The old man kept saying, "Why is God so unfair? I am quite old already, yet my son, who was the breadwinner of the family, suddenly passed away! Now the heavy burden of supporting the family has fallen on me!"

The Buddha quietly listened to the old man's complaints and then looked at the fish basket beside the old man. There were several fish squirming in the basket, still struggling painfully to breathe. When he saw this, the Buddha shook his head and walked away with a wry smile on his face.

Ananda observed, "It seems the old man's suffering is based on two aspects: his son's sudden death and the sorrow of earning a living at his age. It is indeed sad to see that an ailing old man like him still needs to sell fish in the market for a living. However, doesn't he realize that fish also have families and feelings and that casting out a net and catching a whole school of fish will also ruin many fish families? Why can he only perceive the pain of losing his son and fail to see the suffering of all the fish?"

The Buddha replied: "People keep creating bad karma by killing other creatures, and once their retributions descend on them, they complain about their hardships and suffering. There is nothing I can do except sympathize with people's delusions!"　

Human beings are often self-centered: I love, I resent, I hate, I like... Everything begins with "I." Before they even notice, their lives fill up with wickedness. They tend to speak more malicious slander than sweet words and to be more selfish than thoughtful.

Buddhists believe that all living beings are reincarnated in the Six Realms of Heaven, Humans, Asuras, Animals, Hungry Ghosts, and Hell. If people cannot cultivate wisdom and blessings by doing good deeds, they may lose their human form and fall into the lower realm of animals in their next life. When that day comes, they will struggle painfully like the fish in the basket, waiting to be bought and cooked. It will be a truly horrible fate! Therefore, in everyday life, we must be very careful with the actions we take, the words we utter, and the thoughts we harbor.