When he said this, one of the mendicants asked the Buddha, “But sir, is it possible to give a simile?” “It’s possible,” said the Buddha. The king would say, ‘Go, my men, and strike this man in the midday with a hundred spears!’ The king’s men did as they were told. Then late in the afternoon the king would say, ‘Look here, how is that man?’ ‘He’s still alive, Your Majesty.’ The king would say,