| Monday, August 13, 2007 |
| Blind Faith |
by Ajahn Brahm
A king had trouble with his quarrelsome ministers. They would argue so much that almost nothing was decided. Each minister claimed that he alone was right and everyone else was wrong.
Finally, the king came up with a plan. He organised a special public festival and led his royal elephant into the centre of a stadium. Following the elephant came seven men, who had been blind since birth.
The King took the hand of the first blind man, helped him feel the elephant’s trunk and told him, "This is an elephant."
He then helped the rest of the men feel a different part of the elephant’s body, telling each one the same thing. Then he returned to the first blind man and asked him to say out loud what an elephant was.
"In my expert opinion," said the first blind man, feeling the trunk, "An ‘elephant’ is a species of snake, genus Python asiaticus."
"What twittering twaddle!" exclaimed the second blind man, feeling a tusk, "an ‘elephant’ is much too solid to be a snake. In fact, and I am never wrong, it is a farmer’s plough."
"Don’t be ridiculous!" jeered the third blind man, feeling an ear. "An ‘elephant’ is a palm-leaf fan."
"You idiots!" laughed the fourth blind man, feeling the head. "An ‘elephant’ is obviously a large water jar."
"Absolutely impossible!" shouted the fifth blind man, feeling the torso. "An ‘elephant’ is a huge rock."
"Bulldust!" shouted the sixth blind man, feeling a leg. "An ‘elephant’ is a tree trunk."
"Twerps!" sneered the last blind man, feeling the tail. "An ‘elephant’ really is a kind of flywhisk. I know — I can feel it!"
"Rubbish! It’s a snake." "Can’t be! It’s a jar." "No way! It’s a …" and the blind men started arguing so heatedly, and all at the same time, they produced one long yell. Each one was fighting for what he thought was the truth.
While the King’s soldiers separated them, the crowd in the stadium mocked the silent, shamefaced ministers. Everyone understood the king’s lesson.
Instead of blind faith, if the blind men had combined their experience, they would have realised that an elephant is something like a huge rock standing on four stout tree trunks. At its rear end is a flywhisk and on the front, a large water jar. At the sides of the jar are two palm-leaf fans, with two ploughs towards the bottom and a long python in the middle! That would not be such a bad description of an elephant, for someone who will never see one.Labels: Stories on harmony |
posted by Ms. Irene Teo @ 6:06 PM  |
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