The Human Condition / Stop the Train

The story is told of a man who, being late for a trip, arrived at a railroad station and jumped onto the first available train. Extenuated, he dozed off for a while and then upon waking up, saw the train rumbling along at full speed toward an unknown destination. He began querying everyone, complaining aloud and finally crying and shouting. He demanded that the train stop to let him off. The more excited he became, the more the other passengers, eerily silent and sowncast, seemed puzzled by his behavior. Finally a kind old man told him, "don't you know, this train has only one destination, the ocean depths from which no one ever returns." Once we are born, our final destination is death -- the deep ocean. Why fret and fuss? All we can do is to use our time on earth to develop the Bodhi-mind, seeking Enlightenment for ourselves and others.

From Thus Have I Heard, edited by Minh Thanh and P.D. Leigh