The Parable of The White Horse
I have been to India upon a number of occasions. The primary purpose of these memorable journeys was not only to revel in India’s spiritual and magical energies, but also to observe and experience the techniques and examples of the Masters. Many of the profound parables I share with you here are my versions of stories loosely based from the lips of those Masters. The stories are pregnant with meaning.
One such beautiful story relates to the fallibility of judgments and comparisons. Delve even deeper into the meaning and you will discover the indiscoverable!
A woodsman and his son came across a magnificent white horse deep in the forest. Their gentle nature combined with their skill of horsemanship came to the fore and they soon were able to lead the valuable stallion back to the barn, adjacent to their modest cabin.
The neighbors and other villagers were envious and quick to judge. "What good fortune. What luck. A magnificent white stallion… You should be so happy!"
The woodsman merely shrugged his shoulders. “Please do not judge the situation. The reality is, there is a white horse now on my land instead of in the forest – no more – no less”.
News spread and stories of the magnificent animal, the best horse in the land, soon reached the king. The king naturally wanted to possess the horse; after all, he was the king. Clearly, the king rather than a peasant should ride on the best horse in the land.
He sent his top negotiator to buy the horse with the instructions to buy at any price.
The woodsman was unmoved and declined the offers. A king’s fortune was offered yet the woodsman still declined. The horse simply was not for sale. The negotiator sadly returned to the king without the horse.
The neighbors and other villagers were again envious and quick to judge. “You fool! How could you refuse such a fortune? You would never have to work again in your life.”
The woodsman observed but refrained from answering.
Two days later the horse escaped back to the forest. Now the villagers really scoffed in their judgments. “We told you, you were foolish. Now you have neither the horse nor the king’s fortune! How unintelligent can you be?”
Again the woodsman was unruffled. “The reality is that the horse that was originally in the forest has now returned to the forest.”
The villagers laughed at the stupidity.
Two more days passed and the stallion returned. This time the magnificent animal led a whole herd of wild horses back to the woodsman.
The villagers now reversed their attitudes. “You are so clever. How did you know that the horse would return leading a herd? Now you own many horses. What luck you have!”
The woodsman again ignored their ravings. “The reality is simply that now there are many horses in my yard. All else is judgment.”
Weeks went by and one day a tragedy happened. The woodsman’s son, whilst breaking the wild horses, was thrown to the ground and became crippled. He was no longer able to ride and could now only walk with the aid of a walking stick.
The villagers once again reversed their judgments. “We told you that you should have accepted the king’s offer. Now your only son is a cripple! What misfortune.”
The woodsman did not reply. He had tried to show them the foolishness of judging a situation, to no avail. Unperturbed, he quietly went about his work.
Months went by and the kingdom was at war. The king ordered that every able-bodied single male be conscripted into the army. All the villagers knew the war was in a distant land and un-winnable. They knew they would never see their sons again. They went to the woodsman. “We will all lose our sons. Your son’s misfortune now appears to be fortunate. You are so lucky and we are so damned.”
The huntsman felt compassion for the villages. “Can’t you see that it is your judgment that continually causes your conflict? Observe the reality of what is and accept it. There is no need to judge. None of us can see the immensity of reality, the overall play of creation. Simply accept the what is and leave the rest to the Creator.”
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Copyright 2004 – 2006 © Charles Goodwin. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, storage in a retrieval system or otherwise, without the prior express written permission of Charles Goodwin.
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