01．水【氵氺】部 water
水water中in捞catch月the moon
Once upon a time, there was a group of monkeys. One night they were sitting in a big tree admiring the moon. One monkey asked, “How can we capture the moon?” Another monkey answered, “Perhaps we need to climb to the top of a mountain.” All of the monkeys agreed and so they climbed up a mountain. But, when they reached the top they were disappointed to find that the moon was still high in the sky, well beyond their reach. Later, after they descended the mountain, one monkey saw the reflection of the moon on the surface of a nearby lake: “Look, the moon is in the water! We can get it!” All the monkeys were excited; again they tried to catch the moon, and again were unable to reach it. Finally, they all jumped into the water, and the moon was broken by the ripples. 水中捞月is an allegory for people who make impractical or vain efforts. This is similar to the English expression: crying for moon.
【拼音】：shuǐ zhōng lāo yuè
【解释】：到水中去捞月亮。比喻徒劳而无功。
【出处】：源出佛教的一个寓言故事，据《僧祇律》载：佛以诸比丘说，过去世时，伽尸国波罗奈城有五百只猕猴，一日在林中玩耍，来到一井边，猕猴主见井水中有一月亮（影子），于是对同伴说：月今日死，落在井中，我们应把它捞出来，以免世间长夜暗冥。众猴不知如何下手，猕猴主见井水中有一树，乃说：我捉树枝，汝捉我尾，展转相连，乃可出之。于是众猴展转相捉，树弱枝折，群猴都掉进井水里了。佛陀以此故事喻那些自以为是，分不清是非虚实，害己害人的外道邪师。
