The master and the dog - Parables for Values Education
Parables and stories
|
Honoring the sufi Sage, the disciples came up with a plate of his master on the facade of the new monastery. "His extraordinary wisdom - they said - can only come from a higher intelligence. Behind every wise, there is always a great teacher. We know his name and record it on the façade so that oblivion does not kill him and stay for years". Then, they approached and asked the name of his master.
Sage looked at them confused.
-Do my teacher? - and after thinking a while, said:-my teacher was a dog.
-How? -asked bewildered students.
-Yes, it was a dog. One day, I saw a dog that died of thirst, came to a well to drink water. When he saw reflected his own image in the clean, transparent water, he escaped scared fearing that it was another dog. As I was so thirsty, he returned to reach the well several times, but always made him flee his image reflected in the water. Finally, decided with courage, sank his head in the water, disappeared the image and so could quench their thirst. That day I realized that if I wanted to sink me in God and quench my thirst from it, I had to delete my
ego that stood between us.
* * *
The Jewish version of this same story, tells us that a shopkeeper complained to the Rabbi because a man had opened a shop near his and feared that all their customers would remove it.
After hearing the complaint, the Rabbi told him:
-Have not seen when a horse drink water in a pool, first hitting the pond several times with one leg?
-Yes I have seen it - replied the shopkeeper.
That happens because, to lower the head to drink, the horse sees his image reflected in the water and think there's another horse drinking. Then, it's scaring him because she is afraid that there is not enough water for both. However, there is water for all horses and like you, he is afraid of an imaginary enemy.
In the first version, our ego is interposed between us and God, between ourselves and others, between us and our students. We are afraid of ourselves, show us as we are, we don't know, and therefore try to stack things, titles, fame, to introduce ourselves to the
others. While not quebremos our own image will be unable to meet us in depth, and can not see others as they are in reality. If not we got out of our title, we can not see students. From above all small looks, look crushed. If you want to meet with your student, get title, put on his land, looking at it through the eyes of the heart.
In the second version, the horse believes that it is frightening to another horse that goes to drink its water, when in fact it is his own image which causes their fears, and makes you see a non-existent enemy. Our selfishness, the inability to share, lead us to grab and consume more and more, regardless of the needs or the hunger and thirst of others. Having and consuming are like drugs: the more you have, more is required. We see each other as threats, eager to snatch away what belongs to us, and we are no longer able to look them in the eyes to see them as brothers. We not fall into the account that the problem is not outside of us, but in our own image, our ghosts and fears that non-existent enemies create. If today, given the levels of scientific and technological development, hunger and misery would be easily derrotables, selfishness and individualism are shaping an absurd world, where a few dominate unimaginable riches, while billions of people are sunk in the most atrocious of the miseries or even have more output than dying of hunger. The 225 wealthiest characters accumulate a wealth equivalent to 2.5 billion poorest inhabitants which have. The three characters from the world's rich have assets that exceed the gross domestic product (GDP) combination of the 48 least developed countries. It is estimated that hunger kills more people worldwide than all those who died in the second World War (about 48 million victims) a year.
According to the program for the development of the United Nations, about $ 13 billion a year would be required to provide basic health and nutrition services to the 4.4 billion poor in the world, so that no one died of hunger or diseases of poverty. $ 17 billion annually in food for dogs in Europe and the United States is currently spend. Only Europe spends on cigarettes $ 50 billion and 115 billion dollars a year on alcoholic beverages every year. It is estimated that drug trafficking moves $ 400 billion a year; and some $ 800 billion is spent on armaments. In short, with the third part of what smoking Europeans spend, or with less than 2% of what is spent on weapons in the world, could eradicate poverty.
Dare to propose the globalization of generosity, service, justice and brotherhood. Say fashion solidarity and love. Offer our students an education aimed at cultivating your heart, so that they can live spilling into service and be a gift to others.
Translated for educational purposes