IN A STORY by Ryunosuke Akutagawa called ‘The Spider Thread’, the thief and arsonist Kandata is writhing in hell with all the other sinners when the Lord Buddha happens to look down from paradise. Buddha knows, as one who knows everything misses nothing, that Kandata once saved the life of a spider on a mountain trail. He took pity on a spider that it was in his power to squash underfoot, figuring that even the spider possessed a life worthy of some respect.

On the strength of this single instant of compassion in a lifetime of vileness, Buddha is prepared to throw Kandata a lifeline. He takes a spider thread and sends it floating down on the heavenly breeze in his direction. A skilled climber, the career housebreaker grabs hold of the thread and starts hauling himself up out of the hellish depths, full of glee at this surprising change of fortune.