climb up, he would surely be able to escape from hell. Indeed, if all went well, he might even reach paradise. In that case, he would no longer be driven up the Mountain of Needles, nor would he be submerged in the Pool of Blood.

Since Kandata thought this, he immediately grasped the spider's thread firmly with both hands and began to climb up with all his might. Being a great thief by nature, he was well accustomed to such things from long ago.

Between hell and paradise, there are countless miles, so no matter how much one hurries, it is not easy to ascend. After climbing for a while, Kandata finally grew weary and could no longer climb any higher. With no other choice, he decided to take a short rest, hanging in the middle of the thread, and looked far down below.

Suddenly, thanks to his earnest climbing, the pool of blood where he had been just moments ago was now hidden in the depths of darkness. The terrifying mountain of needles, faintly glowing, was now beneath his feet. If he continued climbing at this rate, escaping from hell might not be as difficult as he thought. Kandata, entangling his hands in the spider's thread, laughed with a voice he hadn't used in years, saying, "I've done it. I've done it." However, when he suddenly noticed, below the spider's thread, countless sinners were following his path, climbing up with all their might like a line of ants. Seeing this, Kandata was so shocked and terrified that for a while, he just stood there with his mouth agape like a fool, only moving his eyes. How could this thin spider's thread, which seemed barely able to support him alone, bear the weight of so many people? If by any chance it snapped midway, he, who had painstakingly climbed this far, would have to fall back into the original hell. That would be disastrous. Yet, even as he thought this, hundreds and thousands of sinners were swarming up from the dark pool of blood, climbing the thin, shining spider's thread in a line. If he didn't do something soon, the thread would surely snap in the middle, and they would all fall.

Then, Datta shouted loudly, "Hey, you sinners! This spider's thread is mine. Who did you ask to climb up here? Get down! Get down!"

At that very moment, the spider's thread, which had been perfectly fine until then, suddenly snapped with a sharp sound right where Kandata was hanging. Thus, Kandata could do nothing. In an instant, he was spinning like a top, slicing through the air, and before he knew it, he was plummeting headlong into the depths of darkness.

Later, only the spider's thread of paradise remained, shimmering thinly, hanging short in the middle of the sky where there was neither moon nor stars.

Three

The Buddha stood by the edge of the lotus pond in paradise, watching the entire scene intently. When Kandata sank to the bottom of the pool of blood like a stone, the Buddha, with a sorrowful expression, began to walk again. From the Buddha's perspective, Kandata's selfish desire to escape hell alone, and the fitting punishment he received for such a heart, which led him back to hell, must have seemed pitiful.

The lotus flowers in the pond of paradise paid no heed to such matters. Their jewel-like white blossoms swayed gently around the feet of the Buddha, and from the golden stamens at their center, an indescribably pleasant fragrance continuously filled the air. It must have been nearing noon in paradise.

April 16, Taisho 7 (1918)

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