 The Parable of the Archers There once was a young archer, a champion of bows and arrows with great technical skill. He could shoot an arrow directly hitting a bullseye, and then shoot another arrow that split the first one in half. The young man was quite boastful about it as well. He demonstrated this bullseye after asking an old Zen master, who was known for his archery skills, to challenge him. He thought he could win no problem. The old man simply waved his hand and beckoned for the young man to follow him. Curious about the master's intent, the young man followed. The master let him high up into the mountains and took him to a spot where two cliffs met and were connected by a very old and unstable log in between them. This log was surely unfit to stand on, yet the master leapt onto it with grace. He stood in the middle of it and drew out his bow. He aimed for a tree far away on the other side of the cliff and hid it straight in the middle. As he gracefully stepped off the log, he told the young champion that it was now his turn. The man looked down to the seemingly bottomless cliffside and became incredibly wary. He could not make himself step onto the precarious tree trunk. The master sensed his apprehensiveness and told the young man, you have much skill with your bow, but you have little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot. The young man was unable to challenge the old master, who earned such a reputation through mastering every element of his craft, both mind and body. This parable is ultimately about mind over matter and the interconnected nature of the two. We may think we are skilled in a certain aspect of something, but there is always more than meets the eye. Also present is the idea of humility and knowing one's place in the grander scheme of things. While the young archer is unquestionably talented, there is still someone above him in experience and prowess. To quote Qui-Gon Jin, there's always a bigger fish. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it provides us with an opportunity to learn and experience new things in our lives and our own crafts. And above all, an opportunity to always continually progress. The archer is an expert in his own world on solid ground, but when he is taken out of his comfort zone and exposed to a new environment, instead of approaching the situation humbly, he is frightened and apprehensive. While this certainly is a valid response, it is not the only one. By remaining open to new experiences and training the mind to stay calm in the face of fear and nervousness, perhaps we can approach a situation where we are arguably at a seemingly bottomless cliffside, and instead see it as an opportunity to progress and learn more about our approach to life. The master's wisdom rings true even today, as at the base level, everything, even physical sensations, are simply electrical signals interpreted by the mind and converted into feelings and emotions. As with anything, it is arguably the mind that makes our decisions and controls how we handle experiences. At the end of the day, this parable teaches us that it is just as important to master our own thoughts and emotions as it is to master something in the physical world, as the old saying goes, as above, so below. The parable of the butterfly dream. The great Taoist master, Shuang Zha, once had a vivid dream that he was a butterfly. He fluttered through the bushes and the trees, having a simple consciousness. He no longer had any awareness of his individuality as a human, and all he knew was the life of a butterfly. He flew around the gardens, experiencing fully the existence of a mere insect, and suddenly he awoke and was taken out of his dream. He sat up and looked around, and thought to himself, was I a man who just dreamt about being a butterfly? Or am I now a butterfly dreaming that I am a man? Which one is it? Could it be both? This amazing parable explores the nature of reality itself. Are we merely dreaming this reality together? Is our experience on Earth one huge collective dream that we're all engaging with? And who truly knows? This parable also speaks to living in and seizing the moment. When Shuang Zha is in his butterfly form, he isn't concerned about why he's a butterfly, or whether tomorrow will be something else. He is simply a butterfly, right now, living his best butterfly life. Perhaps the lesson here is a simple one. We get so caught up in life with worries and anxieties of things that haven't even happened yet, and many a time forget to just be and experience the physical reality that we are in as a reality in itself. This also relates to the process of death. Something that may seem very scary when it's not truly understood. When we die, it is arguably much more accurate to think of it like waking up from a dream and moving into a new kind of existence. This idea is echoed in Descartes' famous maxim, I think, therefore I am. Which argues that the only thing we can know for sure in life is that we exist. Even if we are all currently in an afterlife or spirit world, we still exist in that world. Our consciousness does not simply cease to exist, but carries on from one life into the next. We never truly die, we just transform. The energy changes shape into something new. Much like when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, the consciousness of the caterpillar does not cease to exist, but is transformed. When we view this reality as a huge interactive dream, then we can understand that, just like in a dream, we are able to create our world. We have the power within us to manifest anything we could ever imagine, and the first step is always just believing that it's possible. Perhaps we are all just figments of each other's imagination within the mind of God. The Parable of the Sacred Turtle There once was an ancient Taoist master who was a great philosopher and strategist. He had a wide array of different skills, which made him very sought after by a few rulers. They wanted to use him for his abilities to advance their personal goals. One of the rulers, King Wei, sent his courtiers to find the Taoist master at his home and invite him to be the leader's chief counselor. Many people would find this job to be a blessing or an honor. When they went to his home, they found him fishing by the riverbank. The courtiers saw his living situation and thought he would surely jump at the opportunity for a high status and many riches. As they approached him and showed him the invitation, he responded with a story. Once upon a time, there was a sacred turtle which lived its life happily in the mud. It would roll around all day enjoying its freedom in nature. But because it was considered a sacred turtle, it was captured by the king's men and taken to the palace. There, they killed the poor turtle and used its shell to predict the future. The Taoist master then asked the guards if they thought the turtle would have been happy to give up its life to live at the palace, or would it rather have lived its life in the mud? The guard answered that, of course, it would obviously be happier in the mud. And the Taoist master replied, well, then you have my answer. Go home and let me be a happy turtle here in the mud. And so he lived out his days at home the way that he wanted to. This parable shows us that we must do that which makes us truly happy, following our hearts on the inside. It is not up to other people and their expectations to bring us inner peace, but our own actions. Further, asking the question of what really makes you happy in life and honoring the simple natural beauty of the world is imperative to a good life. This is kind of a sad parable at first, because some dynasties in China really did engage in ox and turtle bone readings. So there's actually an element of truth to the sage's story. Allegorically, however, this parable goes both ways. We must do that which makes us happy no matter how simple it may seem, but we should also not assume to know that we know what's best for people just because we see things from a different perspective. Everyone ultimately lives according to their own level of awareness and consciousness. What makes one person happy will sometimes be opposite for another. Today there are people who aspire to have a fancy car, a big apartment in a major city and a big paying job. And you also have people who want the opposite of that, a quiet life in nature, away from those kinds of people. And both of those are entirely okay. By giving into the pressure and expectations of others, we will hinder our own happiness, trust yourself, and do what you need to do to fulfill your desires in this life. There once was a poor man who let a donkey from one kingdom to another. Every day he needed to cross a river that was guarded by men from the kingdom he wished to enter. The border guards suspected he was smuggling something, so they would always inspect him and his donkey thoroughly. They'd search through his pockets, the saddlebags and the donkeys, but never found anything. As time went on, they saw the man had much nicer clothing and bought a larger house. They knew something must be up, and they inspected him even more thoroughly. But in the end, they didn't find anything on him. After 30 years of this, one of the border guards finally retired, one day, as he was walking through the village, he saw the old man who would pass with the donkeys. He ran up to him and told him he was no longer a border guard and could no longer arrest the man. He pleaded to no for his own peace of mind. What was the man smuggling all those years ago? The man acquiesced and agreed to tell him now that he could not get arrested. It was the donkeys. I was smuggling donkeys, he said. The guard was shocked and would never have guessed. Oh boy, this is a fun one, because the answer was in plain sight. It was easy to look over. This parable teaches us that not everything is always as it seems, and sometimes we need to inspect things from every angle in order to understand them. Sometimes the seemingly most hidden things are in plain sight, just like the classic saying, it was hidden right under my nose. It's easy to search deeply for something that is simple and right in front of us. Not everything is so complicated in life. There are many simple truths that are, in the end, just a simple truth. Perhaps there's also something to be said of appearances. The guards assumed the man was a smuggler because he first appeared poor, and when they see him increasing in wealth, this just reassures them of their presumption. For all they know, the man could have been working another job and got his house this way. Because of this, they actively search for something of value, something that would otherwise be out of place on a poor man, and never consider the things right in front of them. Sometimes we must approach a situation from every angle before coming to a decision. Consider things in the context of each other and how they appear, and ultimately always remember that the simplest answer is most often the right one. The Parable of the Holy Man. There once was a small village within a forest of trees. Words started to spread amongst the people that there was a wise holy man who lived in a small house at the top of the mountain. One man truly wanted to visit the holy man, to ask him questions, and get advice on his own life problems. And so he set out on a long and difficult journey to visit the man. He crossed the forests, mountains, and rivers to seek him out. His journey was very perilous, but eventually he made his way. Once he was there, he knocked on the door and waited eagerly. The door swung open and he was greeted by an old servant. He told the servant he traveled all the way there to meet the wise holy man. The servant simply smiled at the man and let him inside the house. As they walked through the house, the man looked around curiously, waiting to see where he would meet the holy man. But before he knew it, the servant opened up the back door and let him outside. Confused, the man turned to the servant and told him again, hey, I wanted to see the holy man. You already have, the old man replied, everyone that you meet in your life, even if they appear plain, I want you to see each of them as a wise and holy man. If you do this, whatever problem you brought here today will be solved. This parable teaches us the lesson of don't judge a book by its cover. You never know who is who, who has suffered and who is full of joy. It's not our place to cast judgments on people that we don't know or on anyone for that matter. When we can hold the space of openness and empathy for everyone that we meet, it becomes clear that they are merely a reflection of us. Once again, we are presented with a lesson in managing our expectations. Anticipation of something may be greater than the thing itself. And many times, anticipation of looks is a mistake. Further, people often go searching for things like love and happiness and don't recognize them when they see them because they have spent their whole life searching. Sometimes the answer to our problems is right in front of us, right within us, if only we are present to them. Ultimately, this parable teaches us that we can see ourselves in everyone that we meet and that every step we take on a journey is significant. Everyone you meet in life may know something about life that you do not. No matter what their status or position is, like the old saying goes, a wise man learns more from a fool than the fool from the wise man. Everyone just wants to be loved and accepted for who they are. And if you practice giving this love out to people, you will receive it back and come closer to inner peace. The Parable of the Ego. The prime minister of the Tang dynasty was a national hero for his success as both a statesman and a military leader. But despite his fame, power and wealth, he considered himself a humble and devout Buddhist. Often he visited his favorite Zen master to study under him and they seemed to get along very well. The fact that he was a prime minister apparently had no effect on their relationship which seemed to be simply one of a revered master and respectful student. One day during his usual visit, the prime minister asked the master, your reverence, what is egotism according to Buddhism? The master's face turned red and in a very condescending and insulting tone, he shot back. What kind of stupid question is that? This unexpected response so shocked the prime minister that he became sullen and angry. The Zen master then smiled and said, this, your excellency, is egotism. The parable of the ego is a lesson in managing our expectations, responses and anger. More so than any of that though, it is a reminder to always be humble despite whatever position you find yourself in in life. The prime minister considers himself a true and humble Buddhist and yet is someone arguably at the top of their game leading an entire dynasty. Despite his material possessions though, he still accepts the fact that there is a master above him and cheerfully goes every day to learn more. The funny thing is though, the master also appears flustered and angry with the question but I think this is more to be taken as a teaching method than a failure of the master's response. There is also something to be said about our attachment and expectation to outcome. Because of the master's great wisdom, the prime minister assumes the answer will reflect that and it does just not in the way that he thought it would rather than surrendering to the flow and allowing whatever will be to be. The prime minister builds up what he expects the answer to be before the master has even said it and when things don't go to plan, he becomes frustrated and anxious. The master uses an expression of ego of his own to reflect the ego within the prime minister ultimately as a teaching tool more than anything. Perhaps the lesson here then is that expectation and attachment are what cause our worries and anger and that by surrendering we will gain a truer answer to our questions. In other words, like many Buddhist tales, we cannot control how other people behave or how events unfold like the ego wishes to believe but we can control our own responses to them and in that lies the answers to our questions. The parable of the ritual cat. There once was a great monastery high up in the mountains of Tibet. One day when the spiritual teacher and his disciples began their evening meditation, the cat who lived in the monastery started making noise. So much noise in fact that it completely distracted them so the teacher ordered that the cat be tied up during the evening practice so that they could meditate in peace. Years later when the teacher died, the practice of tying up the cat continued during their meditation sessions and when the cat eventually died, another cat was brought to the monastery and was tied up during their meditations. Centuries later, learned descendants of the spiritual teacher wrote scholarly treaties about the religious significance of tying up a cat for meditation practice. The parable of the ritual cat is a story about the questioning of authority and rituals. Today, there are endless number of rituals, beliefs and ideas about the world that extend back into ancient times but how many of these are actually our own and not someone else's that have been passed on to us? This parable highlights our attitude to authority and the ever-pervading belief that just because someone is an expert in something doesn't mean that they're right 100% of the time. Logically speaking, the monks could have just let the cat out and shut the door when meditating which would probably have been much better for the cat but because their learned master made the decision, later monks attributed great significance to an event that they weren't even around to see or understand why. This parable reminds me of an old children's game, telephone, where you would whisper something into someone's ear and then the message would be passed along from one kid to the next. By the time it got to the last child, the message would generally be very different from how it was when it started. Perhaps this is how silly superstitions develop. You've probably heard the phrase, all myths have some element in truth or there's no smoke without fire which say that there's always a cause and origin story to our favorite myths but over time they get distorted as they are passed from one generation to the next. Eventually you'll have a generation of people who believe something entirely different from what it used to be. There's also something to be said for interpreting ancient traditions from a modern perspective. We should always remember that way back in the old days when many of our legends and traditions developed, society was very different. Morality and social dynamics were considered differently and people lived fundamentally different kinds of lives. Just because a tradition developed a thousand years ago doesn't always mean that it will work today without going through perhaps at least a little bit of change. This story always makes me wonder how many seemingly spiritual or mystical traditions actually began as practical solutions to some everyday problem. A funny example is found in the British Iron Age where for years archeologists thought the position of the door and entrance in roundhouses was because of some spiritual or mystical reason in their mythology. Linguists even spent years looking for symbolism in medieval texts until someone had the very bright idea that by looking at where the central fire and livestock would have been in the village, most of the doors were just facing the other way to avoid the smell of the cows and the smoke from the fire. I think the most important takeaway from this parable then is to always question your beliefs and try to adapt them with the times. Always think about the reason you're doing things and if it makes sense to you. And while there is something to be said for trusting experts who have devoted their lives to their field, remember to trust yourself as the highest authority in your own beliefs. I think a lot of us live our whole lives like this. We do this and that over and over without really thinking about the significance or meaning of it. And if we actually stopped to look at some of our traditions, we might see that someone or something always suffers from unnecessary superstitious behavior. Take black cats, for example. There's a common superstition that if one crosses your path, it's often considered bad luck. But in parts of Europe and England, it's apparently good luck. How many black cats have missed out on adoption because people just thought they were unlucky? Ultimately, this story is far more about the failings of people than rituals, cats or scholars. The Parable of the Full Cup. A university professor went to see a Zen master. While the master was quietly serving tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured his visitor's cup to the brim and then he kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he could no longer restrain himself. It is over full, no more will go in, the professor blurted. The Zen master simply replied, like this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you about Zen unless you first empty your cup? The professor got the message, took a deep breath and nodded. The master continued, see not one thing as a thing, but all of the possibilities of what it may be. A cup is a cup in your mind. To someone else, it could become a weapon. It could even be a hat. In this moment, it is a river and now let us drink from the river of wisdom. He stopped pouring and both of them picked up their tea. Uh, what about the mess? The professor asked. The Zen master simply looked at him and said, let go of it and let it be. The parable of the full cup is a great reminder that in order to learn and receive wisdom, we have to be humble to empty our mind and make room for the new. Like all Zen cones, this one explains a very simple concept that learning a new skill requires an open mind. Far too often, we think we know everything, especially as we begin to get better at a skill. But in reality, every time we approach something new, we come at it with preconceived notions that we learned from our childhood or society. Spirituality is a great example of this. When people first approach it, a lot of us do so from a skeptical point of view. After all, until you've personally experienced the value of meditation or the chakras within you, the whole idea of energy centers in our body that can't be shown physically can seem crazy. And maybe there is something to the idea that our perception influences how much we really see or at least allow ourselves to see. After all, people say seeing is believing, but believing is what allows you to see by exposing you to new ways of thinking. In the words of Henry Thoreau, when any real progress is made, we unlearn and learn anew what we thought we knew before. Sometimes it can feel as though we know everything about a topic, but we should remember that knowing is usually done from within one's own perspective. And while someone may know everything about something, it is only from their point of view. It is only by exposing oneself to new ideas, new people, theories, and ways of thinking that we can really grow as individuals. Zen Buddhist missionary, Shunru Suzuki Roshi, once said that in the beginner's mind, there are many possibilities. In the experts, there are few. Is there a lesson here that when we come at a problem with a full mind, we can't hope to solve it? In other words, if our mind is so full of preconditions about how to solve something, maybe sometimes there isn't enough room for discovering the actual answer. Perhaps then the ultimate lesson of this parable can be expressed by another Zen proverb, that knowledge is the act of learning something every day, but wisdom is the act of letting something go every day. The Parable of Freedom. A man comes to a master to ask how much man is independent and free. Is he totally free or is there a limitation? Is there something like fate, a kismet, destiny, a God who makes a limitation beyond which you cannot be free? The mystic answered in his own way, not logically, but existentially. He said, stand up. The man must have felt this was a stupid kind of answer. He said, I am asking a simple question and he's asking me to stand, but then he followed with, well, let us see what happens. So he stands and the mystic said, now, raise one of your legs up. The man, by this time, must have been thinking he'd come to a madman. What is this to do with freedom, independence? But now that he has come and there must be a crowd of disciples and the mystic was so respected, not to follow him would be disrespectful and there was no harm in it. And so he lifts one of his legs from the earth. So one foot was in the air and he was standing on one foot. And then the master said, that is perfectly good. Just one more thing now, take the other foot up also. That is impossible, the man said. You are asking something impossible. I have taken my right foot up. Now I cannot take my left foot up too. The master responded, but if you were free in the beginning, you could have taken the left foot up. There was no binding order. You were completely free to choose whether to take the left foot up or the right foot up. I had not said anything about it. You just decided, you took the right foot up. In your very decision, you made it impossible for the left foot to be lifted. Don't bother about fate, case met, God. Just be simple in your life. The parable of freedom is a story about free will, choice and determinism. Is there some grand plan to the universe that is guiding our every move in a subtle yet deliberate way? While it may be comforting to think that there is some semblance of divine order, the arguably better question is, does it really matter? Many times, people will question their choices and if it's the right thing to do and if they're doing the right thing and often for spiritual or religious people, whether their actions are in accordance with their deity's plan for them. Ironically, the man in the story cannot see his answer from the start and even the act of asking whether we have free will is a free act. Like many of us, he seeks some higher meaning in the answers and in doing so deludes himself from a simple truth. There are even some parallels in this story with the recent parable of the ego that we spoke about previously in that the man expects and is attached to a logical answer and when he doesn't get one, he believes he has failed in his mission. While the mystic initially appears mad at least to the man in question, it's only because he is operating at a different level of awareness than the man can understand. Like the old Maxim, no genius could exist without a touch of madness. By looking at everything separately as single, unconnected events, the moving of an arm or a leg, rather than the act of moving a single part of a greater body of consciousness, the man cannot see the bigger picture and really can't comprehend the wisdom that he is being shown. Perhaps the lesson in this parable is to not get so obsessed with the little things in life and to always consider an event contextually as a part of something bigger. Free will seems like a natural part of life. We can always make decisions for ourselves. How those decisions will affect the future though is always up in the air and we won't always know until the time comes. Maybe in this, we too focus too much on the specifics of life rather than taking a simple philosophy of whatever happens will be and it is in our own decisions and ideas that make something definite or not. If you wish to look at it from a fated perspective, perhaps you could say that the man was always going to lift his right foot up and never the other one. But does it really matter? If fate exists, it is simply the final destination. The man would always end up with at least one foot in the air. The choices we make simply change the path that we take to get there. But if you spend life wondering about the final destination, you might forget to live for the simple things and even forget the journey itself.