A disciple of the Buddha once asked permission to record his sayings in a book. “It will guide us when we are in doubt,” he said. The Buddha replied, “There was once a monk who had many followers. His disciples recorded all his sayings in a book. Whenever the disciples had to do something, they would first consult the book. One day, the monk was crossing a timber bridge. He slipped and fell into the river. ‘Help, help!’ shouted the monk, ‘I can’t swim!’ Instead of helping him, his followers started consulting the book. ‘Please wait’ they said, ‘We are going through the holy book to see the instructions for what to do if someone falls off a bridge.’ Even as they turned over the pages, the monk disappeared in the water and got drowned.”
Moral: Do not blindly follow a holy book, but use your common sense.
