zen parable
Once upon a time, there was a small town. There lived a man by himself who couldn’t see. He was blind. Yet, he carried a lighted lamp with him whenever he went out at night.
One night as he was coming home after having a dinner outside, he came across a group of young travellers. They saw that he was blind, yet carrying a lighted lamp. They started passing comments on him and made a fun of him. One of them asked him, “Hey Man! You are blind and can’t see anything! Why do you carry the lamp then?!”
The blind man replied, “Yes, unfortunately, I am blind and I can’t see anything but a lighted lamp which I am carrying is for the people like you who can see. You may not see the blind man coming and end up pushing me. That is why I carry a lighted lamp”.
They said, “OK, now we know why you carry the lantern. Could you please tell me, while the whole day you are quiet, why do you sing only in the night on your way home?”
The blind man said “Sir, it is quite simple. I know my voice is bad and I have no illusions about my musical ability. On my way home, I carry the brightly lit lantern in my hand so that, people with eyesight can see and don’t run into me. But, I am a blind man and don’t realize, if the lantern is still burning or the breeze has put it off. That is why, I keep singing loudly so that, people know that I am there and avoid running into me.”
He did not have any misconceived notions about his abilities. But he held the lantern and walked on singing, to help who could see to use their eyes.
The group of travellers felt ashamed and apologized for their behaviour.
vs
A blind man stayed with his friend for a few days, and then started for his hometown in the night. His friend gave him a lit lantern, but the man protested, "Why do I need a lantern? Everything is the same for me. For someone who is blind, what is the use of carrying a lamp?"
"My dear friend, this is not for you; this is for the person who comes in front of you. If you have this lamp in your hand, the person who comes in front of you will not bump into you."
"In that case, I will take it," the blind man said.
He took the lamp and started walking in the dark. In spite of that, someone collided into him head-on down the road. The blind man lost his balance and fell down. He got angry and asked, "Why did you bump into me? I had a lamp with me - can't you watch where you’re going?"
"What lamp? I don’t see anything," said the man who bumped into him and looked around.
Then he found the lamp and said, "Oh yes! There is a lamp here, but the flame had gone out long ago, my dear friend."
The man held the lamp in his hands for the light it gave. Holding it high and walking even after the flame died out is just a meaningless ritual. Many things that we started in our life with a purpose have lost their original quality and are continuing as mere rituals. (via)
