Teaching Stories

Yesterday, I said that we all see a part of a greater whole, often thinking we get the whole picture.
The idea about understanding the same occurrence differently because we each have a hold on a different part of the "elephant" reminded me of a story, and I wanted to tell that story today.

There are three characters in this story. The first I will call "Our Hero", who represents a person of some spiritual understanding, meaning someone who gets that the elephant is bigger than any one description of a part of it. The second, I will call "The Neighbor", who represents someone in ordinary consciousness, someone whose understanding of the spiritual comes from watching the television show "Medium". The third character I will call the "Wild Eyed Mystic", someone who has glimpsed the elephant, and is no longer wholly focused in this world, but lost in some Spiritual Reverie.

Our story opens with Our Hero holding a small sack, standing along a roadside, talking with The Neighbor, just chatting, about the weather.

Suddenly, the Wild Eyed Mystic appears.And what an apparition! Ragged, disheveled clothes, eyes that seem focused elsewhere , and a look that may be bewilderment, or maybe amusement, or even madness.

The Wild Eyed Mystic comes directly in front of Our Hero and The Neighbor and stares intently at both. Suddenly he thrusts his right index finger skyward, and continues glaring at Our Hero and The Neighbor.

The Neighbor thinks, "This man is deranged." and positions himself behind Our Hero for protection against the madman.

Our Hero understands the Wild Eyed Mystic is saying "One Truth, which covers all." then opens his sack and pulls out a coil of rope, which he hands to The Neighbor.

The neighbor is much relieved, and thinks, "Good. If he becomes violent, we can restrain him with the rope."

The Wild Eyed Mystic nods and smiles, understanding Our Hero to say "Ordinary Man tries to reach that One Truth in the same way one would try to climb into the sky with a length of rope."

Then, just as quickly as he appeared, the Wild Eyed Mystic is gone, much to the relief of the neighbor.

That is the story, there is more to it than just how different people perceive things differently, but that's for another discussion.

I'll have more to say about teaching stories in my next post.