Random Parables

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Impermanent Fixture
MBTI
<3
While searching for the Turnip Principle, I found this parable and thought it lovely.

***

Two brothers lived in a kingdom long ago. One survived off the land as a poor farmer. The other was very rich.

While tending his crops one day the farmer noticed one of the turnips had grown huge. He pulled it from the ground and it filled a wheelbarrow. The idea occurred to him to present this unusually large turnip to the king as a gift. The king, touched by the generosity of the peasant, received the gift with gratitude. The king sent the poor farmer on his way with gold, treasure, and other fine gifts.

Upon hearing about how the king so greatly rewarded his subject for a mere vegetable, the other brother prepared a gift, too. He presented the king with thoroughbreds, special silks, and rare spices. The kind king told the wealthy man that he had only one thing to give him to match the rarity of the gifts he had presented. The king had the servants roll out the cart-sized turnip and gave it to the man.

The man had no choice but to receive the enormous turnip from the king.
 
The Hungry Dog
There was a great king who oppressed his people and was hated by his subjects; yet when the Tathagatha came into his kingdom, the king desired much to see him. So he went to the place where the Blessed One stayed and asked: "Sakyamuni, can you teach a lesson to the king that will divert his mind and benefit him at the same time?"

And the Blessed One said: "I shall tell you the parable of the hungry dog: There was a wicked tyrant; and the god Indra, assuming the shape of a hunter, came down on earth with the demon Matali, the latter appearing as a dog of enormous size. Hunter and dog entered the palace, and the dog howled so woefully that the royal buildings shook by the sound to their very foundations. The tyrant had the awe-inspiring hunter brought before his throne and inquired after the cause of the terrible bark. The hunter said, "The dog is hungry," whereupon the frightened king ordered food for him. All the food prepared at the royal banquet disappeared rapidly in the dog's jaws, and still he howled with portentous significance. More food was sent for, and all the royal store-houses were emptied, but in vain. Then the tyrant grew desperate and asked: 'Will nothing satisfy the cravings of that woeful beast?' "Nothing," replied the hunter, nothing except perhaps the flesh of all his enemies.' 'And who are his enemies?' anxiously asked the tyrant. The hunter replied: 'The dog will howl as long as there are people hungry in the kingdom, and his enemies are those who practice injustice and oppress the poor." The oppressor of the people, remembering his evil deeds, was seized with remorse, and for the first time in his life he began to listen to the teachings of righteousness."

Having ended his story, the Blessed One addressed the king, who had turned pale, and said to him: "The Tathagatha can quicken the spiritual ears of the powerful, and when you, great king, hear the dog bark, think of the teachings of the Buddha, and you may still learn to pacify the monster."
 
Matthew 20: 1-16

20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder,
which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

20:2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

20:3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

20:4 And said unto them;
Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you.
And they went their way.

20:5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.

20:6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle,
and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

20:7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us.
He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.

20:8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward,
Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

20:9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

20:10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more;
and they likewise received every man a penny.

20:11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,

20:12 Saying,
These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them
equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

20:13 But he answered one of them, and said,
Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?

20:14 Take that thine is, and go thy way:
I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?
Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
 
Winterflowers said:
While searching for the Turnip Principle, I found this parable and thought it lovely.

***

Two brothers lived in a kingdom long ago. One survived off the land as a poor farmer. The other was very rich.

While tending his crops one day the farmer noticed one of the turnips had grown huge. He pulled it from the ground and it filled a wheelbarrow. The idea occurred to him to present this unusually large turnip to the king as a gift. The king, touched by the generosity of the peasant, received the gift with gratitude. The king sent the poor farmer on his way with gold, treasure, and other fine gifts.

Upon hearing about how the king so greatly rewarded his subject for a mere vegetable, the other brother prepared a gift, too. He presented the king with thoroughbreds, special silks, and rare spices. The kind king told the wealthy man that he had only one thing to give him to match the rarity of the gifts he had presented. The king had the servants roll out the cart-sized turnip and gave it to the man.

The man had no choice but to receive the enormous turnip from the king.
Click to expand...

A simple "like" just won't leave me alone. This is a great parable.

Mark 12:38-44
King James Version

38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,

39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:

40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
 
Perspective (paraphrased by a story once told by Ronald Reagan)

There once was a father who had twin sons. One of the sons was a pessimist. Nothing pleased him, and no matter what good he had in life, he approached it with a negative attitude. The other son was an optimist. Nothing phased him, and no matter what went wrong, he always had something good to say.

The father longed to teach his sons important lessons. For his son with a negative perspective, he wanted him to see that life could be joyful, and there are things to be happy for if you just looked for them. So, he placed this son in a room full of every kind of toy imaginable. Anything a child could want to play with was in the room. The father's heart leapt when he saw his pessimistic son rush into the room with glee, as he silently closed the door.

He looked down at his optimistic son who beamed up at him expecting to get his own room full of toys. Instead, the father longed to teach his son that life could be cruel and difficult. He didn't want him to be crushed by the circumstances of this life, so he hoped to prepare him for what was to come. The father opened the door to the next room, and inside was an enormous pile of manure up to the ceiling. The optimistic son tentatively walked into the room, and then smiled back at his father. "Thank you, Daddy", the son said as he heard the door shut behind him.

The father paced the house, hoping that his sons were learning important lessons. After an hour, he crept to the first son's room and creaked open the door. Expecting to see his pessimistic son happily playing, he found him in the corner crying. The room was in disarray, every toy broken. The father went to his son and scooped him up in his arms, "Son, why are you crying? You didn't enjoy the toys?". His son choked back tears and said, "Daddy, these toys are awful. None of them work right. Some of them didn't have any batteries. I started playing with them, and many of them broke. They were cheap and stupid. Nothing was fun in here. I'm bored. Get me out of here, Daddy." The father sadly walked out of the room scratching his head.

As he approached the room of manure, he cautiously opened the door, but was shocked by what he found. Manure was flying everywhere; a piece nearly hitting him if he hadn't moved to the side in haste. The father scanned the room. His son was no where in sight. The father called out, "Son? Son, where are you?", to which his son replied, "Hi Daddy!" as he poked his head out of the pile of dung. His father chuckled lightly, perplexed. "Son, what are you doing?". "Daddy, I'm so excited, with all of this manure, there has got to be a pony in here somewhere! Come help me find it!".

The father let out a loud laugh, then thinking for a moment he said, "Son, you've learned your lesson, and you've taught me an important one as well."
 
Anomaly said:
Perspective (paraphrased by a story once told by Ronald Reagan)

There once was a father who had twin sons. One of the sons was a pessimist. Nothing pleased him, and no matter what good he had in life, he approached it with a negative attitude. The other son was an optimist. Nothing phased him, and no matter what went wrong, he always had something good to say.

The father longed to teach his sons important lessons. For his son with a negative perspective, he wanted him to see that life could be joyful, and there are things to be happy for if you just looked for them. So, he placed this son in a room full of every kind of toy imaginable. Anything a child could want to play with was in the room. The father's heart leapt when he saw his pessimistic son rush into the room with glee, as he silently closed the door.

He looked down at his optimistic son who beamed up at him expecting to get his own room full of toys. Instead, the father longed to teach his son that life could be cruel and difficult. He didn't want him to be crushed by the circumstances of this life, so he hoped to prepare him for what was to come. The father opened the door to the next room, and inside was an enormous pile of manure up to the ceiling. The optimistic son tentatively walked into the room, and then smiled back at his father. "Thank you, Daddy", the son said as he heard the door shut behind him.

The father paced the house, hoping that his sons were learning important lessons. After an hour, he crept to the first son's room and creaked open the door. Expecting to see his pessimistic son happily playing, he found him in the corner crying. The room was in disarray, every toy broken. The father went to his son and scooped him up in his arms, "Son, why are you crying? You didn't enjoy the toys?". His son choked back tears and said, "Daddy, these toys are awful. None of them work right. Some of them didn't have any batteries. I started playing with them, and many of them broke. They were cheap and stupid. Nothing was fun in here. I'm bored. Get me out of here, Daddy." The father sadly walked out of the room scratching his head.

As he approached the room of manure, he cautiously opened the door, but was shocked by what he found. Manure was flying everywhere; a piece nearly hitting him if he hadn't moved to the side in haste. The father scanned the room. His son was no where in sight. The father called out, "Son? Son, where are you?", to which his son replied, "Hi Daddy!" as he poked his head out of the pile of dung. His father chuckled lightly, perplexed. "Son, what are you doing?". "Daddy, I'm so excited, with all of this manure, there has got to be a pony in here somewhere! Come help me find it!".

The father let out a loud laugh, then thinking for a moment he said, "Son, you've learned your lesson, and you've taught me an important one as well."
Click to expand...

I know this story since I was a kid... very good lessons!
 
Matthew 13: 24-30

13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying,
The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him,
Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this.
The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

13:29 But he said,
Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest:
and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers,
Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them:
but gather the wheat into my barn.
 
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