What do you mean, a clay idol can't survive crossing the river?

As the saying goes, the clay idol crossed the river. Metaphor can't even keep yourself, how to care about others.

Many bodhisattvas are made of mud tires. When such a bodhisattva crosses the river and soaks in the water, it will disintegrate and melt. So it is difficult to protect the clay idol from crossing the river.

But the deeper meaning of this sentence is that only you can save yourself, and it is better to save yourself by asking for help. Buddha and Bodhisattva are just teachers, who help us realize and teach us to break the mystery, eliminate suffering, life and death and reincarnation, and can't replace us. Eat your own food and be full, everyone has his own cause and effect, and his own affairs can only be his own.

Extended data:

Allusions:

Once upon a time, a clay bodhisattva was enshrined in a temple. This temple has been in disrepair for a long time, and no one offers incense. Clay Bodhisattva is extremely depressed and does nothing every day. One day, when he heard someone calling for help, he hurried down from the altar and looked out the door. It turned out that someone fell into the river in front of the temple.

Clay Bodhisattva takes saving people from danger as its own duty, how can it sit idly by? He jumped into the river with all his strength, but before he could swim to the drowning man, the clay Buddha had turned into a ball of mud and was washed away by the river.

According to this story, later generations made up a two-part allegorical saying, "Clay Bodhisattva crosses the river-be immune to it", which means to help others do what they can. If you can't protect yourself, you can help others, and there will be no good result in the end.

Baidu Encyclopedia: Clay Bodhisattva crosses the river, but it is difficult to protect itself.