321-5 blind and 1 elephant- Buddhism in daily life

5 blind and 1 elephant


5 Blind Men and 1 Elephant


At the court of a popular king there lived many learned men who
served him as advisors.


No matter what the subject, there were always disputes between
the many "experts"; the experts did not agree on anything.


The quarrels became more violent every day, the palace was filled
with bickering and strife. The king decided to remedy the
situation, he thought about what he could do. One day he had a
good idea.


Among his advisors were five blind men who, due to their age, had
lost their sight. He had these men led in front of an elephant,
they were to get an overview only by their sense of touch, and
then report to the king, in the presence of all the other
advisors, what it was all about, describe what they felt.


The first scholar was led to the side of the elephant, he felt an
ear, he reached around the large surface, felt the brittle
surface. He thought: "According to the smell it is an elephant,
but according to the feeling it is a big leaf".


The second educated blind man had his turn, he was placed in
front of the elephant, felt the trunk. He spoke: "Yes, it smells
like an elephant, but it is an arm, long and strong".


The next scholar was directed to the rear of the animal, he felt
the tail of the colossus. He too agreed with the previous men,
"it smells like an elephant, yes, but it feels like a rope, with
a brush on the end".


The fourth blind man was led to one leg of the elephant, he said
"yes, the smell is strong, but since this is a riddle of the
king, it can't be an elephant, I think it is a pillar".


Then came the turn of the last of the selected blind scholars, he
was placed at the belly of the animal. He too admitted that it
smelled like an elephant, but he also believed that the king was
trying to "hoodwink" them, he thought it was a large spiky
surface, and therefore not an animal.


The king began to smile, he said: "Oh you scholars, how can you
not recognize such a simple thing, it is of course an elephant.
But I wanted to show you that it is often different than it seems
at first, nothing is really simple, every matter has its
difficulties, before you quarrel again in the future, you should
remember this elephant, this moment. And everyone at my court has
seen how difficult it is to recognize an elephant, to describe
it, everyone has felt something different, felt it. And only
because you lack one sense, the eyesight. And how is it only with
smaller things, with those that are harder to describe, harder to
understand, complicated and complex"?


All the scholars understood what the king wanted to tell them,
they now realized. And also why he had staged this spectacle was
now obvious.


The example with the elephant should not be forgotten so quickly
by all advisors at the court.


As a Buddhist, one should not judge or evaluate.


FIRST LOOK AT YOURSELF, THEN JUDGE ME!


- SPEAKING WORD –


Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de


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