Perception - Sanna.
#WednesdayWisdom
Have you heard the story about the blind people and the elephant?
“Suppose there’s an elephant and a bunch of blind people are trying to describe it. One touches the leg and says it’s like a pillar. Another touches the ear and says it’s like a fan. Another touches the tail and says, ‘No, it’s not a fan; it’s like a broom.’ Another touches the shoulder and says it’s something else again from what the others say. It’s like this. There’s no resolution, no end. Each blind person touches part of the elephant and has a completely different idea of what it is. But it’s the same one elephant.” — Ajahn Chah
This may seem like a simple parable but we can use it for reflection and relate it to our own experiences. We are all blind to truth, we all have our own opinions and we all bring our own past experiences and conditioning with us to every decision we make and every conversation and interaction we have with others. Think about us all doing this, all the time and we can see how group, workplace and even family dynamics are as they are.
The moral of the parable is that humans have a tendency to claim absolute truth based on their limited, subjective experience as they ignore other people’s limited, subjective experiences which may be equally true.[1][2]
If we can keep this knowledge in our own mind, there is nothing to stop us joining in with others; we can even agree if it keeps the peace or moves the conversation on more quickly so long as we remain true to our own understanding and don’t become influenced by the thoughts and opinions of others.
We are all ordinary people after all with our ordinary individual dramas and baggage but, if we are smart, we can guard ourselves from becoming entangled in collective drama and keep our mind peaceful and our internal world free from suffering.
May this teaching lead you to happiness; may it help you grow in truth. May you be freed from the suffering of birth and death.
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