Cauldrons
A brief teaching at Sāvatthī. The Buddha asks the mendicants to compare two people: one who gives away a hundred cauldrons of rice in the morning, at midday, and in the evening, and another who develops a heart of love for just as long as it takes to pull a cow’s udder. The second, he says, is more fruitful. He then tells them how to train: to develop the heart’s release by love, cultivate it, make it their vehicle and basis, keep it up, consolidate it, and properly implement it.
The full text
Linked Discourses 20.4 · 1. Similes · Cauldrons · translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · public domain (CC0) · about 1 min · on SuttaCentral
At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, suppose one person was to give a gift of a hundred cauldrons of rice in the morning, at midday, and in the evening. And someone else was to develop a heart of love, even just as long as it takes to pull a cow’s udder. The latter would be more fruitful. So you should train like this: ‘We will develop the heart’s release by love. We’ll cultivate it, make it our vehicle and our basis, keep it up, consolidate it, and properly implement it.’ That’s how you should train.”
Explained: A hundred cauldrons of rice