THE WEAVER’S DAUGHTER
“Blind and unseeing.”—This exposition of the doctrine was spoken by the Master while dwelling at the Aggālava shrine, about a certain weaver’s daughter. One day, when the Master had arrived at Ālavī, the inhabitants invited him, and gave alms. The Master, after the preparation for the meal, by way of giving thanks said: “Uncertain is life, certain is death. Of necessity I must die, and my life ends in death. Practise reflection on death, thinking, life is unsure, death is sure. For they who do not practise reflection on death are at their last hour like a man who is terrified at seeing a poisonous snake, and filled with terror they utter a cry of fear and perish. But they who practise reflection on death are like a man who sees a poisonous snake from a distance, and going with a long stick he throws it away, and is not terrified. Therefore let reflection on death be practised.”