The Hermit's Wisdom and the Unknown Factor : หน้า 25/164
The Meeting with a Dhamma Master : หน้า 25/164 A reflective tale about a hermit who humorously illustrates the nature of identity and the significance of inner worth over external appearances. It explores metaphysical questions of existence.
In this entertaining story, a hermit is initially turned away from a feast due to his old clothes. After receiving new attire, he humorously chooses to feed his clothes instead, illustrating the lesson that it is not the clothing that matters, but the person wearing it. This tale prompts deeper reflection on identity and existence. The hermit also discusses the concept of the Unknown Factor, addressing deep philosophical questions about life's purpose, and the essence of being. The narrative highlights the importance of inner wisdom and understanding over societal judgments.
หัวข้อประเด็น
-The Hermit's Wisdom -Identity vs. Appearance -The Importance of Inner Worth -Metaphysical Questions -The Concept of the Unknown Factor -Buddhist Philosophy
ข้อความต้นฉบับในหน้า
ments with a Phammo Master
him, and begged him to come back. "I cannot come into your castle with these clothes on," said the hermit. "The people turned me away at the gate because they saw my old clothes." "'Hm,'" replied the friends of the King, looking thoughtful and pondering the problem. "We will present you with new clothes." Whereupon they did just that. Soon, the hermit was dressed up in his new fine clothes and they all went into the castle where all of the town's people welcomed him in for the feast.
As the food was set upon the dining tables, everyone applauded the hermit and his wise answer to the King and Queens's problem, and then began to eat. The hermit began to eat, too, but he took his food and started to smash it on his new clothes. First he took the mashed potatoes and smashed them onto his jacket. Then he poured the gravy into his pants pockets. And, then he stuffed the peas and carrots into his shirt pockets!
Well, you can imagine the reaction! The King said, "Dear hermit! What are you doing?"
And the hermit replied: "Well, King. First you came to seek my advice, which I happily gave you, and then you invited me for dinner. When the townspeople saw me, they turned me away at your door because I was wearing rags. So your friends gave me new clothes, and I was invited to come in for the feast. But, alas, it was not me who was invited in, but my clothes. And so, I am feeding my clothes."
This, as you can well imagine, put a smile on Luang Por's face because it is a total Buddhist story. So he smiles a very wise smile and shakes his head with great satisfaction.
Somehow, we get on the topic of the Unknown Factor, also known as Jah, the ALL, God, Yahweh, THAT which IS, Allah, and, of course, many other names. Now there may be people who think this is super boring but for me, this is super great. Not that I spend all of my time thinking about it, but I do try to answer some of those metaphysical questions that are important to all of us. You know, like Why Am I Here? Why Was I Born? What is my Life's Purpose? Stuff like that.
So, I ask Luang Por if the Unknown Factor exists in order to generate a space in which enlightened individuals or beings can exist. The idea, of course, came from some meta-