Reading outline · Simile
Against the current
A person drifting with a pleasant current is warned of danger ahead and begins to struggle upstream.
This outline follows the main passages. Open each reading to follow the story in full.
In this outline
A warning downstream
A person drifting with a pleasant current is warned of danger ahead and begins to struggle upstream.
“Suppose a person was being carried along by a river current that seemed nice and pleasant. If a person with clear eyes saw them, they’d say: ‘My man, even though the river current carrying you along seems nice and pleasant, downstream there is a lake with waves and …
The simile explained
The text explicitly identifies the river with craving and paddling with energy. Its gendered imagery reflects the discourse’s ascetic setting and should not be treated as a neutral description of women.
I’ve made up this simile to make a point. And this is the point. ‘River current’ is a term for craving. ‘Seeming nice and pleasant’ is a term for the six interior sense fields. ‘A downstream lake’ is a term for the five lower fetters. ‘Danger of waves’ …
Sources & reading notes
Introductions and explanations are editorial writing. Quoted text retains its named edition; selections may be shortened with an ellipsis.
A warning downstream. Editorial summary of the cited text; narrative setting is not independent historical confirmation. Source ↗
The simile explained. Editorial summary of the cited text; narrative setting is not independent historical confirmation. Source ↗
Original scene outline
A warning downstream
A person drifting with a pleasant current is warned of danger ahead and begins to struggle upstream.
The simile explained
The text explicitly identifies the river with craving and paddling with energy. Its gendered imagery reflects the discourse’s ascetic setting and should not be treated as a neutral description of women.