The
helplessness of the Buddha
Everyone thinks that the Buddha could do whatever he wanted because he had immense powers. In fact, the Buddha also had his times of helplessness.
There was this man of malice who had only done evil in his life except for once. On this occasion, he saw a spider while walking along the road. Just as he was going to step on it, the good thought of not wanting to kill the spider flashed through his mind. He lenghtened his stride and saved the spider's life.
Subsequently this man had fallen in hell. Knowing that the spider wanted to repay this man for his mercy, the Buddha let the spider's silk thread run all the way to hell to save him. All the other beings in hell who saw this thread rushed forward and fought to grab hold of it for escape. Seeing this, the man became furious. Pushing them away, he spoke angrily :" Get out of the way! This is my spider thread, and I am the only one who can climb on it. Go away, all of you!"
Due to his forcible strength, the thread snapped and all of them including himself fell back into hell. The Buddha was extremely sad as he said:" It is because of selfishness and anger that sentient beings do not want to benefit others. They are so incompassionate and reluctant to help others that I find it impossible to help them even if I want to!"
