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SELF-RELIANCE
5.8 Self Reliance
could, and it could go no further. Therefore, the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.
remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. However, it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened!
Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it
Did you know?
Jainism is a self-reliant religion. No God or divine power comes to
our rescue!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand, was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the
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THE FIRST STEP OF JAINISM
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