Once upon a time, there was a bee flying past the Buddha. The bee saw a closed flower nearby and flew past it. The next morning, the bee flew past the Buddha again, thinking it would get to taste the flower, but the flower remained closed. The bee flew past that place for three or four days, but the flower remained closed.

Being curious, the bee asked the Buddha: 'Most Venerable Buddha, I am very curious about when this flower will bloom. I have been flying past this place for three or four days, but the flower remains closed.'

The Buddha replied: 'The flower will certainly bloom, but the time has not yet come.' The Buddha then asked the bee: 'In general, when do flowers bloom?'

The bee replied: 'In general, flowers bloom in the morning.'

The Buddha said: 'That's correct, but flowers bloom at different times according to their species. Some flowers bloom in the morning, some during the day, some in the evening, and some at night.'

The bee replied to the Buddha: 'If that's the case, I will wait here to see the flower bloom.'

After three or four seasons passed, the flower remained closed, while the bee continued to stay there without going anywhere, and also listened to the Buddha's teachings.

One day, the bee became hopeless and said to the Buddha: 'It seems I will die before the flower blooms,' as the bee understood the teaching 'Rūpaṃ dukkhaṃ aniccaṃ anattā' (Form is suffering, impermanent, and not-self).

The Buddha replied: 'If that's the case, why don't you fly to taste other flowers?'

The bee replied: 'I have known and tasted other flowers before.'

The bee continued: 'I don't want to taste this flower, I just want to know its fragrance, that's enough for my heart.'

Suddenly, the flower bloomed, and other small creatures flew in hoping to taste the flower. The bee prevented those creatures from coming to taste the flower.

Seeing this, the flower spoke to the bee: 'Why don't you allow other creatures to taste the flower like this? Actually, I should have bloomed long ago, but because I like listening to the Buddha's teachings, I didn't want to bloom. I agreed to bloom now because I want to receive the merit that makes the bee happy.'

The bee replied: 'Because I don't want the flower to wither quickly.'

The flower replied: 'Even if you don't taste me, I will still wither.'

Hearing this, the bee decided to taste the flower.