Several blind men touch the same elephant
A fable is recorded in a Buddhist classic
circulated in China.
There was a king who called a few blind men
to touch the elephant.
After the blind men touched the elephant,
the king asked the blind people what they thought the elephant looked like.
The blind man who touched the elephant's
teeth said, "The elephant should look like a white radish."
The blind man who touched the elephant's
ear said, "The elephant should look like a dustpan."
The person who touched the head of the
elephant said, "The elephant should look like a stone."
The person who touched the elephant's nose
said, "The elephant should look like a pestle."
The person who touched the elephant's foot
said, "The elephant should look like a wooden mortar."
The person who touched the back of the
elephant said, "The elephant should look like a bed."
The person who touched the belly of the
elephant said, "The elephant should look like a big bucket."
The person who touched the tail of the
elephant said, "The elephant should look like a rope."
These blind people only touched a part of
the elephant, but because they couldn't see the whole elephant, their
understanding of the elephant also produced different imaginations according to
the places they touched.
The meaning of this idiom is used to
describe that what we see is usually only a part of the whole, but we often
think that the part we have seen represents the whole.
Dear friend, what kind of inspiration or
ideas do you have after listening to this story?
The same fact that each of us sees with our
own eyes may have different perceptions because of the different viewing angles
of each of us. Have you had similar experience?
I hope this story will give you
some new gains.
盲人摸象
中國流傳的一本佛教經典中，記載了一個寓言。
有一個國王，召集了幾個盲人來摸大象。
這幾位盲人摸完這隻大象之後，國王就問這幾位盲人們他們認為大象長什麼樣子。
摸到大象牙齒的這位盲人說：「大象應該長得像一根白蘿蔔一樣」。
摸到大象耳朵的這位盲人說：「大象應該長得像一個畚箕一樣」。
摸到大象頭部的人說：「大象應該看起來像一顆石頭」。
摸到大象鼻子的人說：「大象應該長得像一根杵一樣」。
摸到大象腳的人說：「大象應該長得像一個木製的臼一樣」。
摸到大象背部的人說：「大象應該長得像一張床一樣」。
摸到大象肚子的人說：「大象應該長得像一個大水桶一樣」。
摸到大象尾巴的人說：「大象應該看起來像一條繩子」。
這幾位盲人摸到的都只是這隻大象的一部份，但他們因為無法看見整隻大象，所以對於大象的理解，也根據他們所摸到的地方不同而產生不同的想像。
這句成語的意思是被用來形容、我們看見的通常只是一個整體的一部分，卻我們卻往往以為自已看見的這一部分就代表了整體。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
我們每個人所親眼看見的同樣一件事實，有可能因為我們每個人觀看的角度不同，產生不同的認知。你有過類似的經驗嗎?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為大般涅槃經卷32
