Short didactic narratives with human characters to illustrate ethical or philosophical points. The rule of Parables: must use human characters. Otherwise, talking animals, plants or forces of nature are the stuff of fables. That's Aesop's specialty.
I went off to find the parables in the bible and there are lots. There are so many I wondered if we really considered them seriously. The Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. I expect those are well known, maybe the one about The Talents? The Lost Sheep? But the Plumb Line - what could that be about? We could start to look them up and find a world of life lessons. That would be a useful thing so I went off in search of a list of parables and their associated lessons, but mostly got interpretations pointing to "worship God".
So I thought about non-religious parables and the advice they give. I expect everyone knows The Blind Men and the Elephant. Here are my other top contenders:
The Two Wolves - (Native American / Cherokee Tradition): An old chief tells his grandson about a fierce battle inside every person between two wolves: one representing malice and fear, the other peace and love. The grandson asks which wolf wins, and the chief replies, "The one you feed."
Plato's Allegory of the Cave (Greek Philosophy): Prisoners chained facing a blank wall mistake shadows for reality. When one escapes into the sunlight, he sees the true nature of reality, representing the painful journey of attaining philosophical truth and enlightenment.
The Muddy Road (Zen Buddhism): Two monks, Tanzan and Ekido, meet a girl unable to cross a deep mud puddle. Tanzan immediately carries her across. Hours later, Ekido scolds him for touching a woman, to which Tanzan replies, "I left the girl miles back. Are you still carrying her?"—teaching the burden of mental attachment.
The Broken Window Fallacy (Economics): Introduced by Frédéric Bastiat, this Parable of the Broken Window shows a vandalized shop window. While onlookers claim the repair benefits the economy, it ignores the unseen loss—the money the shopkeeper could have spent elsewhere.
Can you imagine how different we would be if we an allegory/parable/fable for every day of the year rather than today's national days? I guess Marshall McLuhan's words are still with me as I look at this list: National Coffee Day National Starbucks Day National Biscotti Day World Heart Day
Maybe there's hope - it is National Silent E Day - there must be a fable lurking in there.
I've got us covered for the parable of the elephant - these bronze ones are out front of the Antiques place along the QEW.
No comments:
Post a Comment