Short Fiction · Chapter
The Spider's Thread explained
One morning, the Buddha is strolling by the lotus pond in Paradise and glimpses Hell below.
What happens
One morning, the Buddha is strolling by the lotus pond in Paradise and glimpses Hell below. He recalls Kandata, a great thief who once spared a spider, and decides to offer him salvation. The Buddha lowers a single spider's thread into Hell. Kandata, clinging to the thread, begins to climb, but when he looks down and sees countless other sinners climbing after him, he selfishly cries out for the thread to be his alone. At that moment, the thread snaps above him, and Kandata falls back into the darkness. The Buddha, having witnessed this, resumes his stroll, saddened by Kandata's lack of compassion.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Compassion
The Buddha's act of lowering the thread is an act of compassion, while Kandata's selfishness leads to his continued suffering.
Moral Ambiguity
Kandata is a thief, yet he performed a single good deed; the story questions whether one good act can outweigh a life of sin.
Characters to notice
- the Buddha
The compassionate deity who offers Kandata a chance at salvation by lowering a spider's thread into Hell.
- Kandata
A great thief who once spared a spider, earning the Buddha's mercy, but his selfishness causes his downfall.
Key passages
“One morning, the Buddha was strolling by the lotus pond in Paradise.”
The Buddha was walking near the lotus pond in Paradise one morning.
Sets the scene for the story.
“Kandata, clinging to the thread, began to climb, but when he looked down and saw countless other sinners climbing after him, he selfishly cried out for the thread to be his alone.”
As Kandata climbed the thread, he saw other sinners following him and selfishly demanded the thread be his, causing it to break.
Highlights the pivotal moment of selfishness.