A Buddhist teacher told this parable: A man was struck by an arrow shot by an unknown assailant. He became so angry that he refused to allow the arrow to be removed or his wound treated. “I will not treat the wound until the archer is located, sees what he has done to me and is properly punished,” he said. Days grew into weeks and weeks into months and the wound festered. Finally the poison killed him. The Buddha ended the story by asking: Who is responsible for this man’s death—the unknown assailant or the man himself who foolishly clung to the arrow?

Discuss: Have you every clung (do you cling) to an “arrow” that wounded you? What happened to you as a result? Did you ever get wounded by an arrow and remove it and allow it to be healed? Explain.