So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Mendicants, a sower does not sow seed for deer thinking, ‘May the deer, enjoying this seed, be long-lived and beautiful. May they live long and prosper!’ A sower sows seed for deer thinking, ‘When these deer encroach on where I sow the seed, they’ll recklessly enjoy eating it. They’ll become indulgent, then they’ll become negligent, and then I’ll be able to do what I want with them on account of this seed.’

And indeed, the first herd of deer encroached on where the sower sowed the seed and recklessly enjoyed eating it. They became indulgent, then they became negligent, and then the sower was able to do what he wanted with them on account of that seed. And that’s how the first herd of deer failed to get free from the sower’s power.