Carl%20Sagan%20-%20The%20Demon%20Haunted%20World

20
House on Fire*
The Lord [Buddha] replied to the Venerable Sariputra:
'In some village, city, market town, country district,
province, kingdom, or capital there lived a householder,
old, advanced in years, decrepit, weak in health and
strength, but rich, wealthy, and well-to-do. His house was a
large one, both extensive and high, and it was old, having
been built a long time ago. It was inhabited by many living
beings, some two, three, four, or five hundred. It had one
single door only. It was thatched with straw, its terraces had
fallen down, its foundations were rotten, its walls,
matting-screens, and plaster were in an advanced state of
decay. Suddenly a great blaze of fire broke out, and the
house started burning on all sides. And that man had many
young sons, five, or ten, or twenty, and he himself got out of
the house.
'When that man saw his own house ablaze all around with
the great mass of fire, he became afraid and trembled, his
mind became agitated, and he thought to himself: "I, it is
true, have been competent enough to run out of the door,
and to escape from my burning house, quickly and safely,
without being touched or scorched by that great mass of fire.
But what about my sons, my young boys, my little sons?
* Written with Ann Druyan.
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