a mini Zen story…

An old Zen master always told this parable to “unserious” students:

Late one night a blind man was about to go home after visiting a friend.

“Please,” he said to his friend, “may I take your lantern with me?”

“Why carry a lantern?” asked his friend. “You won’t see any better with it.”

“No,” said the blind one, “perhaps not. But others will see me better, and not bump into me.”

So his friend gave the blind man the lantern, which was made of paper on bamboo strips, with a candle inside.

Off went the blind man with the lantern, and before he had gone very far, “Crack!”–a traveler walked right into him.

The blind man was very angry. “Why don’t you look out?” he stormed. “Why don’t you see this lantern?”

“Why didn’t you light the candle?” asked the traveler.

 

So…what do YOU think it means?

Maybe choosing to use a lantern made the man overconfident? Would he have walked more carefully without it to rely on? Maybe a lantern is the wrong choice for a blind person? Maybe we should make sure that we have done all that we need to do for a successful outing?

I find  Zen parables are fun! There is no right or wrong interpretation as each of us will interpret it from the perspective of our own life and circumstances.

Maybe this Buddhist prayer was the lesson?

P.S. Zen is a philosophy, a practice of living, and a lifestyle. Buddhism is a religion. Zen is a school/sect within that religion.

P.P.S. Two good books come to my mind that you might enjoy!