The blind men and the elephant
A king once asked his servants to gather all the blind men of the town. He had an elephant brought in and asked each of them to touch it and tell him what an elephant is like.
One man felt the leg and said, "An elephant is like a pillar." Another touched the tail and said, "It is like a rope." The one at the trunk said, "It is like a thick branch." The man at the ear said, "It is like a fan." The one at the side said, "It is like a wall." The man who held the tusk said, "It is like a spear."
They began to argue. Each was sure the others were wrong, and each was honest about what he had felt. The voices grew loud.
The Buddha is said to have told this parable to monks who were arguing over their views. Each held a part, and each took the part for the whole.
The story is not about foolishness. It is about holding our views gently, listening to others, and remembering how much we cannot see from one place. It is told in several traditions, with small differences. See the glossary and the basics page.
Related pages
- Two Jataka talesJataka tales recount the Buddha's earlier lives. Two short ones: the hare, and the golden deer.
- The poisoned arrowA short parable in which the Buddha answers a monk who wants every big question settled first. What matters most is dealing with the suffering in front of you.
- Buddhist basics in plain wordsThe Three Jewels, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Five Precepts, and karma and rebirth, explained briefly and neutrally for people who are new to Buddhism.
- Kisa Gotami and the mustard seedA short story about grief and what it can teach, retold in plain words. A woman who lost her child asks the Buddha for help.
Keep reading
- Buddhist basics in plain words
- Layout of a Vietnamese Buddhist temple
- The altars of a Vietnamese temple
- How to pay respects at a Vietnamese temple
- Buddhist calendar
- Uposatha, full-moon and new-moon days
- Buddhist glossary for temple visitors
- Avalokiteshvara (Quan Thế Âm), the one who listens
- The Buddha's awakening
- Two Jataka tales
- Maudgalyayana and filial gratitude
- Visiting a Vietnamese temple: common questions
- Temple etiquette: how to behave in a Vietnamese temple
- Offerings: what flowers, fruit, water, lamps and incense mean
- Festivals in Vietnamese Buddhist temples
- Kisa Gotami and the mustard seed
- The poisoned arrow
- Angulimala, the road back
- Ksitigarbha (Địa Tạng) and the vow
- Sujata and the bowl of milk rice