The Blind Men and the Elephant

A group of ascetics of different sects were arguing violently in a park, each claiming that only their philosophical view was the absolute truth, and all others were completely false. Hearing this, the Buddha smiled and told them a story.

A certain king ordered that an elephant be brought before a group of men who had been blind from birth. He asked them to touch the elephant and then describe what an elephant is like.

One man touched the trunk and said, "An elephant is like a thick water pipe." Another touched the ear and said, "No, it is like a large fan." The one who touched the leg argued, "You are both fools! It is like a sturdy pillar."

The man who touched the side said it was like a wall; the one who touched the tail said it was like a rope; and the one who touched the tusk claimed it was like a hard spear.

Soon, the blind men began to fight, throwing punches and shouting, each absolutely certain that his small piece of experience represented the entire truth of the elephant.

The Buddha explained to the ascetics: "Like the blind men, ordinary people are blind to the whole truth. They grasp a small fragment of reality and cling to it, fighting with others. A wise person sees that reality is vast, and abandons dogmatic arguments."