Author: Nathan Hill

Cites

• NULL (1)
  • IN: The Nix (2016) NULL, American
    EPIGRAPH: There was a king in Savanthi who addressed a man and asked him to round up all the persons in the city who were blind from birth. When the man had done so, the king asked the man to show the blind men an elephant. To some of the blind men he presented the head of the elephant, to some the ear, to others the tusk, the trunk, the body, a foot, the hindquarters, the tail, or the tuft at the end of the tail. And to each one, he said, "This is an elephant." When he reported to the king what he had done, the king went to the blind men and asked them, "Tell me, blind men, what is an elephant like?" Those who had been shown the head of the elephant replied, "An elephant, your . majesty, is like a water jar." Those who had been shown the ear replied,"An elephant is just like a winnowing basket." Those who had been shown the tusk replied," An elephant is just like a plow pole." Those who had been shown the body replied, "An elephant is just like a storeroom." And each of the others likewise described the elephant in terms of the part they had been shown. Then. saying, "An elephant is like this, an elephant is not like that! An elephant is not like this, an elephant is like that!" they fought each other with their fists. And the King was delighted.
    FROM: The Udāna: Inspired Utterances of the Buddha, (None), Buddhist Scripture, NULL