A monk was walking alongside a stream when he saw a scorpion struggling in the water. Knowing that scorpions cannot swim, he knelt down to scoop it out of the water.

Just before setting it down, the scorpion turned and stung his hand. The monk withdrew his hand in pain and the scorpion fell back into the stream.

A little boy who was playing near the stream asked the monk, “Why do you try to save the scorpion? It just stung you!”

The monk, picking up a leaf and rescuing the scorpion successfully this time, replied, “Dear friend, just as it is a scorpion’s nature to sting, so it is my nature to feel compassion. Don’t forget, soon either I’ll stop feeling the pain of the sting and he will be saved, or he will stop being afraid and be saved. Compassion cannot be stopped so easily.”