A parable found in the Yoga Sutra tells the story of a large tree and a small blade of grass. When a flood occurred the large tree got washed away, but the blade of grass, relying on its flexibility and tenacity, managed to survive. The moral of this story is echoed in the Daoist aphorism "flexibility overcomes solidity."
和中國道家「柔能克剛」相通的是，《瑜伽經》裡提到一棵大樹與一株小草在經歷了一場洪水後，大樹傾頹，小草卻憑藉著柔軟與韌性存活下來。