Fanning Brown Sugar to Cool It

1. In a village….

2. There was a man fanning brown sugar when a rich man came to see him.

3. He thought it was proper to prepare some syrup for his rich friend.
   Welcome!
4. Let me prepare some syrup for you.
5. He put some water into a pot and placed it over a fire.
6. He then fanned the pot in the hope of cooling it.
7. Ha!
8. You fool, instead of blowing out the flames under the stove, you keep fanning the pot. How is the brown sugar ever going to become cold?

Explanation:

Some heretics who, in the hope of gaining the path of purity and tranquility, practice self-mortification by sleeping on thorny brambles without putting out the flames of annoyance. As the five desires are still blazing within them, there is no way for such people to become cool and quiet. As a result, they sardonically laughed at by the wise. Moreover they will suffer affliction in their present lives and transmigration in the future.