Another man bragged about his arrow: "There is no arrow better than mine. It doesn't need any bow!"
At that time, a man good at archery happened to pass by and heard their dialogue. He said: "You are both wrong. One cannot shoot an arrow without a bow; and without an arrow, how can one hit the target?"
Thereupon, the man good at archery asked them to take out their bow and arrow. Then he showed them how to shoot at the target with a bow and an arrow.
Now they understood: A bow won't do without an arrow; nor an arrow without a bow. They complement each other.
從前,有個人自夸他的弓,說:“我的弓嘛,沒有比這更好的了,好得不需要用什么箭的!”
也有人在自夸他的箭,說:“我的箭,沒有比這更好的了,好得用不著什么弓了!”
這時候,恰好有一個會射箭的人從他們身邊走過,聽到他們的這段對話,就說:“你們兩人的話都不對。沒有弓,發(fā)不出箭;沒有箭,怎么能射中目標呢?”
說完后,會射箭的人還叫他們把弓和箭都拿出來,射箭給他們看。
他們這才明白:弓不能離開箭,箭也離不開弓,兩者相輔相成。