I am always looking out for meaningful stories that connect deeply with us. These stories play an important role in our inward journey. They are timeless. They make as much sense now as they did thousands of years ago. This is a story about a blind man and how he refused to accept the presence of light. We will discuss the meaning of the story after reading it. It is called The Blind Man’s Argument.

The Blind Man’s Argument.

Once a blind man visited Buddha. The blind man was no ordinary man. He was a great academician and a great scholar. Also, very skilled in argumentation.

He started arguing with Buddha.
He said, “People say light exists.
I say NO.
They say I am blind.
I say they are deluded.
“If light exists, then, dear Sir, make it available to me so that I can touch it. Or if I cannot touch it, can I taste it, or atleast smell it? If yes, I will believe. Or can you beat the light like a drum so that I can hear it?
These are my four senses, and the fifth sense which people talk about is probably just an imagination. People are deluded.”

Everyone knew it was very difficult to convince this man that light exists. Light cannot be touched, tasted, smelled, or heard. And this man was arguing that others are deluded! He was a great logician.
He said, “Prove that they can see. What proof do you have?”

The Buddha said, “I will not say anything, but I will send you to the physician. I know he will be able to help you cure the problem your sight problem.”

But the man insisted, “I have come to argue about it!”

“This is my argument. Go to the physician. We will talk after that.”

A physician examined the blind man. His eyes were treated and within six months he was able to see. He could not believe it. He was ecstatically happy, and came dancing to Buddha.

The man fell at Buddha’s feet and he said, “Your argument worked!”

Buddha said, “Listen, it was not an argument. If I had argued I would have failed, because there are things which cannot be argued about, but can only be experienced.’

Tales from Buddha’s Teachings

Lessons From The Story

There are two very important lessons in this story. Possibly more. Do point out to me if you learn any other lesson from it.
1. There is no point arguing with people who do not have an access to the sensibility required to understand your points of argument. It is a better investment to guide them to the source of that sensibility. Once they have access to it, then it is so much easier to have a logical discussion.
2. The blins man’s resolve to believe only what he could experience, even if The Buddha himself told him otherwise, finally led him to the truth about the light and the experience of sight. Blind belief and faith are no comparison to the enlightenment driven by the experience.

May All Of Us Find Our Path To The Light!

If you enjoy the Inward Journey Stories, you can read more Here.

Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

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