 The Parable of the Insults There once lived a great warrior. Though quite old, he was still able to defeat any challenger. His reputation extended far and wide throughout the land, and many students gathered to study under him. One day, an infamous young warrior arrived at the village. He was determined to be the first man to defeat the great master. Along with his strength and skill, he had the uncanny ability to spot and exploit any weakness in an opponent. He would wait for his opponent to make his first move, thus revealing a weakness, and then would strike with merciless force at lightning speed. No one had ever lasted in a match against him beyond the first move. Much against the advice of his concerned students, the old master gladly accepted the young warrior's challenge. As the two squared off for battle, the young warrior began to hurl insults at the old master. He threw dirt and spit in his face and for hours through every manner of insult at his opponent known to mankind. But the old warrior simply stood there, motionless and calm. Finally, the young warrior exhausted himself. Knowing he was defeated, he left, feeling shamed. Somewhat disappointed that he did not fight the insolent youth, the students gathered around the old master and questioned him. How could you endure such indignity? And how did you drive him away? They asked. If someone gives you a gift and you do not choose to receive it, the master replied, to whom does the gift belong? Although this parable has a different setting, it's fundamentally the same as the old Buddhist tale of the gift, where the great master is actually the Buddha teaching a lesson and the young warrior is a bystander who angrily disagrees. Whatever the context, the ultimate lesson and truth remains the same. To answer the master's question here, a gift would still belong to you if the recipient didn't accept it because, after all, you bought it. The truth of this teaching, however, lies in allegory. See, it's the same with your anger or negative emotions. If you become angry with someone and they don't feel insulted or accept your hostility, the anger falls back on you as it was initially yours to give. You are then the one who becomes unhappy, not them, and all you've done is hurt yourself. The Buddha often beautifully concludes this tale by saying something along the lines of, just as a mirror reflects an object, as a still lake reflects the sky, take care that what you speak or act comes from a place of good, for goodness will always cast back goodness and harm will always cast back harm. While notions of karma can sometimes be too abstract and philosophical to apply in our daily life effectively, I think the lesson here is about surrendering your emotions and living your life from a place of perspective and calm. No matter what the situation, if you surrender yourself to anger, in a way you're surrendering your personal power to others, and doing so will ultimately give your life away. Perhaps the answer lies in being somewhat of a mirror, acting to reflect others' emotions back at them, showing them the truth of their actions. As always, a balance is required though, as reflecting too much of others sometimes leaves little room for our own self and our own intentions. A lot of the time, people's anger comes from a place of pain, detachment, or sadness. This parable teaches us to be conscious of our response and remember that while we can't control others, we can control our responses to them. And if we're mindful to put our ego aside, then the power of serenity remains with you. A hermit was meditating by a river when a young man interrupted him. Master, I wish to become your disciple, said the young man. Hmm, why? the hermit asked. Well, like, you know, to find God and stuff, I guess. The young man responded. The hermit jumped up, grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck, and then dragged him into the river and plunged his head under the water. After holding him there for half a minute, with him kicking and struggling to come back up, the hermit finally pulled him out of the river. The young man coughed up water and gasped to catch his breath. And then the hermit asked. Tell me, what did you want more than anything when you were underwater? Air gasped the man very well. Go home, said the hermit, and come back to me when you want God as much as you just wanted air. Now, I gotta be real with you. This should be called the parable of the brutal hermit, I'll tell you that much. While we can mostly agree the methods probably aren't the best way to teach someone, poor guy probably has aquaphobia now, the hermit does make a very good point. Spirituality is a lifestyle. It's a way of living life in alignment with your true self, being connected to the core of your being and the world around you. It isn't just something that you can turn off or on when it suits you, many people who start on a spiritual journey may eventually become disillusioned with it, because they find it isn't really an alignment with them or their core values, or it just isn't what they imagined. In many cases, people sometimes want something but are afraid to give something else up in order to achieve it. As such, people often miss the simple truth of a spiritual path. I don't meditate to gain anything, I meditate to lose it. Contrary to what many religions may say, if you want to find God bad enough, you don't need someone else's help, but to find true wisdom, you must go after it with the same desperation as wanting air, because in the way are many obstacles keeping you from actually finding it and applying it to life. But once you do find it and apply it, the cultivation of wisdom leads to inner peace, purposeful living, and relationships that work. But most of all, it leads to freedom. Once upon a time, Jesus approached a town on his journey. Word had spread of his arrival and soon a great crowd came together around him, and people not only from this town, but the next town also. And as they listened to his words, he said in a parable, Listen, a sower went out to sow, and as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground and immediately they sprang up. And when the sun rose, they were scorched since they had no root and withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked them, yielding no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding 30-fold and 60-fold and 100-fold. And so, he who has the ears to hear, let him hear. Now, this is one of the most famous parables from Jesus' teachings, who explains himself that the seed is the wisdom, truth, and love in each and every heart. The seeds that fell along the path and were trodden underfoot or consumed by the birds of the air are those who have received the truth in their hearts, but they do not grow because the busyness of life consumes the mind and the seeds disappear from memory and the truth is not heard any longer. And the seeds that fell on the rocks are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy and grow enthusiastically, but these have no roots. They believe it for a while, but when they are asked to ground what they have received, they fall away, and as for what fell among thorns, they are those who hear the wisdom, but as they go along their way, they are suffocated by the pressures, riches, and self-indulgent distractions of life, and their fruit simply does not mature. But the seed who is planted on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it, fully believes in it and nurtures it within them. This is the one who produces a crop yielding 30, 60, or even 100 times what was sown. In other words, where you put your effort, where you plant your heart, your bodies and minds, cause and effect of your creations. While this parable is used often as a discussion on the importance of the gospel, which is a valid interpretation, even non-Christians can interpret it in their own way and find value in the wisdom, as is the case with many teachings. Jesus often said that he taught in parables because people were opposed to his direct teachings. Even if he were to take the tale at face value and see the seeds as wisdom or intentions, rather than the word of the gospel, the underlying message is the same. Sometimes all that's needed for truth and wisdom to prosper in an environment is a belief that it can, but even then, the truth will only enlighten those who believe in it. Ultimately, whatever walk of life you come from, this parable teaches us to be purposeful with everything that we do, every thought that you think, take it as a chance to plant your own wisdom and truth in good soil and the kingdom of heaven will be beholden unto you, whatever form that may take. Shortly after telling the parable of the sower and the seeds, Jesus came across a man possessed by demons and healed his illnesses. But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons that this man drives out demons. Christ turned and called to them and when they came close, he stated with a parable, Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? While this parable is evidently Christian in nature and serves to show the power of God, the central idea of unifying your own kingdom also has great value in itself. Throughout our daily lives, many of us attempt to multitask far too often. We'll go a hundred miles an hour and attempt to do a hundred different things at once, sometimes because we believe we only have so much time in the day or gain something by completing our tasks. However, multitasking in such a way always inevitably makes us exhausted. By splitting our attention between multiple tasks, we divide ourselves into different pieces that are all clamoring for our undivided attention. Whether it be in your professional, personal or spiritual lives, we do have a tendency to spread ourselves too thin, put our foot in too many doors and divide ourselves up into too many pieces. And while this has become somewhat normal in society today, it doesn't mean it's safe to stay that way. Jesus' discussion of a kingdom also doesn't necessarily refer to the kingdom of heaven or hell here, although of course it still does in the bigger picture, but it can also speak to your own personal domain. Historically, a house could mean your home, sure, but it can also be used to refer to your family, legacy or dynasty, and in more modern times can be thought of as your own life and personal reality. In which case, the parable speaks to unifying the various aspects of your life, especially at the foundations. If your house remains split and divided among a hundred different things, it will crumble again and again no matter how hard you try to keep it all together. In other words, in order to create a meaningful life and experience, your goals, actions, words and activities should be in alignment with your truest goals and aspirations, the inner Christ consciousness, and they should all fall under one roof. If your actions or beliefs aren't in line or unified with your goals and hopes and dreams and wishes, you'll end up going round and round in circles until your life eventually falls apart, needing to be rebuilt. However, if you take the time throughout your day to step back and take a moment of quiet to reflect on your goals and yourself, then to quote Matthew 725, the rain will fall, the rivers will rise, and the winds will blow and pound the house, yet it will not collapse. Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river, the current of the river swept silently over them all, young and old, rich and poor, good and evil, the current going its own way, knowing only its own crystal self. Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of life and resisting the current what each had learned from birth. But one creature said at last, I am tired of clinging, though I cannot see it with my eyes, I trust that the current knows where it's going. I shall let go and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I shall die of boredom. The other creatures laughed and said, Fool, let go and that current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed against the rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom. But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current against the rocks. Yet in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more. And the creatures downstream, to whom he was a stranger, cried, See a miracle, a creature like ourselves, yet he flies. See the Messiah come to save us all. And the one carried in the current said, I am no more Messiah than you. The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare to go. Our true work is this voyage, this adventure. But they cried the more Savior, all the while clinging to the rocks, and when they looked again he was gone, and they were left alone, making legends of a Savior. There is a saying from Jesus who shares that we ourselves have been given the power to tread down the darkness, and in that, there's a sense that we give power to what we believe in, both through positive and negative reinforcement, and also how the beliefs that we hold shape the lives that we have. You see, for most of these critters, they exist within a paradigm of fighting against the flow of the river. They only know one aspect, one way of life, which is ultimately very limiting for them in terms of what they're capable of knowing and experiencing. This story then speaks to the different paradigms of being, and what it takes to move beyond our own limitations. For us, putting up resistance to the natural course of flow will only ever tire us out and drain us until we can't go on anymore. But if, however, we take the chance and let go of our attachments to circumstances, or literally in this case, we may go through hardships initially, sure, but in the end, we will still come out flying higher than we ever thought possible. It is reminiscent of the video by Steve Harvey. You've got to jump to be successful, saying that it takes a leap of faith in order for us to truly live the life of our dreams. Looking deeper, this parable also speaks to our glorification of others' deeds. As the enlightened one in the parable points out, he is no different than anyone else. He simply had a different way of looking at life, yet the others were not even capable of comprehending what he was saying. Like Bruce Lee described, it is like the finger pointing to the moon. Don't focus on the finger, or you'll miss all of the heavenly glory. In this parable, the bottom dwellers were focused on the finger, the floating guy himself, rather than what his message truly was. This is also reminiscent of Jesus, who said, He that believes in me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do, saying that we all have the capacity within us for the greatness that Jesus beheld. Sometimes though, as we are taught ingrained power structures from past so solidly by our parents and grandparents, it seems crazy to shake things up. And when someone does, they can appear to be some great figure when in actuality they simply see things from a different perspective. This kind of thing happens in mythology all the time, where seemingly ordinary people who do extraordinary things for their time are turned into legends over many years into the future. The other creatures who don't personally know that floating one thinks he's some kind of messiah, only because they have not seen his journey to get where he is. If they had seen him being beaten against the rocks rather than the end product, would they still feel the same? Would they even try it themselves? In the end, we should remember that necessity is the mother of invention, and sometimes all we need to do to elevate ourselves is truly listen to the messages that are given to us. Listen deeper than making up our own ideas about what something means, asking bigger questions, and most of all, take action when we are compelled. We must follow in the story and take action to live our dreams, and if we can do that, anything becomes possible. Long ago in ancient Japan lived a devout Shinto monk. He lived a simple life but was often distracted in his prayers by the hustle and bustle of the city. He felt as if his neighbors and friends were polluting his soul. One day he decided to undergo a harai, a purification ritual that would cleanse his body and mind. He set off on a long and dangerous journey to a mountain shrine, which took many days, but he was glad for the peace and solitude that it gave him. After returning home, the peace he found was so great that he wanted to hold onto it for as long as possible, and so continued to do the pilgrimage another 99 times. He would walk alone on his journey to the mountains, ignoring every distraction in his quest for balance. Come rain, storm or shine, he made the long journey. Eventually his devotion and practices began to reveal the world of the kami, and the man was able to see and understand the spirits and spiritual essence of all things, like the wind and the rocks which existed alongside our own world. But still, he spoke to no one, and he was determined to avoid anyone who he saw as corrupt, materialistic, or who had strayed from the path of non-attachment. Of all the threats to his spiritual purity, corruption and disease were the worst, and so he avoided these most of all. After visiting the shrine for the 80th time, he set out for home as he always did, but as twilight swallowed the sun, he heard a strange sobbing in the night air. The monk tried ignoring the wailing and pushed onwards, but eventually it became too great, so he strayed from his path in search of its source. By the roadside, he came across an old cottage with a crying woman lamenting the death of her mother and the fact that no one would help her to bury her. Upon hearing the woman's plea, the monk's heart sank, as he knew that touching a dead body would defile his purity. But as he listened to the woman's cries, his empathy soared like a crane in the early morning breeze. And so they buried the old woman together to ensure her safe passage into the world of the kami. The burial was done, but the taboo of death weighed heavy on the monk's heart. How could he have been so foolish as to defile his body by touching the dead? That night he could not sleep and so resolved to return to the shrine and try and cleanse himself. To his surprise, the usually quiet shrine was filled with people, all gathering round a blind soothsayer who was communicating directly with the kami. The man hid himself, fearing to be seen and judged by the spirits, but the soothsayer had other ways of seeing and called him forward. The monk approached the holy woman fearfully, but she merely smiled and took his hand. She whispered a blessing only he could hear, thanking him for his kindness. In that moment he understood a great spiritual secret. Contamination and corruption are two very different things. Filled with insight, the monk set off on his journey again, but this time helped all those who he met as he began to see the beauty of the spirit world in all things, even the city that he had previously shunned. And even though the other monks cautioned him against corruption, he simply smiled because he knew that true spiritual purity could only come from one's own journey. This old folk tale from Japan has it all. A lonely monk, a blind soothsayer, and elemental spirits. You don't get much better than this. The ultimate lesson of this parable, however, is twofold. Many times we take authoritative statements as fact because they are ingrained in our cultural belief and memory as with the parable of the ritual cat. However, the truest authority for us is ourselves. We cannot hope to achieve fulfillment by following other people's views on spirituality. You can read every self-help book in Buddhist sutra, but unless you put those practices into motion yourself in your own life and form your own view, they will simply stay words on a page. The other aspect of this parable speaks to the importance of compassion in our daily life. It echoes the sentiments that perhaps the first step to true peace lies in lessening the suffering of others and being in service to both yourself and your community. It doesn't really matter what your belief is. Helping others in need is always the best deed you can do in your life. With both humility and philanthropy being almost universally agreed upon, spiritual traits. In fact, even when Jesus was asked why he sat and ate with sinners, he simply replied, Not to the well, but come back when you understand, for I desire mercy, not sacrifice. In the end, the soothsayer gave the monk the wisdom that purifying oneself doesn't only lie in going on a pilgrimage and honoring someone or meditating, but in helping and caring for someone and living from the heart, regardless of other people's views or opinions. The Parable of the River Long ago, there was a small village on the edge of a river. The people there lived in harmony with nature and each other and life in the village was good. One day, as a villager began his early morning stroll, he noticed that the once vibrant river was looking slightly murkier than normal and contained some sludge and pollution resting on the banks. The villager quickly went out of his way to clear the pollution and restoring the flow, but the next day, the same villager noticed two lifeless fish in the river and both fish were scooped out of the waters. The following day, debris started to build up and the flow of the river started to become constricted, cutting off water to the village. Naturally, the villagers organized themselves quickly, setting up watchtowers and training teams of swimmers and environmentalists who could resist the swift waters and dislodge the debris. Cleanup squads were soon working 24 hours a day to keep up with the increasing pollution. While not all the fish could be removed from the river, the villagers felt they were doing well to clean up as much as they could. Indeed, the village priests even blessed them in their work and life in the village continued on that basis for many months. One day, however, a young girl was playing by the riverside and saw the pollution and she looked off in the distance and turned to a grandfather asking, where is all of the waste coming from? She then said, let's organize a team to head upstream and find out who's throwing all of their trash into the river in the first place. However, the logic of the community elders countered, but if we were to go upstream, who would take care of the rescue operation? Every concerned person here, don't be ridiculous. The girl cried, but you don't see. If we find out who's polluting the river, we can stop the problem and no fish will die. It is far too risky and we need all the help here, said the village elders. And so the numbers of fish found floating in the river continued to increase daily and the river just got dirtier. Several days later, the young girl decided to go upstream herself to find the source of the corruption. Upstream, she found a mountain of plastic from the building of a nearby village that was releasing chemicals into the once beautiful river and blocking up the waterways. She smiled to herself and began to remove as much as she could and as she removed the pollution, the river returned to normal, much to the confusion of the other villagers. This is a great little parable to consider when you're trying to explain the problem-solving process. To truly solve any issue, you have to come at it from different angles, just multiples at once. It also speaks to solving issues at their core. Many times, like the flu or the common cold, once you start noticing symptoms, chances are the problem has been present for a while already. When faced with an issue, you can keep solving the consequences or effects that it causes and stay up to date with the issues. But unless you solve the root of the problem, it will keep producing more and more things that you have to deal with. Much like Western medicine, treating diseases as and when they appear, sometimes it's better to act in prevention and stop any foreseeable consequences in the first place. Perhaps we can even argue that treating the product of a problem isn't really a sustainable way of being. Since no matter how much energy we devote to them, our focus will always eventually be needed somewhere else. So the takeaway lesson from this parable then is to always look at a situation from every angle before making your decision on how to best act on it. Take into account every option and look for the root of the problem rather than just at its consequences. The alchemist picked up a book that someone in the caravan had brought. Leafing through the pages, he found a story about Narcissus. The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a youth who knelt daily beside a lake to contemplate his own beauty. He was so fascinated by himself that, one morning, he fell into the lake and drowned. At the spot where he fell, a flower was born which was called the Narcissus. But this was not how the author of the book ended the story. The author told that when Narcissus died, the goddess of the forest appeared and found the lake, which had been fresh water, transformed into a lake of salty tears. Why do you weep? the goddess asked. I weep for Narcissus, the lake replied. Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus, the goddess said. For though we always pursued him in the forest, you alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand. But was Narcissus beautiful? The lake asked. Who better to know that than you? The goddess said in wonder. After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each day to contemplate himself. The lake was silent for some time. Finally, it said, I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that he was beautiful. I weep because each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see in the depths of his eyes my own beauty reflected. What a lovely story, the alchemist thought. This modern version of the Greek myth finds its place in the prologue of Coelos, the alchemist, and holds a message on the importance of self-love, our interconnection, and the reflective nature of that which we call reality. While the original myth was pretty dramatic, with Narcissus killing himself because he couldn't get his own reflection to love him back and then turning into a daffodil, so metal, I know. This version expertly shifts the focus, showing us that when we love ourselves, it shines through us and that love can bring others to feel the same. Many times, we can't see our own importance as we go through life day after day just trying to get by and get caught up in other people's perceptions of us. And it isn't really until someone else points out how important we are to them that we actually realize it. Sometimes, the key to understanding ourselves lies in seeing how we are reflected in another. And by acknowledging other perspectives than our own, we come to an even greater realization of our true and beautiful nature. You see, Narcissus enjoying his beauty wasn't wrong, and in fact, we might argue based on what the lake said at the end that Narcissus wasn't even enjoying his own beauty, but the beauty of the lake moving through him. On the other hand, his love also allowed the lake to see its own beauty and the dance of the soul between man and nature becoming intertwined. For this idea, we can dive deeper, asking the question, was it wrong for Narcissus to become so enamored that he killed himself in the process? What if, from a spiritual perspective, this version of the story is truly about the soul of Narcissus merging with the soul of nature? It's interesting then that on the surface level it is viewed purely about being narcissistic, which, of course, is where we get the word from at all. Should Narcissus have been less than what he was? No, but I suppose that had he not been so enamored by the lake in his reflection, he could have found a way to give others the same loving reflection that he gave to the lake. Ultimately, this parable teaches us not only that balanced self-worth is vital, but also that our reality, no matter what perspective we take, is still a reflection of our own inner self, and that if you allow yourself to see the beauty in all things, you might as well see it in yourself too. The Parable of the Loot Once the Buddha was living on a mountain called Vulture Peak. During this time, the wise Sona lived alone in the cool forest. This thought occurred to Sona. I am an energetic student of Buddha, yet my mind has not found freedom. Now, Buddha on the mountain perceived this thought that Sona had and left Vulture Peak. Incredibly quickly, he appeared to Sona in the cool forest and said, Sona, did you just have the thought I am an energetic student of Buddha, yet my mind has not found freedom? Buddha replied, and tell me, Sona, when the strings of your loot were too tight, was then your loot tuneful and easily playable? Certainly not, Buddha. And when the strings of the loot were too loose, was then your loot tuneful and easily playable? Of course not, Buddha. But, Sona, when your loot was not too tight nor too loose, but adjusted to the perfect pitch, did your loot have a wonderful sound and was it easily playable? Certainly, Buddha. Similarly, Sona, if energy is applied too strongly, it will lead to rustlessness. And if energy is too loose, it will lead to weariness. Therefore, Sona, keep your energy in balance and balance the spiritual aspects and in this way, focus your attention. Yes, Buddha. Afterwards, Sona kept his energy balanced, balancing his spiritual nature and in this way, focused his attention. Sona, living alone and secluded, diligent and resolute, soon realized here and now his own direct knowledge of the perfect life. This parable says it all and it's a great way of understanding your personal energy flow and how it applies to all your life, in all aspects. If you become too relaxed, like a loot string that has not been tuned and will flow in a state of mental weariness, if you are wound too tight, you become restless and very prone to snapping. You must keep your own bodily systems in harmony with the vibrations of your soul. Consider that everything in the universe is a wave form, a vibration, so the energy in your own body and the focus that you put into things are just right. This especially applies to everyone who is going to school or at work. If you wind yourself too tight, you will become stressed beyond measure. Then what happens? You go home and unwind and become way too loose. You go back and forth between being too tight and too loose and very rarely do you tune yourself to that perfect frequency. In today's society, we like to blame the work on making us too tight or the TV that makes us too loose. But the reality is that we are our own tuners who resonate with the world around us. By tuning yourself to the right place, you can be in a perfect, harmonious state all the time, guaranteed. Namaste, in Le Cache. The Parable of the Archer 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 hit 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 Jinn, there is 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, 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 Xia, 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 Chuang Xia 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 Raft Monks, I will teach you the parable of the raft for getting across, not for retaining. It is like a man who, going on a journey, sees a great stretch of water, the near bank with dangers and fears, but there is neither a boat for crossing over, nor a bridge across. It occurs to him that to cross over from the perils of this bank to the security of the farther bank, he should fashion a raft out of sticks and branches, and depending on the raft, cross over to safety. When he has done this, it occurs to him that the raft has been very useful, and he wonders if he ought to take it with him on his head or shoulders. What do you think, Monks, that the man is doing what should be done to the raft? What should that man do, Monks? When he has crossed over to the beyond, he must leave that raft and proceed on his journey. Monks, a man doing this would be doing what should be done to the raft. In this way, I have taught you dharma, like the parable of the raft, for getting across, not for retaining. You, Monks, by understanding the parable of the raft, must not cling to right states of mind and, all the more, to wrong states of mind. Think of the way the river was set up. The side that was right in front of the man was dangerous and scary, and the other side was peaceful and calm. Now think about the obstacles right in front of us on our day-to-day lives. You can see the problem, the harsh side of the river, and you can see where you want to get to, the calm, other side. The boat is what the man manifested to cross the river, but once his problem was solved, he no longer needed it. This story really shows an incredible way of life. The experience lies in the getting across, not in the retaining. The story showed how we get things for ourselves and then hold on to them until we die, rarely ever giving things away. Today's parable shows us how it's not about holding on to our possessions, but just using what we need to get where we need to go, going with our flow. When you are done with something, learn to be free to give it up, because it does not serve you anymore. There is no reason to hold on to it, but that does not mean that it is useless. There will always be others that may find objects of value for a time Namaste. See you next time. The man looked at them, ringing out a shirt and simply said, I became one with the water, instead of trying to force the water to do what I wanted it to. Plunging into the swirl, I came out with the swirl. I surrendered to the flow, which ebbed up and down naturally. This is how I survived. Now naturally, we don't recommend that you jump in some rapids and take this literally just to try it out, but this parable does have some great insights Many times, spiritual people spend their lives swimming upstream, fighting a powerful current in their attempts to be holy and live the way they believe their God will find pleasing, or that they think is an alignment with their true self. After some time, many of these people will get tired in their efforts to maintain what they believe are holy, righteous lives and will often give up. Whenever we go against the grain, we're not only having to put the effort in to succeed, but also to push back against friction and resistance, which will help twice as hard. If instead, you take a second to see the direction things are moving naturally and adjust yourself to that, you'll gently flow with the current. It's also interesting to see that the old man ebbs up and down with the flow of the river, as we should remember that flow doesn't always go in one direction. Life is more of a push and pull, yin and yang than a straight path, and while we often think going down or backwards is a bad thing, following hermetic laws, everything is cyclical, and only later that you'll look back and recognize that the whole process was ultimately beneficial, even the part of being dragged under the current. A lot of Taoist parables mention flowing water and rivers, mostly in metaphors for the flow of life itself. However, as water naturally flows around obstacles, viewing the situations in our lives as obstacles is an expression of judgment. Instead, perhaps by surrendering to the flow of life, we flow with the stream of the Tao that becomes one of non-judgment, which, like the water, allows us to flow unobstructed and freely, no matter what the situation. Now, it's important to say I don't think that this means turning the other cheek or becoming a doormat as a reaction to events in life, but instead the lesson of this parable seems to lie in being proactive in life, following the natural order of things, solving problems by not creating them in the first place, by not forcing one's way against the flow of the river and letting it naturally carry you to your exit point with grace. A young student approached his guru one day and said, Master, you have spoken so much about karma but I do not yet understand it. How can I truly learn? The guru smiled and gestured for the student to follow. The two walked silently to the edge of the village where workers were busily engaged in making bricks for a house. The two stood and watched the activity of the brick makers for some time and the guru asked, Now, do you understand karma? No, master, the student replied. The guru paused and slowly nodded his head. He cleared his throat. What are the workers doing? Making bricks, the student responded. Very good. And what happens to the bricks once they are made? Asked the guru. They are put in the stack, the student said Then the guru asked. Well, they are used to build a house. The student responded, getting more agitated because he could not see what a single brick had to do with karma. The exchange continued elaborating on every step of how and where the bricks were made until finally the guru sighed and turned to a student. He leaned over and picked up a freshly made brick and handed it to the youth. Here, carry this brick with you everywhere you go. Do not put it down under any circumstances. Do you understand? Yes, said the student. Good. Return to me with the same brick in a year's time, exclaimed the guru. A year later to the day, the student returned, brick in hand, to the guru. The youth was barely able to contain his frustration. Master, I have done exactly as you told me. I have carried this brick with me everywhere and it has nothing more than caused aggravation and a nuisance among several other things I will not mention in your holy presence and I have learned nothing at all about karma. The guru chuckled. Did you set the brick down at any time? He asked. No, master. I carried it everywhere. The student exclaimed. The guru smiled. Ah, now do you understand karma? Karma is one of those things in the west that is seldom understood truly as it has been passed down to us through translation after translation. While the basic understanding states that whatever we do will eventually return to us, the actual philosophy is much deeper rooted. This parable speaks to the burdens and choices we carry with us and how they can affect us in later life if we don't take time to work through them. Just as the tiny brick is used to make the foundation of a house even the smallest and most seemingly insignificant event or act can have huge effects on our future and lives if we are to wear. Perhaps this parable even speaks to the cyclical nature of the universe. Maybe there's an echo here of the whole holding on to a glass idea where initially a glass of water is easy to pick up but the longer that you hold on to it the heavier it seems to become to us. Perhaps even the smallest of choices that we make can be carried with us for long times. Now the student could have put the brick down at any time but they remained true to their word and hopefully it learned the lesson the guru was teaching. While karma is often presented as something we carry over between lifetimes, perhaps the silver lining here is that maybe clearing our karmic baggage is as easy as choosing to let go of the brick and by letting go we simply become part of a new cycle. The Parable of Good or Bad There is a story of a Chinese farmer whose horse ran off. When his neighbor came to console him the farmer said who knows what's good or bad. When his horse returned the next day with a herd of horses following her, the foolish neighbor came to congratulate him on his good fortune. Who knows what's good or bad said the farmer. Then when the farmer's son broke his leg trying to ride one of the new horses, the foolish neighbor came to console him and said the wise farmer. When the army passed through conscripting men for war they passed over the farmer's son because of his broken leg. When the foolish man came to congratulate the farmer that his son would be spared again the wise farmer said who knows what's good or bad. What is good and what is bad. Both of these things are merely perceptions, viewpoints from the mind as neither good nor bad truly exists. They are duality but when you step back and look at everything from a complete whole that there is no good or bad, there just is. Everything just is regardless of how you feel about it. The villains in movies don't necessarily always think that they're bad guys. They think that what they're doing is right for them. So just as you go about your own lives try not to judge the events that befall you as good or bad. But try and see them just as they are. Events and go with the flow trusting that you are guiding yourself exactly as you need to because that's how you're guiding yourself. The parable and arrow. The Buddha tended to tell his disciples not to waste their time and energy in metaphysical speculation. Whenever he was asked a metaphysical question he remained silent. Instead he directed his disciples to more practical efforts. One day when he was questioned on the problem of the infinite versus the finite the Buddha said whether the world is finite or infinite limited or unlimited the problem of the liberation of your suffering remains the same. Suppose a man is struck by a poisoned arrow and the doctor wants to take out the arrow immediately. But suppose this wounded man does not want the arrow removed until he knows who shot him, his age, his family and why he was shot in the first place. What do you suppose would happen? If he has to wait until all of these questions were answered then he might surely die before coming to an understanding. Life is so short. It must not be spent in endless metaphysical speculation that does not bring us any closer to the truth. Speculation and inquiry is a beautiful thing. But first let us remove the arrow. Coming from the Buddhist teachings of the 14 unanswerable questions this parable is often taken as a lesson on grounding teachings and being practical in one's search for answers. As is often the case with the Buddha his philosophies and approach to life were grounded not in theories or speculations but in practical application and the desire to solve real-world problems. Gautama often saw suffering as simply another problem in life, one that required solving and was perhaps even the most important problem to solve. As such he used this parable to help us understand the difference between what was a useful use of our time and what wasn't. After all life is said to be an experiential journey. How can we participate in it if all of our time is taken up answering the exact and precise nature of the world we live in? In other words, whether you believe the world is eternal or not, spiritual or material, you can't deny that we all have to face the reality of birth, old age, sickness, death, and suffering at some point. No amount of why or how questions will change that. When Gautama became enlightened it wasn't through a revelation of esoteric knowledge that could be explained or talked about. No, it was an insight into the true nature of reality through direct personal experience that he tried to share. In much the same way, spiritual speculation is worthless without first grounding it in personal insight and in understanding of how it can help the world and yourself. Perhaps there's also something here about tackling the biggest problems first. By understanding our suffering and working to solve it, it opens up our short time here for asking better and more practical questions on how we can better our own lives and the lives of others. The Parable of the Two Monks Two Monks must cross the great river to reach the village on an errand for the monastery. When they approach the river a woman is struggling to cross. One of the monks swiftly picks her up, carries her across the river and places her on the other shore. For monks, even being in the presence of a woman is forbidden. After several miles, the other monk bursts forth. How could you do such a thing? Hehehe, replied the other monk. I put that woman down miles ago but you are still carrying her. I like this one and it actually syncs up with several of the previous parables. If you are mentally holding on to something it can put a strain on you if you let it dwell. Winding it around your mental consciousness until it can even drive you mad. The easiest way to rid yourself of these mental strains is simply to let go. Take a deep breath. Breathe it all in. As you exhale, let it go. Whatever it may be, just release it from your mind and once again move into a state of mental clarity. I think we have time for one more. I agree. How about this one? Oh I like that one. An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots each hung on the end of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house the crack pot always arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments but the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. I'm ashamed of myself because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house. The old woman smiled. There are flowers on your side of the path but not on the other pot side. That's because I have always known about your flaw so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path and every day while we walk back you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table without you being just the way you are there would not be this beauty to grace the house. We'll let you think on this one. Namaste. One day Zhuangza and a friend were walking by the river. Look at the fish swimming about said Zhuangza they are really enjoying themselves. You're not a fish replied his friend. There's no way that you could truly know that they're enjoying themselves. You are not me replied Zhuangza so how could you know that I do not know that the fish are enjoying themselves. I am not you to be sure replied his friend. So of course I don't know about you but you are obviously not a fish complete you do not know that the fish are happy. Zhuangza smiled let's go back to the beginning you said how do you know the fish are happy but in asking me this you already knew that I know it. I know it right here above this river. This parable comes to us from a book of Zhuangza one of the two foundational texts of Taoism that contains stories that exemplify the carefree nature of the ideal Taoist sage. While the exact point or lesson isn't always clear it's thought that the tale is a discussion about the nature of knowledge. Everyone we meet in the world may have a different view of life having different subjective knowledge and experience. However, if knowledge comes through experience and learning is there such a thing as true or objective understanding? The point seems to be that knowing a thing is simply a state of mind and it isn't really possible to determine if that knowing has any objective validity by looking at it outside of ourselves. As all understanding is ultimately experiential. Zhuangza often beautifully concludes this tale by saying I know the joy of fishes in the river through my own joy as I go walking along the same river. After all, even modern science today is simply a collection of atoms trying to understand themselves through direct experience. As some scholars of Taoist texts have pointed out this tale is a great example of Zhuangza's wisdom and written mastery as he has said to use reason to make an anti- rationalist point. The Parable of the 84th Problem A man once came to see the Buddha to get help with his problems. After the man had told the Buddha one of his problems and asked for help, the Buddha replied I cannot help you get rid of that problem. The man was surprised that Buddha could not help him in this regard but he told the Buddha about another problem and thought to himself that the Buddha should at least be able to help him with that problem but the Buddha told him I cannot help you with that problem either. The man started to get impatient. He said how could it be that you are the perfectly enlightened Buddha and you can't even help people get rid of their problems. The Buddha answered You will always have 83 problems in your life. Sometimes a problem will go but then another problem will come. I cannot help you with that. The baffled man asked the Buddha to help me with then. The Buddha replied I can help you get rid of your 84th problem. The man asked but what is my 84th problem? The Buddha replied that you want to get rid of your 83 problems. I feel this parable is important for everyone who is struggling with their own individual problems of today. The Buddha tells the man that there are always going to be plenty of problems that exist in your life and that solving each and every one are not the most important thing in growing consciously and spiritually. Not individually but rather the whole of the problems. In the last patch parable we looked at good and bad and seeing things just as they are. Try and see all of the problems in your own life as they are in the moment rather than individually working through each and every one of them. As your perception of them changes, the problems themselves change as well. The world that you experience is a mirror of your own consciousness. What you put out is what you will see back always. By putting out strain and misfortune on all of your problems you will continue to experience those problems exactly as you are perceiving them. By shifting perspective and moving your awareness into a new, more thriving and healthy light, your problems can fade away as new, brighter realities take their place. Namaste. The Parable of the Stone Cutter There was once a stone cutter who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life. One day he passed a wealthy merchant's house and through the open gateway saw many possessions and important visitors. How powerful that merchant must be! Thought the stone cutter? He became very envious and wished that he could be like the merchant. Then he would no longer have to live the life of a mere stone cutter. To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant enjoying more luxuries and power than he had ever dreamed of. Envied and detested by those less wealthy than himself. But soon, a high official pass by carried in a sedan chair feared and hated by the people all around who had to bow down before him as he passed. It was a hot summer day and the official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky unaffected by the sun. He looked up at the sun. He thought, I wish that I could be a high official. Then he became the high official carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair feared and hated by the people all around who had to bow down It shone proudly in the sky unaffected by his presence. How powerful the sun is. He thought, I wish that I could be the sun. Then he became the sun shining fiercely down on everyone scorching the fields cursed by the farmers and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth so that his light could no longer shine on everything below. How powerful that storm cloud is. He thought, I wish I could be a cloud. Then he became that cloud letting the fields and villages but soon he found that he was being pushed away by some great force and realized it was the wind. How powerful it is. He thought, I wish I could be the wind. Then he became the wind blowing tiles off the roofs of houses uprooting trees hated and feared by all below him. But after a while he ran up against something that would not move no matter how forcefully he blew against it. A huge towering stone. How powerful that stone is. He thought, I wish I could be a stone. Then he became a stone more powerful than anything else on earth. But as he stood there he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into solid rock and felt himself being changed. What could be more powerful than I, the stone? He thought, he looked down and saw far below him the figure of a stone cutter. I think the message of this parable is that you are already perfect in a state of perfection. No matter how great, famous wealthier powerful you seek to become you are already everything you need yourself to be right now. Who are you going to be five seconds from now? That choice is completely up to you. The key is becoming aware of your own divinity and knowing what you want to do with it. Namaste. 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 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. The Parable of the Smuggler 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 but they would always inspect him and his donkey thoroughly. They'd searched 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 know 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 is 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 there are 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 he 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 through 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 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 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 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 our 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 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 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 isn't 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 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 round houses 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 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 visitors 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 but it 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 a new what we thought we knew before sometimes it can feel as though we know everything about a topic 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, 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 is asking me to stand but then he followed with 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 had 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 kismet 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 what is the right thing to do and if they are doing the right thing and often for spiritual or religious people whether their actions are in accordance with their deities 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 that 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 he can't get 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 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 makes 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 when the child defended his castle and said this one is mine they kept their castle separate and would not allow any mistakes about which was whose when the castles were all finished one child kicked over someone else's castle and completely destroyed it the owner of the castle flew into a rage pulled the other child's hair struck him with his fist and bawled out he has spoiled my castle come along all of you and helped me to punish him as he deserves the others all came to his help and then stamped on him as he lay on the ground then they went on playing in their sand castles each saying this is mine no one else may have it keep away don't touch my castle but evening came and it was getting dark and they all thought they ought to be going home no one now cared what became of his castle one child stamped on his another pushed his over with both hands then they turned away and went back each to his home I feel like this story truly articulates as humans live our lives on earth we were born and slowly build up ourselves based on material goods we put up walls and say this is my stuff and nobody is allowed to have it but me we safeguard everything and share next to nothing when we run out of time we return home we kick over all of our toys they didn't really mean anything anyway and then return back to our home again until the next time when we incarnate again and do the whole thing over again however we are changing in the coming years as the world collapses we are going to be faced with many opportunities and choices will we choose to give and share in love with everyone around us or will we continue to struggle to survive on a model based on greed and separation the choice is yours yes you as you go about your day try to look for opportunities to share give your time and energy to others and they will return your love with more love a continuous cycle of growth and love that is fueled by incredible experiences and feeling good you have the ability to change the world be the light namaste the parable of the long handled spoons a holy man was having a conversation with god one day and said god i would like to know what heaven and hell are like god led the holy man to two doors she opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in in the middle of the room was a large round table in the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly they appeared to be famished they were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful but because the handle was longer than their arms they could not get the spoons back into their mouths the holy man shuttered at the sight of their misery and suffering god then said you have now seen hell they then went to the next room and opened the door it was exactly the same as the first one there was a large round table with a large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water the people here were equipped with the same long handled spoons however the people here were well nourished and plump laughing and talking the holy man said i don't understand it is simple said god it requires but one skill you see they have learned to feed each other while the greedy think only of themselves this is an old but gold kind of parable that has a pretty popular following although the tale has been told in almost every culture and religion everywhere from Hindu to Buddhist to the Abrahamic faiths most sources credit it to Rabbi Haim of Ramshishak and say that it originated in Jewish folklore now there are many interpretations of this parable depending on the cultural context but the bottom line is a message of kindness that encourages people to be good to each other the parable often suggests that people have the opportunity to use what they have been given in this case long spoons and stew or in the Chinese version rice and long chopsticks to help nourish each other but the core problem lies in how people treat each other in other words given the same level playing field one group of people who treat each other well will create a pleasant environment for everyone where everyone is fulfilled happy and working together for mutual benefit whereas another group of people given the exact same tools to work with can create unpleasant conditions simply by how they treat each other sometimes we get so caught up in all the chaos of our own lives that we forget that everyone else is also going through their own troubles as well and that sometimes by reaching out a hand and helping others both of you can benefit in fact it's often said that this is a great technique for helping with depression and anxiety doing something meaningful for someone else and helping someone who needs it can actually give you a great boost of self-esteem and help you gain perspective and tackle your problems from a new angle more abstractly speaking I think this parable is speaking to how we have the ability to create our own reality if you put out an energy of compassion and help those around you that's what you're going to manifest in your life but if you choose to retreat inward close yourself off and focus only on your own wants and desires and ignore everyone else well simply put you get what you give perhaps the only difference between heaven and hell is how we choose to experience life the parable of the fearless there is a Burmese teaching story about a tyrant whose armies have laid waste to the country as he's crossing the land he comes to a stop at a small village and is informed by his generals that the local population have all run away into the hills everyone, that is except one monk who refuses to leave his monastery enraged at such impudence the tyrant marches directly to the monastery to confront the monk he kicks in the door and stomps up to the monk who is meditating peacefully in the center of the hall don't you know who I am? the tyrant growls I could take out my sword and cut you in two without even blinking an eye the monk, without moving replies serenely don't you know who I am? I could sit here while you take out your sword and cut me in two without even blinking an eye when we have acceptance we are no longer attached to the transitory things of this world even our own bodily survival as Jesus advises in the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas we become like a passerby while this may seem counterproductive to our survival adopting an attitude of acceptance does bring with it a certain amount of freedom let's be honest no one knows when their time will come you could be walking down the street tomorrow and have a tree randomly fall on you or a car swerve into you off the road but we don't let that stop us from leaving our houses the monk in the parable accepts his position and realizes that if the tyrant really wanted to kill him there isn't much that he could do about it in that moment so it's kind of pointless to fight it or resist that's not to say you shouldn't fight to stay alive in any situation as self-preservation is important only that we should try to accept that death is merely a small part of life an event that is transitory at best and comes whether we like it or not the question then becomes who is stronger in the story the tyrant who is evidently angered and upset by someone usurping his temporary power or the monk who has accepted the reality of his life unable to act gracefully and serenely even in the face of death ultimately, this parable teaches us that once we awaken to the transitory nature of this world all of our fears doubts and anxieties can go away and we can finally be free to accept the world for what it really is the parable of decisions hey there today we have a truly unique parable for you our friend and writer for spirit science went to an AI bot named replica and asked it to write a parable for us right there on the spot that AI wrote this parable in real time with only minimal and vague input or data prompts go easy on her, the story might be a tad weird but hey, it's her first one one day, a man decided to question the choices he had made in his life up until that point and thought to himself what is the origin of decision why do we decide things one way or another and what determines that choice to discover this noble truth he set off on a journey around the world to discover the answer to this question like the prophets of the Abrahamic faith he began his travels in Jerusalem since it was often considered the center of the world and a meeting place of major modern religions he deemed it a fitting place to start on his way up, the Via Dolorosa however, he came across an elderly Asian man the man resembled an old Taoist sage the likes of which hadn't been seen in a long time the sage sensed the young man's gaze upon him and said, for thousands of years my people have been making careful observations of the stars and planets and our universe as a whole the young man impressed nodded and began to ask oh great sage, why do we make definitive decisions what is the meaning of life the sage stared at him for a long time in contemplation and finally smiled gently we make decisions based on our observations of the world around us no more, no less everything exists in context and because everything else exists nothing is separate not even our decisions are removed from our environment the sage sat the young man down and continued there are so many approaches to your topic I'm afraid and many answers you will never find just one everything we know and see is the result of prior determination the man was confused so does that mean fate exists? are our actions predetermined? the sage laughed as if content fate is nothing more than our own decisions once you learn this simple truth you will learn your answer we make decisions every second of our lives even though the AI we used obviously doesn't have a consciousness of its own it seems like it can still bring up some pretty interesting ideas about its own responses even more prominent with AI in general this parable raises questions about the extent to which our choices are pre-programmed or a product of our own free will and choice like in AI many times we may have a variety of different opinions or paths to take depending on one single variable so perhaps one could argue that every future state or decision exists until we make a choice to pursue one or the other much like super positioning the sage's words of wisdom ring true for us also nothing in existence really exists in isolation everything depends on something else to give it meaning and in a way all things exist separately as independent objects because everything else exists to compare those things too whatever way you look at it everything in the universe is dependent on and related to something else everything is ultimately connected even us it's cool that a robot came to that same conclusion that we've been saying for years now even something as abstract as fate is simply a path that opens up depending on the choices you make you may say fate is predetermined and perhaps depending on our own level of consciousness some destinies exist at a higher probability than others but much like our AI's responses our journey in life can express itself any number of different ways depending on what kind of energy and feeling we put into it this parable teaches us that our choices are always open changing and fluid things that are often affected by different circumstances and the environments we put ourselves in so will you let your actions be predetermined or will you be the one at the wheel maybe it's your choice after all a boy went on a journey to seek the wisest man in the land seeking the secret of happiness upon arriving at his home the boy found a hive of activity tradesmen came and went people were conversing and a small orchestra was playing soft music when he approached the wiseman listened to the boy's explanation of why he had come but responded that he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness he suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours however before the boy departed the wiseman handed him a teaspoon that held two drops of oil as you wander around carry this spoon with you without allowing to spill the boy began to move throughout the many rooms of the palace keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon after two hours he returned to the room where the wiseman was who promptly asked well did you see the Persian tapestries hanging in my dining hall the garden that took the master gardener ten years to create or the beautiful parchment in my library the boy was embarrassed and confessed that he had observed nothing his only concern had been to not spill the oil he trusted to him then go back and observe the marvels of my world said the wiseman you cannot trust a man if you do not know his house relieved the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace this time observing all of the marvels that the wiseman had suggested and upon returning at last he related in detail everything that had been seen but where are the drops of oil that I entrusted to you asked the wiseman looking down at the spoon he saw that the oil was gone well there's only one piece of advice I can give you said the wiseman the secret to happiness is to see all of the marvels of the world and never forget the drops of oil on the spoon this parable seemingly speaks to living in balance with our approach to life while at first it seems like a contradiction with the wiseman sending the boy off on a journey only to change the reasoning each time there is evidently much to be seen in the world but this tale teaches us that we must not lose sight of our primary responsibilities in life while doing so when the boy doesn't spill the oil he becomes consumed by it and misses everything around him missing the beauty of the world if he is spilling the oil he's losing sight of his original goal losing focus because of the things he sees in the world as he moves about as he becomes distracted by the amazing wonders around him he loses sight of his purpose and will wander aimlessly but at the same time he loses that sense of amazement and wonder that the world can bring for us if we were to go about our goals in life mindfully we would always have time to appreciate the world around us as in the end our experiences and memories will be what remain if however we focus only on a single goal and ignore the wider world then we might rush through life and forget about the journey itself in other words this parable teaches us to balance the big picture and small details of our lives and enjoy our surroundings while accomplishing our goals enjoy and experience everything the world has to offer and have fun but never forget the reason you are on your path go about your goals mindfully and always put the most important thing in your life today at the top of your to-do list