Denis Valentinovich Manturov Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian ...
Short wise parables about life: oriental wisdom
A parable is a little story, story, fable, with or without morality.
A parable does not always teach life, but it always gives a wise hint with deep meaning.
Life meaning is hidden in parables - a lesson for people, but not everyone can see this meaning.
A parable is not a fictional story, it is a life story about real events. From generation to generation, parables have been passed down from mouth to mouth, but at the same time they have not lost their wisdom and simplicity.
Many parables describe stories that take place in Everyday life, many events described in parables are very similar to ours. The parable teaches you to look at things from different angles and to act wisely and rationally.
If a parable seemed incomprehensible or meaningless, this does not mean that the parable is bad. We are simply not prepared enough to understand it. Rereading the parables, each time you can find something new and wise in them.
So, we read oriental parables, think and become wise!
Three important questions
The ruler of one country strove for all wisdom. Once rumors reached him that there was a certain hermit who knew the answers to all questions. The ruler came to him and saw: a decrepit old man, digging a bed. He dismounted from his horse and bowed to the old man.
- I came to get an answer to three questions: who is the most important person on earth, what is the most important thing in life, what day is more important than everyone else.
The hermit said nothing and continued to dig. The ruler undertook to help him.
Suddenly he sees: a man is walking along the road - his whole face is covered with blood. The governor stopped him, consoled him with a kind word, brought water from the brook, washed and bandaged the traveler's wounds. Then he took him to the hermit's shack, put him to bed.
The next morning he looks - the hermit sows the garden.
“Hermit,” the governor pleaded, “won't you answer my questions?
“You yourself have already answered them,” he said.
- How? - the ruler was amazed.
“Seeing my old age and infirmity, you took pity on me and volunteered to help,” said the hermit. - While you were digging the garden, I was the most important person for you, and helping me was the most important thing for you. A wounded man appeared - his need was more acute than mine. And he became the most important person for you, and helping him is the most important thing. It turns out that the most important person is the one who needs your help. And the most important thing is the good that you do to him.
“Now I can answer my third question: which day in a person’s life is more important than the rest,” said the governor. - The most important day is today.
Most valuable
One person in childhood was very friendly with an old neighbor.
But time passed, school and hobbies appeared, then work and personal life. Every minute the young man was busy, and he had no time either to remember the past, or even to be with loved ones.
Once he found out that a neighbor had died - and suddenly remembered: the old man taught him a lot, trying to replace the boy's deceased father. Feeling guilty, he came to the funeral.
In the evening, after the burial, the man entered the deserted house of the deceased. Everything was the same as it was many years ago ...
Here are just a small gold box, in which, according to the old man, the most valuable thing for him was kept, disappeared from the table. Thinking that one of the few relatives had taken her, the man left the house.
However, two weeks later he received the package. Seeing the name of a neighbor on it, the man shuddered and opened the package.
Inside was that same gold box. It contained a gold pocket watch engraved: "Thanks for the time with me."
And he realized that the most valuable time for the old man was the time spent with his little friend.
Since then, the man tried to devote as much time as possible to his wife and son.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths. It is measured by the number of moments that make us hold our breath.
Time flies away from us every second. And you need to spend it profitably right now.
Life as it is
I will tell you a parable: in ancient times, a grief-stricken woman who had lost her son came to Gautama Buddha. And she began to pray to the almighty to return her child. And Buddha ordered the woman to return to the village and collect a mustard seed from each family, in which at least one of its members would not be burned at the funeral pyre. And having walked around his village and many others, the poor fellow did not find a single such family. And the woman understood that death is a natural and inevitable outcome for all living. And the woman accepted her life as it is, with its inevitable disappearance into oblivion, with the eternal cycle of lives.
Butterflies and fire
Three butterflies, flying up to the burning candle, began to talk about the nature of fire. One, flying up to the flame, returned and said:
- The fire is shining.
Another flew closer and scorched the wing. Arriving back, she said:
- It burns!
The third, flying very close, disappeared in the fire and did not return. She found out what she wanted to know, but could no longer tell the rest of them.
The one who has received knowledge is deprived of the opportunity to talk about it; therefore, the one who knows is silent, and the speaker does not know.
Understand destiny
Wu Chuang Tzu's wife died, and Hui Tzu came to mourn her. Chuang Tzu squatted and sang songs, hitting his pelvis. Hui-tzu said:
- Not to mourn the deceased, who lived with you until old age and raised your children - this is too much. But singing songs while hitting the pelvis is just no good!
“You're wrong,” Chuang Tzu replied. - When she died, could I not be sad at first? Grieving, I began to think about what she was in the beginning, when she was not yet born. And not only was she not born, but she was not yet a body. And not only was it not a body, but it was not even a breath. I realized that she was scattered in the void of boundless chaos.
Chaos turned - and she became breath. The breath changed - and she became the body. The body was transformed - and she was born. Now a new transformation has come - and she is dead. All this changed each other, as the four seasons alternate. Man is buried in the abyss of transformations, as if in the chambers of a huge house.
Money can not buy happiness
The disciple asked the Master:
- How true are the words that happiness is not in money?
He replied that they are completely correct. And it's easy to prove it.
For money can buy a bed, but not a dream; food, but not appetite; medicines, but not health; servants, but not friends; women, but not love; dwelling, but not home; entertainment, but not joy; education, but not mind.
And what is named does not exhaust the list.
Walk straight!
There was once a woodcutter who was in a very distressful situation. He subsisted on a paltry sum of money, obtained for firewood, which he brought to the city on himself from the nearest forest.
One day a sannyasin passing along the road saw him at work and advised him to go further into the forest, saying:
- Go ahead, go ahead!
The woodcutter obeyed the advice, went into the forest and walked forward until he came to a sandalwood. He was very pleased with this find, cut down a tree and, taking with him as many pieces of it as he could carry, sold them at the bazaar for good price... Then he began to wonder why the kind sannyasin did not tell him that there was a sandalwood in the forest, but simply advised him to go ahead.
The next day, reaching a felled tree, he went on and found copper deposits. He took with him as much copper as he could carry, and by selling it in the bazaar, he saved even more money.
The next day he found gold, then diamonds, and finally acquired enormous wealth.
This is precisely the position of a person who strives for true knowledge: if he does not stop in his movement after reaching some paranormal forces, then, in the end, he will find the wealth of eternal Knowledge and Truth.
Two snowflakes
It was snowing. The weather was calm, and large fluffy snowflakes circled slowly in a bizarre dance, slowly approaching the ground.
Two snowflakes flying nearby decided to start a conversation. Afraid of losing each other, they joined hands, and one of them cheerfully says:
- How good it is to fly, enjoy the flight!
- We do not fly, we just fall, - the second answered sadly.
- Soon we will meet the earth and turn into a white fluffy blanket!
- No, we are flying towards death, and on the ground we will simply be trampled.
- We will become streams and rush to the sea. We will live forever! - said the first.
“No, we will melt and disappear forever,” the second objected to her.
Finally they got tired of arguing. They unclenched their hands, and each flew towards the fate that she herself had chosen.
Great blessing
The rich man asked the Zen master to write something good and encouraging, something that would bring great benefit to his entire family. “It has to be something that every member of our family thinks about in relation to others,” said the rich man.
He gave a large piece of white expensive paper, on which the master wrote: “The father will die, the son will die, the grandson will die. And all in one day. "
The rich man was furious when he read what the master had written to him: “I asked you to write something good for my family so that it would bring joy and prosperity to my family. Why did you write what makes me sad? "
“If the son dies before you,” the master replied, “it will be an irreparable loss for your entire family. If your grandson dies before your son dies, it will be a great grief for everyone. But if your whole family, generation after generation, dies in one day, it will be a real gift of fate. This will be great happiness and blessing for your entire family. "
Heaven and Hell
Once upon a time there was one person. And he spent most of his life trying to figure out how hell is different from heaven. On this subject he pondered day and night.
And then one day he had an unusual dream. He went to hell. And he sees people there who are sitting in front of cauldrons with food. And each one has a large spoon with a very long handle in his hand. But these people look hungry, thin and haggard. They can scoop out of the cauldron, but they will not get into the mouth. And they swear, fight, beat each other with spoons.
Suddenly another person runs up to him and shouts:
- Hey, let's go faster, I'll show you the road leading to paradise.
They arrived in paradise. And they see people there who are sitting in front of cauldrons with food. And each has a large spoon with a very long handle in his hand. But they look well-fed, contented and happy. When we looked closely, we saw that they were feeding each other. Man should go to man with good - that is paradise.
The secret of happiness
One merchant sent his son to seek the secret of happiness from the wisest of all people. The young man walked for forty days through the desert and finally came to a beautiful castle that stood on the top of the mountain. There lived the sage he was looking for.
However, instead of the expected meeting with the holy man, our hero entered the hall, where everything was seething: merchants entered and exited, people chatted in the corner, a small orchestra played sweet melodies and there was a table laden with the most exquisite dishes of this area. The sage talked to by different people, and the young man had to wait about two hours for his turn.
The sage listened attentively to the young man's explanations about the purpose of his visit, but said in response that he did not have time to reveal to him the secret of happiness. And he invited him to walk around the palace and come back two hours later.
- However, I want to ask for one favor, - added the sage, holding out a small spoon to the young man, into which he dropped two drops of oil:
- While walking, hold this spoon in your hand so that the oil does not spill out.
The young man began to climb and descend the palace stairs, not taking his eyes off the spoon. Two hours later, he again came to the sage.
- Well, how? He asked. - Have you seen the Persian rugs that are in my dining room? Have you seen the park that the head gardener has been creating for ten years? Have you noticed the beautiful parchments in my library?
The embarrassed young man had to admit that he had not seen anything. His only concern was not to spill the drops of oil that the Sage had entrusted to him.
“Well, come back and see the wonders of my universe,” the Sage told him. - You cannot trust a person if you are unfamiliar with the house in which he lives.
Reassured, the young man took a spoon and again went for a walk through the palace, this time paying attention to all the works of art hung on the walls and ceilings of the palace. He saw gardens surrounded by mountains, the most delicate flowers, the refinement with which each of the works of art was placed exactly where it was needed. Returning to the sage, he described in detail everything that he saw.
- And where are those two drops of oil that I entrusted to you? The sage asked.
And the young man, looking at the spoon, found that the oil had spilled out.
- This is the only advice I can give you: the secret of happiness is to look at all the wonders of the world, never forgetting about two drops of oil in a spoon.
Sermon
Once the mullah decided to appeal to the believers. But a young groom came to listen to him. Mulla thought to himself, "Should I speak or not?" And he decided to ask the groom:
“There’s no one here except you, do you think I should speak or not?”
The groom replied:
- Sir, I am a simple person, I do not understand anything about this. But when I come to the stable and see that all the horses have run away, and there is only one left, I will still give her something to eat.
Mulla, taking these words to heart, began his sermon. He talked for over two hours, and when he finished, he felt a sense of relief. He wanted to hear confirmation of how good his speech was. He asked:
- How did you like my sermon?
- I have already said that I am a simple person and do not really understand all this. But if I come to the stable and see that all the horses have run away, and there is only one left, I will feed her anyway. But I will not give her all the food that is for all horses.
The parable of positive thinking
Once an old Chinese teacher said to his student:
- Please take a good look at this room and try to mark everything that has Brown color.
The young man looked around. There were a lot of brown objects in the room: wooden picture frames, a sofa, a curtain rod, desks, book covers and many other little things.
- Now close your eyes and list all the items ... blue, - asked the teacher.
The young man was at a loss:
- But I didn't notice anything!
Then the teacher said:
- Open your eyes. Just look how many blue things are here.
It was true: blue vase, blue picture frames, blue carpet, old teacher's blue shirt.
And the teacher said:
- Look at all these missed items!
The disciple replied:
- But this is a trick! After all, I was looking for brown, not blue, objects at your direction.
The teacher sighed softly, and then smiled: - This is what I wanted to show you. You have searched and found only brown. It is the same with you in life. You seek and find only the bad and you miss the good.
I have always been taught that the worst is to be expected, and then you will never be disappointed. And if the worst doesn't happen, then a pleasant surprise awaits me. And if I always hope for the best, then I will only expose myself to the risk of disappointment.
Do not lose sight of all the good things that happen in our lives. If you expect the worst, then you will definitely get it. And vice versa.
You can find a point of view from which each experience will have a positive meaning. From this moment on, you will look for something positive in everything and in everyone.
How can you achieve your goal?
A great archery master named Drona trained his students. He hung a target on a tree and asked each of the students what he saw.
One said:
- I see a tree and a target on it.
Another said:
- I see a tree, a rising sun, birds in the sky ...
All the others responded in much the same way.
Then Drona approached his best disciple Arjuna and asked:
- What do you see?
He replied:
- I can't see anything but the target.
And Drona said:
- Only such a person can hit the target.
hidden treasures
In ancient India, there was a poor man named Ali Hafed.
Once a Buddhist priest came to him and told him how the world was created: “Once the earth was a continuous fog. And then the Almighty stretched out his fingers to the fog, and it turned into a ball of fire. And this ball rushed across the universe until the rain fell to the ground and cooled its surface. Then the fire, breaking open the earth's surface, burst out. This is how mountains and valleys, hills and prairies arose.
When the molten mass flowing down the surface of the earth cooled rapidly, it turned into granite. If it cooled down slowly, it became copper, silver, or gold. And after gold, diamonds were created. "
“A diamond,” said the sage Ali to Hafed, “is a frozen drop of sunlight. If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, - continued the priest, - then you could buy the whole neighborhood. But if you owned diamond deposits, you could put all your children on the throne, and all this thanks to the enormous wealth.
Ali Hafed learned everything there was to know about diamonds that evening. But he went to bed, as always, poor. He lost nothing, but he was poor because he was not satisfied, and he was not satisfied because he was afraid that he was poor.
All night Ali Hafed did not sleep a wink. He only thought about diamond deposits.
Early in the morning, he woke up an old Buddhist priest and began to beg him to tell him where to find the diamonds. The priest at first did not agree. But Ali Hafed was so insistent that the old man finally said:
- OK then. You must find the river that flows in the white sands among the high mountains. There, in these white sands, you will find diamonds.
And then Ali Hafed sold his farm, left his family to a neighbor and went to look for diamonds. He went further and further, but could not find the treasure. In complete despair, he committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea.
One day, a man who bought Ali Hafed's farm decided to drink a camel in the garden. And when the camel nudged the stream, this man suddenly noticed a strange sparkle emanating from the white sand from the bottom of the stream. He lowered his hands into the water and pulled out a stone from which this fiery radiance emanated. He brought this unusual stone home, put it on a shelf.
Once the same old Buddhist priest came to visit the new owner. Opening the door, he immediately saw a glow over the fireplace. Rushing to him, and exclaimed:
- It's a diamond! Is Ali Hafed back?
“No,” replied Ali Hafed's successor. - Ali Hafed did not return. And this is a simple stone that I found in my stream.
- You're wrong! - exclaimed the priest. “I recognize a diamond from a thousand other precious stones. By all the saints, this is a diamond!
And then they went to the garden and dug up all the white sand in the stream. And in him they found gems even more amazing and more valuable than the first one. The most valuable thing is always there.
*
© Design. LLC "AST Publishing House", 2017
Arabic parables and legends
2 × 2 = 4½
The Arabs, as you know, my friend, and everything is Arabic. In arabic The State Duma, - they call it Dum-Dum, - they decided to start, at last, to make laws.
Having returned from their places, from their camps, the selected Arabs shared their impressions. One Arab said:
- It seems that the population is not particularly happy with us. One hinted at it to me. Called us quitters.
Others agreed.
- And I have heard hints. They call us parasites.
“They called me a bum.
- And they fired a stone at me.
And they decided to take up the laws.
- It is necessary to issue such a law at once so that its truth is evident to everyone.
- And so that he does not stir up any disputes.
- So that everyone agrees with him.
- And so that he does not bring a loss to anyone.
- He will be wise and sweet to everyone!
Selected Arabs thought and came up with:
- Let's issue a law that twice two is four.
- Truth!
- And no one is offended.
Someone objected:
“But everyone knows that anyway.
He was reasonably answered:
- Everyone knows that you can't steal. However, the law says about it.
And the Arab elect, having gathered in a solemn meeting, decided:
- It is declared by the law, ignorance of which no one can excuse himself, that always and under all circumstances twice two will be four.
Upon learning of this, the viziers - this is how the Arab ministers are called, my friend - were very worried. And they went to the grand vizier, who was as wise as the gray.
They bowed and said:
- Have you heard that the children of misfortune, the chosen Arabs, began to make laws?
The Grand Vizier stroked his gray beard and said:
- I stay.
- That they have already issued a law: twice two four?
The Grand Vizier replied:
- I stay.
- Yes, but they will reach Allah knows what. They will issue a law so that it will be light during the day and dark at night. So that the water is wet and the sand is dry. And the inhabitants will be sure that it is light during the day, not because the sun is shining, but because the children of misfortune, the chosen Arabs, decided so. And that the water is wet and the sand is dry, not because Allah created this way, but because they decreed so. People will believe in the wisdom and omnipotence of the chosen Arabs. And they will think about themselves Allah knows what!
The Grand Vizier said calmly:
- Will Dum-Dum issue laws or not, I stay. It will exist - I will remain, and it will not exist - I will also remain. There will be two, two, four, or one, or a hundred - I don't care and no matter what happens, I stay, I stay and I stay, as long as Allah wants me to stay.
So spoke his wisdom.
Wisdom is dressed in serenity, like a mullah in a white turban. And the agitated viziers went to the meeting of the sheikhs ... This is something like their State Council, my friend. We went to the meeting of sheikhs and said:
- It cannot be left like that. It is impossible for the chosen Arabs to take away such power in the country. And you must take action.
And a great conference of sheikhs met, with the participation of the viziers.
The first among the sheikhs, their chairman, stood up, bowed to no one out of importance and said:
- Glorious and wise sheikhs. The children of misfortune, the chosen Arabs, acted as the most skillful conspirators, the most vicious troublemakers, the greatest robbers and the most vile swindlers: they announced that twice two is four. Thus they made the very truth serve their nefarious purposes. Their calculation is clear to our wisdom. They want to accustom the stupid population to the idea that the truth itself speaks through their mouths. And then, no matter what law they issued, the stupid population will consider everything as true: "after all, it was decided by the selected Arabs, who said that twice two is four." To crush this villainous design and discourage them from legislating, we must abolish their law. But how to do this, when twice two is really four ?!
The sheikhs were silent, setting their beards, and finally turned to the old sheikh, the former grand vizier, the sage, and said:
“You are the father of misery.
So, my friend, the Arabs call the constitution.
- The doctor who made the incision must be able to heal it. Let your wisdom open its mouth. You were in charge of the treasury, compiled a list of income and expenses, lived all your life among numbers. Tell us if there is any way out of the hopeless situation. Is two and two always four?
The sage, the former grand vizier, the father of misfortune, stood up, bowed and said:
- I knew you would ask me. Because, although they call me the father of misfortune, for all their dislike for me, they always ask me in difficult times. So a person who breaks his teeth does not give pleasure to anyone. But when nothing helps from a toothache, they send for him. On the way from the warm coast where I lived, contemplating how the purple sun plunges into the azure sea, in stripes of its gold, I recalled all the reports and murals that I made, and found that twice two could be anything. Looking out of necessity. And four, and more, and less. There were reports and murals, where twice two were fifteen, but there were, where twice two were three. Looking at what needed to be proven. Less often, twice two was four. I, at least, do not remember such a case. So says the experience of life, the father of wisdom.
Listening to him, the viziers were delighted, and the sheikhs were in despair and asked:
- But what is, finally, arithmetic? Science or art?
The old sheikh, the former grand vizier, the father of misfortune, thought, was embarrassed and said:
- Art!
Then the sheikhs, in despair, turned to the vizier, who was in charge of scholarship in the country, and asked:
- In your position, you constantly deal with scientists. Tell us, Vizier, what do they say?
The vizier got up, bowed, smiled and said:
- They say: "What do you please." Knowing that your question would not pass me by, I turned to the scientists I had left and asked them: "How much is twice two?" They bowed and replied, "As much as you want." So, no matter how much I asked them, I could not get any other answer than: "as you please" and "as you order." Obedience has replaced arithmetic in my schools, as have other subjects.
The sheikhs fell into deep sorrow. And they exclaimed:
“It does honor, O Vizier in charge of scholarship, and the scholars you have left, and your ability to choose. Perhaps such scholars will lead the youth on the proper path - but they do not lead us out of the difficulty.
And the sheikhs turned to sheikh-ul-Islam.
- Due to your duties, you always deal with mullahs and are close to divine truths. Tell us you the truth. Is twice two always four?
Sheikh-ul-Islam stood up, bowed to all sides and said:
- Venerable, noble sheikhs, whose wisdom is covered with gray hair, like a deceased with a silver cover. Live and learn. Two brothers lived in the city of Baghdad. God-fearing people, but people. And they had a concubine. On the same day, the brothers, who acted in accordance with each other in everything, took concubines for themselves, and on the same day the concubines conceived by them. And when the time of childbirth approached, the brothers said to themselves: "We want our children to be born not from concubines, but from our lawful wives." And they called the mullah to bless their two marriages. Mulla rejoiced in his heart at such a pious decision of his brothers, blessed them and said: “I am crowning your two unions. Now there will be one family of four ”. But the minute he spoke, both newlyweds were relieved of the burden. And twice two became six. The family began to consist of six people. This is what happened in the city of Baghdad, and what I know. And Allah knows more than me.
The sheikhs listened with delight to this incident from life, and the vizier in charge of the country's trade stood up and said:
- Not always, however, twice two is six. This is what happened in the glorious city of Damascus. One man, foreseeing the need for a small coin, went to the robber ...
The Arabs, my friend, do not yet have the word "banker." And in the old way they just say "robber."
“I went, I say, to the robber and exchanged two gold pieces for silver piastres. The robber took the exchange and gave the man one and a half gold pieces of silver. But it didn’t happen as the man expected, and he didn’t need a small silver coin. Then he went to another robber and asked him to exchange silver for gold. The second robber took the same amount for the exchange and gave the man one gold. Thus, two gold pieces, twice exchanged, turned into one. And twice two turned out to be one. This is what happened in Damascus and is happening, sheikhs, everywhere.
The sheikhs, hearing this, came to an indescribable delight:
- This is what life teaches. Real life. And not some chosen Arabs, children of misfortune.
They thought and decided:
- The selected Arabs said that twice two is four. But life refutes them. You can’t make laws that are not life. Sheikh-ul-Islam says that twice two is six, and the vizier in charge of trade pointed out that twice two is also one. In order to maintain complete independence, the assembly of sheikhs decides that twice two is five.
And they approved the law decreed by the elected Arabs.
- Let them not say that we do not approve their laws. And they only changed one word. Instead of “four,” they put “five”.
The law read like this:
- It is declared by the law, ignorance of which no one can excuse himself, that always and under all circumstances twice two will be five.
The case went to the conciliation commission. Everywhere, my friend, where there is "misfortune", there are conciliation commissions.
A violent argument arose there. Representatives of the Sheikh Council said:
- Aren't you ashamed to argue over one word? In the whole law, only one word has been changed for you, and you are making such a fuss. Be ashamed!
And the representatives of the selected Arabs said:
- We cannot return without a victory to our Arabs!
They argued for a long time.
Finally, the representatives of the elected Arabs declared emphatically:
- Either you give in, or we will leave!
Representatives of the council of sheikhs consulted among themselves and said:
- Good. We will make an assignment to you. You say four, we say five. Let it not be offensive to anyone. Neither your way nor our way. We concede half. Let two and two be four and a half.
The representatives of the selected Arabs consulted among themselves:
- Still, it's better some law than none.
- Still, we forced them to make a concession.
- And you won't get it anymore.
And they announced:
- Good. Agree.
And the conciliation commission from the elected Arabs and the council of sheikhs announced:
- It is declared by the law, ignorance of which no one can excuse himself, that always and under all circumstances twice two will be four and a half.
This was announced through heralds in all bazaars. And everyone was delighted.
The viziers were delighted:
- They gave a lesson to the chosen Arabs, so that even twice two four proclaim with a look around.
Sheikhs were delighted:
- It didn't work out in their way!
The selected Arabs were delighted:
- All the same, the council of sheikhs was forced to make concessions.
Everyone congratulated themselves on the victory.
And the country? The country was overjoyed. Even the chickens - and they had fun.
There are such and such, my friend, in the world Arabian tales.
Fairy tale about a fairy tale
One day
Allah Akbar! By creating a woman, you created a fantasy.
She said to herself:
- Why not? There are many houris in the prophet's paradise, many beauties in the earthly paradise - in the caliph's harem. In the gardens of the prophet I would not have been the last of the houris; among the wives of the padishah, perhaps, I would have been the first of the wives, and among the odalisques - the first of his odalisques. Where corals are brighter than my lips, and their breath is like the air of noon. My legs are slender, and like two lilies - my chest - lilies, on which specks of blood appeared. Happy is he who bows his head on my chest. He will have wonderful dreams. As the moon on the first day of the full moon, my face is bright. How black diamonds burn my eyes, and the one who, in a moment of passion, looks into them close, close - no matter how great he is! - will see himself in them so small, so small that he will laugh. Allah created me in a moment of joy, and all I am is a song to my creator.
She took it and went. Dressed only in her own beauty.
On the threshold of the palace, a guard stopped her with horror.
- What do you want here, a woman who forgot to put on not only a veil!
- I want to see the glorious and powerful Sultan Harun al-Rashid, padishah and caliph, our great ruler. May Allah alone be the ruler of the earth.
- May Allah's will be in everything. What is your name? Shamelessness?
- My name: Truth. I'm not angry with you, warrior. Truth is often mistaken for shamelessness, just as lies are for shame. Go and report me.
In the palace of the Caliph, everyone was agitated when they learned that the Truth had come.
- Her arrival often means leaving for many! Said Grand Vizier Jiaffar thoughtfully.
And all the viziers felt the danger.
- But she is a woman! - said Giaffar. - It is customary for us that the one who does not understand anything about it is engaged in any business. That is why eunuchs are in charge of women.
He turned to the great eunuch. Keeper of peace, honor and happiness of the padishah. And he said to him:
- The greatest of eunuchs! There came a woman relying on her beauty. Delete her. Remembering, however, that all this is happening in the palace. Remove her like a courtier. So that everything is beautiful and decent.
The great eunuch went out onto the porch and looked with dead eyes at the naked woman.
- Do you want to see the Caliph? But the caliph should not see you like that.
- Why?
- In this form they come to this world. In this form, they leave him. But it is impossible to walk in this form in this world.
- Truth is only good when it is naked truth.
- Your words sound right, like the law. But the padishah is above the law. And the padishah will not see you like that!
- Allah created me this way. Beware, eunuch, condemn or condemn. Condemnation would be madness, condemnation would be insolence.
- I do not dare to condemn or condemn what Allah created. But Allah created the potatoes raw. However, before eating potatoes, they are boiled. Allah created the lamb meat full of blood. But in order to eat lamb meat, it is first fried. Allah made rice as hard as bone. And to eat rice, people boil it and sprinkle it with saffron. What would they say about a person who would eat raw potatoes, raw lamb meat and gnaw on raw rice, saying: "Allah made them so!" So is the woman. In order to be undressed, she must first be dressed.
- Potatoes, lamb, rice! - Truth exclaimed indignantly. - And apples, and pears, fragrant melons? Are they also boiled, eunuch, before they are eaten?
The eunuch smiled the way eunuchs and toads smile.
- The crust is cut off the melon. Skin is removed from apples and pears. If you want us to do the same with you ...
Truth hastened to leave.
- With whom did you speak this morning, at the entrance to the palace and, it seems, spoke harshly? - Harun al-Rashid asked the guardian of his peace, honor and happiness. - And why was there such confusion in the palace?
- Some woman, shameless to the point that she wants to walk the way Allah created her, wanted to see you! - answered the great eunuch.
- Pain will give birth to fear, and fear will give birth to shame! - said the caliph. - If this woman is shameless, treat her according to the law!
- We do your will before it is uttered! - said the grand vizier Jiaffar, kissing the ground at the feet of the sovereign. - With a woman it was done!
And the sultan, looking at him with favor, said:
- Allah Akbar!
Allah Akbar! By creating a woman, you created stubbornness.
It occurred to the truth to enter the palace. To the palace of Garun al-Rashid himself.
Truth put on a hair shirt, girded herself with a rope, took a staff in her hand, and again came to the palace.
- I am Conviction! She said sternly to the guard. “In the name of Allah, I demand that I be admitted to the Caliph.
And the guard is horrified - the guards are always horrified when an outsider approaches the Caliph's palace - the guard ran in horror to the Grand Vizier.
“That woman again! - he said. - She is covered with a hair shirt and calls herself the Conviction. But from the eyes I saw that she is the Truth.
The viziers were agitated.
- What disrespect for the Sultan - to go against our will!
And Jiaffar said:
- Exposure? This already concerns the great mufti.
He summoned the great mufti and bowed to him:
- May your righteousness save us! Act piously and courtly.
The Grand Mufti came out to the woman, bowed to her to the ground and said:
- Are you conviction? Blessed be your every step on earth. When the muezzin from the minaret sings the glory of Allah and the faithful gather in the mosque for prayer, come. The sheikh's chair decorated with carvings and mother-of-pearl, I bow down to you. Convict the faithful! Your place is in the mosque.
- I want to see the Caliph!
- My child! The state is a mighty tree, the roots of which are deeply embedded in the earth. The people are the leaves that cover the tree, and the padishah is the flower that blooms on this tree. And the roots, and the tree, and the leaves - everything so that this flower blooms magnificently. And it was fragrant and adorned the tree. This is how Allah created! Allah wants it! Your words, words of Rebuke, are truly living water... Blessed be every dewdrop of this water! But where did you hear, child, that the flower itself should be watered? Water the roots. Water the roots so that the flower blooms more luxuriantly. Water the roots, my child. Go from here in peace, your place is in the mosque. Among ordinary believers. Convict there!
And with tears of anger in her eyes, Truth left the gentle and gentle mufti.
And Harun al-Rashid asked that day:
- This morning, at the entrance to my palace, you spoke to someone, Grand Mufti, and spoke meekly and affectionately, as always - but for some reason there was an alarm in the palace at that time? Why?
The mufti kissed the ground at the feet of the padishah and replied:
- Everyone was worried, and I spoke meekly and kindly, because it was crazy. She came in a hair shirt and wanted you to wear a hair shirt too. It's funny even to think! Is it worth being the ruler of Baghdad and Damascus, Beirut and Belbek to wear a hair shirt! This would mean being ungrateful to Allah for his gifts. Such thoughts can only come to the insane.
“You’re right,” said the Caliph, “if this woman is insane, you should treat her with pity, but make sure that she cannot harm anyone.
- Your words, padishah, serve as praise for us, your servants. This is what we did to the woman! - said Giaffar.
And Harun al-Rashid looked with gratitude at the sky, which had sent him such servants:
- Allah Akbar!
Allah Akbar! By creating a woman, you created a cunning.
It occurred to the truth to enter the palace. To the palace of Garun al-Rashid himself.
Truth ordered to get itself motley shawls from India, transparent silk from Brusa, gold-woven fabrics from Smyrna. From the bottom of the sea, she got herself yellow amber. She cleaned herself with feathers of birds, so small that they look like golden flies and are afraid of spiders. She removed herself with diamonds that look like large tears, rubies like drops of blood, pink pearls that appear on the body as a trace of kisses, sapphires that are like pieces of the sky.
And, telling miracles about all these wonderful things, cheerful, joyful, with burning eyes, surrounded by an innumerable crowd that listened to her with greed, delight, with a sinking heart, approached the palace.
- I'm a Fairy Tale. I am a Fairy Tale, as colorful as a Persian carpet, like spring meadows, like an Indian shawl. Listen, listen to how my wrists and bracelets on my arms and legs are ringing. They ring in the same way as the golden bells ring on the porcelain towers of the Chinese bogdykhan. I will tell you about it. Look at these diamonds, they are like the tears that a beautiful princess shed when the darling went to the ends of the world for fame and gifts for her. I will tell you about the most beautiful princess in the world. I will tell you about a lover who left the same kiss marks on his sweetheart's chest as this pink pearl. And her eyes at this time became matte with passion, large and black, like the night or this black pearl. I will tell you about their caresses. About their caresses on that night when the sky was blue-blue, like this sapphire, and the stars shone like this diamond lace. I want to see the padishah, may Allah send him as many tens of years of life as there are letters in his name, and double their number and double again, because there is no end and limit to Allah's generosity. I want to see the padishah in order to tell him about the forests of palm trees curled with lianas, where these birds, like golden flies, fly, about the lions of the Abyssinian Negus, about the elephants of Raja Jaypur, about the beauty of the Taj Magal, about the pearls of the ruler of Nepal. I am a Fairy Tale, I am a motley Fairy Tale.
And having heard her stories, the guard forgot to report her to the viziers. But the Fairy Tale was already seen from the windows of the palace.
- There's a fairy tale! There is a motley tale!
And Jiaffar, the grand vizier, said, stroking his beard and smiling:
- She wants to see the padishah? Let her go! Should we be afraid of fiction? Anyone who makes knives is not afraid of knives.
And Harun al-Rashid himself, hearing a cheerful noise, asked:
- What is there? In front of the palace and in the palace? What kind of dialect? What's that noise?
- It's a Fairy Tale! Dressed up Fairy Tale into miracles! Everyone in Baghdad now listens to it, everyone in Baghdad, young and old, and cannot hear enough. She has come to you, lord!
- Allah may there be one master! And I want to hear what each of my subjects hears. Let her go!
And all the carved, ivory, and mother-of-pearl doors opened before the Tale.
And amid the bows of the courtiers and the prostration of the fallen slaves, the Tale passed to the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. He greeted her with an affectionate smile. And the Truth in the form of a Fairy Tale appeared before the Caliph.
He said to her, smiling affectionately:
- Speak, my child, I am listening to you.
Allah Akbar! You have created the Truth. It occurred to the truth to enter the palace. To the palace of Garun al-Rashid himself. Truth will always get its way.
Current page: 1 (the book has 11 pages in total) [available passage for reading: 8 pages]
Font:
100% +
V. A. Chastnikova
Proverbs of the East. Branch of wisdom
The madman consoles himself with the past
feeble-minded - to the future,
smart - real.
Eastern wisdom.
Since ancient times, people in Russia have fallen in love with parables, interpreted the Biblical ones and composed their own. True, they were sometimes confused with fables. And already in the 18th century the writer AP Sumarokov named his book of fables "Proverbs". Proverbs are really like fables. However, a fable is different from a parable.
A parable is a little moralizing story, like a fable, but without morality, without direct instruction.
The parable does not teach, but gives a hint of teaching, it is a delicate creation of the people.
In parables, in an ordinary, everyday case, a universal meaning is hidden - a lesson for all people, but not everyone can see this meaning, but very few.
Proverbs immerse us in a fictional world where everything is possible, but, as a rule, this world is just a moralizing reflection of reality.
A parable is not a fictional story, it is primarily a story about real events that took place at all times. From generation to generation, parables, like oral folk art, were passed from mouth to mouth, supplemented by details, some details, but at the same time they did not lose their wisdom and simplicity. At different times, in different countries, many people, when making responsible decisions, looked for the answer in parables and instructive stories that have come down to our days.
The parables describe the stories that happen to us in our daily life every day. If you pay attention, you will probably notice that many of the events described in the parables are very similar to our everyday situations. And the question is how to react to this. The parable teaches you to look at things soberly and act wisely, without being overly emotional.
At first glance, it may seem that the parable does not bear any useful information, But this is only at first glance. If you didn't like the parable, seemed incomprehensible, stupid or meaningless, this does not mean that the parable is bad. You may simply not be prepared enough to understand this parable. Rereading the parables, each time you can find something new in them.
The parables collected in this book came to us from the East - there people gathered in teahouses and listened to the storytellers of parables over a cup of coffee or tea.
Life truth
Three important questions
The ruler of one country strove for all wisdom. Once rumors reached him that there was a certain hermit who knew the answers to all questions. The ruler came to him and saw: a decrepit old man, digging a bed. He dismounted from his horse and bowed to the old man.
- I came to get an answer to three questions: who is the most important person on earth, what is the most important thing in life, what day is more important than everyone else.
The hermit said nothing and continued to dig. The ruler undertook to help him.
Suddenly he sees: a man is walking along the road - his whole face is covered with blood. The governor stopped him, consoled him with a kind word, brought water from the brook, washed and bandaged the traveler's wounds. Then he took him to the hermit's shack, put him to bed.
The next morning he looks - the hermit sows the garden.
“Hermit,” the governor pleaded, “won't you answer my questions?
“You yourself have already answered them,” he said.
- How? - the ruler was amazed.
“Seeing my old age and infirmity, you took pity on me and volunteered to help,” said the hermit. - While you were digging the garden, I was the most important person for you, and helping me was the most important thing for you. A wounded man appeared - his need was more acute than mine. And he became the most important person for you, and helping him is the most important thing. It turns out that the most important person is the one who needs your help. And the most important thing is the good that you do to him.
“Now I can answer my third question: which day in a person’s life is more important than the rest,” said the governor. - The most important day is today.
Most valuable
One person in childhood was very friendly with an old neighbor.
But time passed, school and hobbies appeared, then work and personal life. Every minute the young man was busy, and he had no time either to remember the past, or even to be with loved ones.
Once he found out that a neighbor had died - and suddenly remembered: the old man taught him a lot, trying to replace the boy's deceased father. Feeling guilty, he came to the funeral.
In the evening, after the burial, the man entered the deserted house of the deceased. Everything was the same as it was many years ago ...
Here are just a small gold box, in which, according to the old man, the most valuable thing for him was kept, disappeared from the table. Thinking that one of the few relatives had taken her, the man left the house.
However, two weeks later he received the package. Seeing the name of a neighbor on it, the man shuddered and opened the package.
Inside was that same gold box. It contained a gold pocket watch engraved: "Thanks for the time with me."
And he realized that the most valuable time for the old man was the time spent with his little friend.
Since then, the man tried to devote as much time as possible to his wife and son.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths. It is measured by the number of moments that make us hold our breath.
Time flies away from us every second. And you need to spend it profitably right now.
Life as it is
I will tell you a parable: in ancient times, a grief-stricken woman who had lost her son came to Gautama Buddha. And she began to pray to the almighty to return her child. And Buddha ordered the woman to return to the village and collect a mustard seed from each family, in which at least one of its members would not be burned at the funeral pyre. And having walked around his village and many others, the poor fellow did not find a single such family. And the woman understood that death is a natural and inevitable outcome for all living. And the woman accepted her life as it is, with its inevitable disappearance into oblivion, with the eternal cycle of lives.
Butterflies and fire
Three butterflies, flying up to the burning candle, began to talk about the nature of fire. One, flying up to the flame, returned and said:
- The fire is shining.
Another flew closer and scorched the wing. Arriving back, she said:
- It burns!
The third, flying very close, disappeared in the fire and did not return. She found out what she wanted to know, but could no longer tell the rest of them.
The one who has received knowledge is deprived of the opportunity to talk about it; therefore, the one who knows is silent, and the speaker does not know.
Understand destiny
Wu Chuang Tzu's wife died, and Hui Tzu came to mourn her. Chuang Tzu squatted and sang songs, hitting his pelvis. Hui-tzu said:
- Not to mourn the deceased, who lived with you until old age and raised your children - this is too much. But singing songs while hitting the pelvis is just no good!
“You're wrong,” Chuang Tzu replied. - When she died, could I not be sad at first? Grieving, I began to think about what she was in the beginning, when she was not yet born. And not only was she not born, but she was not yet a body. And not only was it not a body, but it was not even a breath. I realized that she was scattered in the void of boundless chaos.
Chaos turned - and she became breath. The breath changed - and she became the body. The body was transformed - and she was born. Now a new transformation has come - and she is dead. All this changed each other, as the four seasons alternate. Man is buried in the abyss of transformations, as if in the chambers of a huge house.
Money can not buy happiness
The disciple asked the Master:
- How true are the words that happiness is not in money?
He replied that they are completely correct. And it's easy to prove it.
For money can buy a bed, but not a dream; food, but not appetite; medicines, but not health; servants, but not friends; women, but not love; dwelling, but not home; entertainment, but not joy; education, but not mind.
And what is named does not exhaust the list.
Walk straight!
There was once a woodcutter who was in a very distressful situation. He subsisted on a paltry sum of money, obtained for firewood, which he brought to the city on himself from the nearest forest.
One day a sannyasin passing along the road saw him at work and advised him to go further into the forest, saying:
- Go ahead, go ahead!
The woodcutter obeyed the advice, went into the forest and walked forward until he came to a sandalwood. He was very pleased with this find, cut down a tree and, taking with him as many pieces of it as he could carry, sold them at the bazaar for a good price. Then he began to wonder why the kind sannyasin did not tell him that there was a sandalwood in the forest, but simply advised him to go ahead.
The next day, reaching a felled tree, he went on and found copper deposits. He took with him as much copper as he could carry, and by selling it in the bazaar, he saved even more money.
The next day he found gold, then diamonds, and finally acquired enormous wealth.
This is precisely the position of a person who strives for true knowledge: if he does not stop in his movement after reaching some paranormal forces, then, in the end, he will find the wealth of eternal Knowledge and Truth.
Two snowflakes
It was snowing. The weather was calm, and large fluffy snowflakes circled slowly in a bizarre dance, slowly approaching the ground.
Two snowflakes flying nearby decided to start a conversation. Afraid of losing each other, they joined hands, and one of them cheerfully says:
- How good it is to fly, enjoy the flight!
- We do not fly, we just fall, - the second answered sadly.
- Soon we will meet the earth and turn into a white fluffy blanket!
- No, we are flying towards death, and on the ground we will simply be trampled.
- We will become streams and rush to the sea. We will live forever! - said the first.
“No, we will melt and disappear forever,” the second objected to her.
Finally they got tired of arguing. They unclenched their hands, and each flew towards the fate that she herself had chosen.
Great blessing
The rich man asked the Zen master to write something good and encouraging, something that would bring great benefit to his entire family. “It must be something that every member of our family thinks about in relation to others,” said the rich man.
He gave a large piece of white expensive paper, on which the master wrote: “The father will die, the son will die, the grandson will die. And all in one day. "
The rich man was furious when he read what the master had written to him: “I asked you to write something good for my family so that it would bring joy and prosperity to my family. Why did you write what makes me sad? "
“If the son dies before you,” the master replied, “it will be an irreparable loss for your entire family. If your grandson dies before your son dies, it will be a great grief for everyone. But if your whole family, generation after generation, dies in one day, it will be a real gift of fate. This will be great happiness and blessing for your entire family. "
Heaven and Hell
Once upon a time there was one person. And he spent most of his life trying to figure out how hell is different from heaven. On this subject he pondered day and night.
And then one day he had an unusual dream. He went to hell. And he sees people there who are sitting in front of cauldrons with food. And each one has a large spoon with a very long handle in his hand. But these people look hungry, thin and haggard. They can scoop out of the cauldron, but they will not get into the mouth. And they swear, fight, beat each other with spoons.
Suddenly another person runs up to him and shouts:
- Hey, let's go faster, I'll show you the road leading to paradise.
They arrived in paradise. And they see people there who are sitting in front of cauldrons with food. And each one has a large spoon with a very long handle in his hand. But they look well-fed, contented and happy. When we looked closely, we saw that they were feeding each other. Man should go to man with good - that is paradise.
The secret of happiness
One merchant sent his son to seek the secret of happiness from the wisest of all people. The young man walked for forty days through the desert and finally came to a beautiful castle that stood on the top of the mountain. There lived the sage he was looking for.
However, instead of the expected meeting with the holy man, our hero entered the hall, where everything was seething: merchants entered and exited, people chatted in the corner, a small orchestra played sweet melodies and there was a table laden with the most exquisite dishes of this area. The sage talked to different people, and the young man had to wait for his turn for about two hours.
The sage listened attentively to the young man's explanations about the purpose of his visit, but said in response that he did not have time to reveal to him the secret of happiness. And he invited him to walk around the palace and come back two hours later.
`` However, I want to ask you for one favor, '' added the sage, holding out a small spoon to the young man, into which he dropped two drops of oil:
- While walking, hold this spoon in your hand so that the oil does not spill out.
The young man began to climb and descend the palace stairs, not taking his eyes off the spoon. Two hours later he came to the sage again
- Well, how? He asked. - Have you seen the Persian rugs that are in my dining room? Have you seen the park that the head gardener has been creating for ten years? Have you noticed the beautiful parchments in my library?
The embarrassed young man had to admit that he had not seen anything. His only concern was not to spill the drops of oil that the Sage had entrusted to him.
“Well, come back and see the wonders of my universe,” the Sage told him. - You cannot trust a person if you are unfamiliar with the house in which he lives.
Reassured, the young man took a spoon and again went for a walk through the palace, this time paying attention to all the works of art hung on the walls and ceilings of the palace. He saw gardens surrounded by mountains, the most delicate flowers, the refinement with which each of the works of art was placed exactly where it was needed. Returning to the sage, he described in detail everything that he saw.
- And where are those two drops of oil that I entrusted you? The sage asked.
And the young man, looking at the spoon, found that the oil had spilled out.
- This is the only advice I can give you: the secret of happiness is to look at all the wonders of the world, while never forgetting about two drops of oil in a spoon.
Sermon
Once the mullah decided to appeal to the believers. But a young groom came to listen to him. Mulla thought to himself, "Should I speak or not?" And he decided to ask the groom:
“There’s no one here except you, do you think I should speak or not?”
The groom replied:
- Sir, I am a simple person, I do not understand anything about this. But when I come to the stable and see that all the horses have run away, and there is only one left, I will still give her something to eat.
Mulla, taking these words to heart, began his sermon. He talked for over two hours, and when he finished, he felt a sense of relief. He wanted to hear confirmation of how good his speech was. He asked:
- How did you like my sermon?
- I have already said that I am a simple person and do not really understand all this. But if I come to the stable and see that all the horses have run away, and there is only one left, I will feed her anyway. But I will not give her all the food that is for all horses.
The parable of positive thinking
Once an old Chinese teacher said to his student:
“Please take a good look at this room and try to mark anything in it that is brown.
The young man looked around. There were a lot of brown objects in the room: wooden picture frames, a sofa, a curtain rod, desks, book covers and many other little things.
- Now close your eyes and list all the items ... blue, - asked the teacher.
The young man was at a loss:
- But I didn't notice anything!
Then the teacher said:
- Open your eyes. Just look how many blue things are here.
It was true: blue vase, blue picture frames, blue carpet, old teacher's blue shirt.
And the teacher said:
- Look at all these missed items!
The disciple replied:
- But this is a trick! After all, I was looking for brown, not blue, objects at your direction.
The teacher sighed softly, and then smiled: - This is what I wanted to show you. You have searched and found only brown. It is the same with you in life. You seek and find only the bad and you miss the good.
I have always been taught that the worst is to be expected, and then you will never be disappointed. And if the worst doesn't happen, then a pleasant surprise awaits me. And if I always hope for the best, then I will only expose myself to the risk of disappointment.
Do not lose sight of all the good things that happen in our lives. If you expect the worst, then you will definitely get it. And vice versa.
You can find a point of view from which each experience will have a positive meaning. From this moment on, you will look for something positive in everything and in everyone.
How can you achieve your goal?
A great archery master named Drona trained his students. He hung a target on a tree and asked each of the students what he saw.
One said:
- I see a tree and a target on it.
Another said:
- I see a tree, a rising sun, birds in the sky ...
All the others responded in much the same way.
Then Drona approached his best disciple Arjuna and asked:
- What do you see?
He replied:
- I can't see anything but the target.
And Drona said:
- Only such a person can hit the target.
hidden treasures
In ancient India, there was a poor man named Ali Hafed.
Once a Buddhist priest came to him and told him how the world was created: “Once the earth was a continuous fog. And then the Almighty stretched out his fingers to the fog, and it turned into a ball of fire. And this ball rushed across the universe until the rain fell to the ground and cooled its surface. Then the fire, breaking open the earth's surface, burst out. This is how mountains and valleys, hills and prairies arose.
When the molten mass flowing down the surface of the earth cooled rapidly, it turned into granite. If it cooled down slowly, it became copper, silver, or gold. And after gold, diamonds were created.
“A diamond,” said the sage Ali to Hafed, “is a frozen drop of sunlight. If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, - continued the priest, - then you could buy the whole neighborhood. But if you owned diamond deposits, you could put all your children on the throne, and all this thanks to the enormous wealth.
Ali Hafed learned everything there was to know about diamonds that evening. But he went to bed, as always, poor. He lost nothing, but he was poor because he was not satisfied, and he was not satisfied because he was afraid that he was poor.
All night Ali Hafed did not sleep a wink. He only thought about diamond deposits.
Early in the morning, he woke up an old Buddhist priest and began to beg him to tell him where to find the diamonds. The priest at first did not agree. But Ali Hafed was so insistent that the old man finally said:
- OK then. You must find the river that flows in the white sands among the high mountains. There, in these white sands, you will find diamonds.
And then Ali Hafed sold his farm, left his family to a neighbor and went to look for diamonds. He went further and further, but could not find the treasure. In complete despair, he committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea.
One day, a man who bought Ali Hafed's farm decided to drink a camel in the garden. And when the camel nudged the stream, this man suddenly noticed a strange sparkle emanating from the white sand from the bottom of the stream. He lowered his hands into the water and pulled out a stone from which this fiery radiance emanated. He brought this unusual stone home, put it on a shelf.
Once the same old Buddhist priest came to visit the new owner. Opening the door, he immediately saw a glow over the fireplace. Rushing to him, and exclaimed:
- It's a diamond! Is Ali Hafed back?
“No,” replied Ali Hafed's successor. - Ali Hafed did not return. And this is a simple stone that I found in my stream.
- You're wrong! - exclaimed the priest. “I recognize a diamond from a thousand other precious stones. By all the saints, this is a diamond!
And then they went to the garden and dug up all the white sand in the stream. And in it they found precious stones even more amazing and more valuable than the first. The most valuable thing is always there.
And they saw god
Once it happened that three saints were walking together through the forest. All their lives they worked selflessly: one was a follower of the path of devotion, love and prayer. The other is the paths of knowledge, wisdom and intelligence. The third is action, service, duty.
Despite the fact that they were selfless seekers, they did not achieve the desired results, did not know God.
But a miracle happened that day!
Suddenly it started to rain, they ran to a small chapel, squeezed in and huddled together. And the moment they touched each other, they felt that there were no longer three of them. Startled in surprise, they looked at each other.
A higher presence was clearly felt. Gradually it became more and more visible and radiating. It was such ecstasy to see the divine light!
They fell to their knees and prayed:
- Lord, why did you suddenly come? We have worked all our lives, but have not received such an honor - to see You, why all of a sudden it happened today?
And God said:
- Because today you are all here together. By touching each other, you became one and therefore saw me. I have always been with each of you, but you could not manifest me, because you were only fragments. A miracle comes in union.
Proverbs are short and entertaining stories that express the experiences of many generations of lives. Parables about love have always been especially popular. And unsurprisingly, these meaningful stories can teach you a lot. And the right relationship with your partner too.
After all, love is a great power. She is able to create and destroy, inspire and deprive of strength, give insight and deprive of reason, believe and be jealous, perform feats and push for betrayal, give and take, forgive and take revenge, idolize and hate. So you need to be able to handle with love. And instructive parables about love will help with this.
Where else to draw wisdom, if not in the proven stories over the years. We hope that short stories about love will answer many of your questions and teach you about harmony. After all, we are all born in order to love and be loved.
Parable about love, wealth and health
Parable about love and happiness
- Where does love go? - asked a little happiness from his father. “She’s dying,” my father replied. People, son, do not cherish what they have. They just don't know how to love!
Little happiness thought: Here I grow up big and start helping people! The years passed. Happiness has grown and become greater.
It remembered its promise and tried its best to help people, but people did not hear it.
And gradually Happiness began to turn from big into small and stunted. It was very scared, as if not to disappear at all, and set off on a long journey to find a cure for its illness.
How long did Happiness go short, not meeting anyone on its way, only it became really bad for him.
And it stopped to rest. I chose a spreading tree and lay down. I just dozed off when I heard approaching footsteps.
He opened his eyes and saw: a decrepit old woman was walking through the forest all in rags, barefoot and with a staff. Happiness rushed to her: - Sit down. You are probably tired. You need to rest and refresh yourself.
The old woman's legs gave way, and she literally collapsed into the grass. After a little rest, the wanderer told her story with Happiness:
- It's a shame when you are considered so decrepit, but I am still so young, and my name is Love!
- So are you Love ?! Happiness was amazed. But I was told that love is the most beautiful thing in the world!
Love looked at him carefully and asked:
- And what is your name?
- Happiness.
- How is it? I was also told that Happiness should be wonderful. And with that, she pulled a mirror out of her rags.
Happiness, looking at its reflection, cried loudly. Love sat down to him and gently embraced him. - What did these evil people and fate? - sobbed Happiness.
- Nothing, - said Love, - If we are together and begin to take care of each other, we will quickly become young and beautiful.
And here, under that spreading tree, Love and Happiness concluded their union never to be separated.
Since then, if Love leaves someone's life, Happiness also leaves with it, they do not exist separately.
And people still cannot understand this ...
The parable of the best wife
Once, two sailors set off on a journey around the world to find their destiny. They sailed to the island, where the leader of one of the tribes had two daughters. The eldest is beautiful, and the youngest is not very.
One of the sailors said to his friend:
- That's it, I've found my happiness, I'm staying here and marrying the leader's daughter.
- Yes, you are right, the eldest daughter of the leader is beautiful, clever. You did right choice- get married.
- You did not understand me, friend! I will marry the leader's youngest daughter.
- Are you crazy? She's so ... not very.
- This is my decision, and I will do it.
The friend swam further in search of his happiness, and the groom went to woo. I must say that in the tribe it was customary to give a ransom for the bride with cows. Good bride cost ten cows.
He drove ten cows and went to the leader.
- Chief, I want to marry your daughter and give ten cows for her!
- It a good choice... My oldest daughter is beautiful, smart, and she is worth ten cows. I agree.
- No, leader, you do not understand. I want to marry your youngest daughter.
- Are you joking? Don't you see, she's so ... not very good.
- I want to marry her.
“Okay, but as an honest person I can't take ten cows, she's not worth it. I'll take three cows for her, no more.
- No, I want to pay exactly ten cows.
They merried.
Several years passed, and a wandering friend, already on his ship, decided to visit the remaining comrade and find out how his life is. Swam, walks along the shore, and towards a woman of unearthly beauty.
He asked her how to find his friend. She showed. He comes and sees: his friend is sitting, the kids are running around.
- How are you?
- I'm happy.
Here comes the same beautiful woman.
- Here, meet. This is my wife.
- How? Why did you get married again?
- No, it's still the same woman.
- But how did it happen that she changed so much?
- And you ask her yourself.
A friend came up to a woman and asked:
- Sorry for the tactlessness, but I remember what you were ... not very much. What happened to make you so beautiful?
- It's just that one day I realized that I was worth ten cows.
The parable of the best husband
One day a woman came to the priest and said:
- You married me with your husband two years ago. Now divorce us. I don't want to live with him anymore.
“What is the reason for your desire to get a divorce?” Asked the priest.
The woman explained this:
- All husbands return home on time, but my husband is constantly delayed. Because of this, there are scandals every day at home.
The priest, surprised, asks:
- Is this the only reason?
“Yes, I don’t want to live with a person with such a flaw,” the woman replied.
- I will divorce you, but on one condition. Come back home, bake a big delicious bread and bring it to me. But when you bake bread, do not take anything from the house, and ask your neighbors for salt, water, and flour. And be sure to explain to them the reason for your request, - said the priest.
This woman went home and, without delay, got down to business.
I went to a neighbor and said:
- Oh, Maria, lend me a glass of water.
- Have you run out of water? Isn't a well dug in the yard?
“There is water, but I went to the priest to complain about my husband and asked to divorce us,” the woman explained, and as soon as she finished, the neighbor sighed:
- Eh, if you only knew what my husband is! - and began to complain about her husband. Then the woman went to her neighbor Asya to ask for salt.
- You are out of salt, are you asking for just one spoon?
`` There is salt, but I complained to the priest about my husband, asked for a divorce, '' the woman says, and before she could finish, the neighbor exclaimed:
- Eh, if you only knew what my husband is! - and began to complain about her husband.
So, whoever this woman went to ask, she heard complaints from everyone about her husbands.
Finally, she baked a large delicious bread, brought it to the priest and gave it with the words:
- Thank you, taste my work with your family. Just don't think to divorce me from my husband.
- Why, what happened, daughter? the priest asked.
“My husband, it turns out, is the best,” the woman answered him.
The parable of true love
Once the Teacher asked his students:
- Why, when people quarrel, they shout?
“Because they are losing their calm,” said one.
- But why shout if the other person is next to you? - asked the Teacher. - Can't you talk to him quietly? Why shout if you're angry?
The disciples offered their answers, but none of them satisfied the Teacher.
Finally, he explained, “When people are unhappy with each other and quarrel, their hearts drift away. In order to cover this distance and hear each other, they have to shout. The more angry they get, the further they move away and the louder they scream.
- What happens when people fall in love? They do not shout, on the contrary, they speak quietly. Because their hearts are very close, and the distance between them is very small. And when they fall in love even more, what happens? - continued the Teacher. - They do not speak, but only whisper and become even closer in their love. - In the end, they don't even need to whisper. They just look at each other and understand everything without words.
A parable about a happy family
In one small town two families live next door. Some spouses constantly quarrel, blaming each other for all the troubles and finding out which of them is right. And others live together, no quarrels with them, no scandals.
The obstinate mistress marvels at the happiness of her neighbor and, of course, envies. She says to her husband:
- Go and see how they do it so that everything is smooth and quiet.
He came to a neighbor's house, hid under an open window and listened.
And the hostess is putting things in order in the house. He wipes an expensive vase from dust. Suddenly the phone rang, the woman was distracted, and put the vase on the edge of the table, so much so that she was about to fall. But then her husband needed something in the room. He hooked on a vase, it fell and broke.
- Oh, what will happen now! - the neighbor thinks. He immediately imagined what a scandal would be in his family.
The wife came up, sighed with regret, and said to her husband:
- Sorry honey.
- What are you, dear? This is my fault. I was in a hurry and did not notice the vase.
- I am guilty. She put the vase so carelessly.
- No, it's my fault. Anyway. We would not have had a greater misfortune.
The neighbor's heart ached painfully. He came home upset. Wife to him:
- Something you are fast. Well, what did you see?
- Yes!
- Well, how are they doing there?
- They are all to blame. That's why they don't fight. But with us, everyone is always right ...
A beautiful legend about the importance of love in life
It so happened that different feelings lived on the same island: Happiness, Sadness, Skill ... And Love was among them.
Once the Premonition informed everyone that the island would soon disappear under water. Haste and Haste were the first to leave the island by boat. Soon everyone left, only Love remained. She wanted to stay until the last second. When the island was about to go under water, Lyubov decided to call for help.
Wealth sailed on a magnificent ship. Love tells him, "Wealth, can you take me away?" - "No, I have a lot of money and gold on the ship. I have no room for you!"
Happiness floated past the island, but it was so happy that it did not even hear how Love was calling it.
... and yet Love was saved. After she was rescued, she asked Knowledge who it was.
- Time. Because only Time is able to understand how important Love is!
A story about true love
In one aul lived a girl of incomparable beauty, but none of the young men wooed her, no one sought her hand. The fact is that once a sage who lived next door predicted:
- Anyone who dares to kiss a beauty will die!
Everyone knew that this sage was never wrong, so dozens of brave horsemen looked at the girl from afar, not even daring to approach her. But then one day a young man appeared in the aul, who at first sight, like everyone else, fell in love with a beauty. Without a moment's hesitation, he climbed over the fence, came up and kissed the girl.
- Ah! - cried the inhabitants of the aul. - Now he will die!
But the young man kissed the girl again, and again. And she immediately agreed to marry him. The rest of the horsemen, in bewilderment, turned to the sage:
- How so? You, sage, predicted that the one who kissed the beauty will die!
- I do not refuse my words. - answered the sage. “But I didn’t say exactly when this will happen. He will die sometime later - after many years of a happy life.
A story about a long family life
One elderly couple, who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, was asked how they managed to get along for so long.
After all, there was everything - and difficult times, and quarrels, and misunderstandings.
Probably their marriage was on the verge of collapse more than once.
“It's just that in our time, broken things were repaired, and not thrown away,” the old man smiled in response.
Parable about the fragility of love
Somehow an old wise man came to one village and stayed to live. He loved children and spent a lot of time with them. He also loved to give them gifts, but gave only fragile things.
No matter how hard the children tried to be neat, their new toys often broke. The children were upset and cried bitterly. Some time passed, the sage again gave them toys, but even more fragile.
One day, his parents could not stand it and came to him:
- You are wise and wish our children only the best. But why are you giving them such gifts? They try as best they can, but the toys still break and the children cry. But the toys are so beautiful that it is impossible not to play with them.
“It will take quite a few years,” the elder smiled, “and someone will give them his heart. Maybe this will teach them how to handle this priceless gift a little more carefully?
And the moral of all these parables is very simple: love and appreciate each other.
An Eastern parable is, in fact, a short story presented in a simple, understandable language. This is a special form of transmission of vital information. What is difficult to describe in ordinary words is presented in the form of a story.
Features of perception
An adult has a well-developed logic, the habit of thinking in words, in abstract categories. This way of thinking has been diligently mastered over the course of school years... In childhood, he more actively used figurative language - lively, informal, using the resources of the right hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for creativity and creativity.
The Eastern parable, bypassing logic and pragmatism, speaks directly to the heart. An example reveals something very important, but usually escaping attention. With the help of metaphors and allegories, the imagination is activated, the deepest strings of the soul are touched. A person does not think so much as he feels at this moment. He can even cry, or even cry altogether.
Insight as a consequence
A little cautionary tale, which is an oriental parable, can, in a completely incomprehensible way, trigger a reboot of the usual thought process. A person suddenly realizes that long time could not break into his consciousness in any way. He has insight.
Thanks to insight, a person's self-perception, worldview changes. For example, oppressive feelings of duty or guilt are transformed into deep self-acceptance. The feeling of hostility and injustice is the understanding that the world is beautiful and multifaceted. They can realize the reasons for any difficult situation, and finally find a way out of it.
The value of a parable
Eastern cultures have always been famous for their special atmosphere, mystery, and a penchant for contemplation. Philosophical views were distinguished by a holistic approach to life. Ancient spiritual teachings focused on the balance of human relations with nature, the expansion of the mental and physical capabilities of his body.
Therefore, the eastern parable is saturated with harmonizing truths. She attunes people with enduring life values. Since ancient times, it has been used as a form of word support. This is her great gift.
She shows the way
Eastern parables about life place in the focus of a person's attention certain patterns, rules, instructions; show the versatility of the world, the relativity of everything. This is the parable of the elephant and the blind elders studying it from different angles - trunk, tusk, back, ear, leg, tail. Despite all the inconsistencies, even outright contradictions in judgments, each turns out to be right in his own way. Such examples help to overcome categoricalness, develop understanding, tolerance both to oneself and to others.
Eastern draws a person's attention to his inner world, promotes reflection. It makes you look closely at your priorities, your choices made every day, to reveal the prevalence of a tendency towards negativity, destruction or constructiveness and creation. Promotes an understanding of which particular motives govern actions: fear, envy, pride or love, hope, kindness. By analogy with the parable of the two wolves, what is fed is multiplied.
Oriental people help a person in such a way to place accents in his life, so that he finds more reasons and reasons to feel happy than vice versa. Always remember the most important, value, cherish and enjoy it. And because of the secondary, do not grieve, do not fall into despondency. Find inner peace, establish balance.
Well of wisdom
Tell interesting stories is a fairly stable tradition of mankind. This is a fun and exciting pastime. Often even very informative. This is how the exchange of experience proceeds, knowledge is transferred. Parables about life are popular today. This is great, because they contain countless treasures - grains of life-giving wisdom.
Proverbs are of great benefit to people. Simply, unobtrusively, they contribute to the refocusing of attention from the secondary to the main, from problems to positive moments. They teach the desire for self-sufficiency, achieving balance. Remind you to accept yourself, others, the world as they are. They urge you to relax and just be yourself, because this is how it should be.
Change begins with a parable
Wisdom, packed into a parable, allows you to look differently at a particular event or life as a whole. And as a result, redistribute accents in the perception of familiar situations, change priorities, see hidden patterns, cause-and-effect relationships. Thanks to this, it becomes possible to evaluate your beliefs, actions from new positions and, if desired, make adjustments.
Life is made up of little things. Changing small habits, a person changes actions, behavior, character. Then his fate changes. So the right parable at the right moment can work miracles.
