A Book of Parables

Bound in a simple book in the temple of Lathander is a book containing parables penned in the hand of Imesah. It is far from finished, but she steadily adds more and more as she gets the chance.

The Most Beautiful Thing in the World

Once there was an order of monks far to the east. The master of the order was growing old and would soon need to pick a successor. He gathered every one of the orders members together and asked them all a question: What is the most beautiful thing in the world?

An older monk who was thought to be his natural successor said, “The most beautiful thing in the world is the color of the sun as it crests the mountains.”

Another said, “The sound of water cascading down a waterfall”.

After many had given answer the lowly cook who was of half-orc blood stepped forward and grunted, “A good deed”.

The master smiled and said, “Here is wisdom. There is nothing more beautiful than to help another.”
And so it was that the master picked his successor.


The Beggar and the Thief

A long time ago there was a man who lived in the slums of Athkatla. This man was very poor and was forced to beg to survive. One day as he was sitting watching the sun rise a thief came from behind him and put a knife to his back.

The thief said, “Give me all the money that you have or I shall kill you!”

The beggar reached into his purse and finding nothing there apologized to the thief for having no money. He instead offered to share the piece of bread he had been eating. In anger at this, the thief put his knife into the beggars back and fled. The beggar died as the sun rose, the bread in his hand.

The thief was caught several days later and hanged with nothing to his name but a few coins.

So it was that the beggar died a rich man and the thief a poor one, for the gold in ones pocket is nothing before the wealth of the soul.

The Greatest Army

Long ago there was an army marching through the lands of the east. This army marched through many villages. Every town they found was empty for the villagers all had fled. One day they marched upon a town and found that it was not empty. A master of the order of monks whose monastery was in the town had remained behind.

The general of the army came before this master and looked down on him and bellowed, “Perhaps you remain in this town because you do not know who we are. We are the greatest army in all the land and every person who hears of our passing flees before us.”

The master nodded, “I know who you are, warrior. I am not afraid of you.”

The general bristled in anger at this, “If you know who we are, why have you not fled? I am a man who can kill his enemies without batting an eye.”

The master laughed, “Perhaps so. I am not afraid of you because I am a man who could die without batting an eye.”




//Some of these parables are my own and some are merely adaptations of other parables. Just putting this as a disclaimer so no one thinks everything on here is completely original.

The Two Priests

In the lands of Kara-Tur there is a belief that the goal of an enlightened life is to achieve emptiness, and to understand that everything is as nothing. A priest of this belief was traveling our lands when he happened upon a Lathanderite priest speaking on the street. He spoke of the sun, warmth and goodness as many a Lathanderite does.

The priest from Kara-Tur stopped and said, “Your warmth is nothing for there is no sun to give it and no body to feel it. There is no good there is no evil. There is only emptiness. Think on that.”

The Lathanderite thought for a moment and then hit the other priest on the nose with his cane.

This of course caused the other priest to be quite angry. He said, “How is it that I try to give you wisdom and you hit me? What sort of land is this where that is the discourse of intelligent men?”

The Lathanderite only laughed and said, “If there is nothing, where does your anger come from? Think on that.”

The Gates to Heaven and Hell

Once upon a time there was a great warrior named Allih. Allih was concerned with the nature of heaven and hell so he went before a priest of his people and asked, “How does a man know when he dies if he will go to heaven or hell?”

The priest looked at Allih and said, “Who is it that comes before me asking such a question?”

Allih puffed out his chest and said, “I am Allih the greatest warrior in all the land!”

The priest scoffed, “Who would call you the greatest warrior; you look a beggar to me!”

At this Allih grew angry, “You had best watch yourself priest,” he said as he readied to draw his sword.

The priest only laughed, “Ha! Your sword is probably so dull and useless that you could not even cut my head off with it.”

Allih could take it no longer and drew forth his sword. At this the priest said, “You have found the gate to hell.”

Allih finally getting answer from the priest sheathed his sword. The priest spoke again, “and so you have found the gate to heaven.”

The Hasty Student

Once there was a farmer who had a son. The son’s name was Mata and he wanted to learn to fight with his fists as he had seen the local monks do. His father said he would  never be able to follow his dream and urged him to continue to work the family farm. Mata would not take no for an answer and so he sought out the master of the monastery whose name was Illus

He approached Illus and spoke, “I wish to become a master like you. If I became your servant and was with you night and day, how long would it take to learn?”

Illus thought a moment, “Ten years.”

Mata was unhappy with this and said, “Ten years? If it takes that long my father might die before I have learned. If I worked twice as hard how long would it take?”

Illus thought again, “Thirty years.”

“Thirty years?” groaned Mata, “that is longer than the last answer and I said I would work twice as hard. What if I were to be with you night and day, never ceasing in my studies? How long would it take then?”

“Seventy years,” said Illus, “a student in such a hurry learns slowly.”

Mata took these words to heart and returned home. In ten years he was as great a farmer as his father and he was renowned for his wisdom; though his farm was not as prosperous as many, he lived a much happier life.The other farmers asked him how he did it and he said he always took time with everything he did.

They asked, “How is it that you are able to take so much time to do everything when there is so much to do.”

He simply responded, “The man that lives quickly, lives poorly”

The Kindness of a Stranger

Once upon a time there was a girl named Anna. This girl’s mother gave Anna a list of duties to do. Instead of doing them Anna decided to spend her day in town. When she returned home she found that her mother was quite furious. She scolded Anna for her foolishness and her sloth. Anna stormed out of the house; furious herself.

Anna decided this was quite unfair and left the house to travel about town. After an hour she was getting quite hungry and she had no money. She entered a shop that was selling meat pies.

The vendor could see the hunger in her eyes and said, “Fresh meat pies! Would you like one?”

Anna could only reply sullenly that she had no money.

The vendor took pity and said, “I can see that you are very hungry. Here: This one is on me.” At this he gave her a pie.

Anna was overjoyed and as she ate she began to cry.

“What is it,” asked the merchant.

“It is nothing,” said Anna, “It is just that you were willing to give me food when I was hungry and my mother would not feed me because I did not do my duties. Even a stranger is kinder to me than her.”

“Do you really believe this,” asked the merchant. “I have only fed you once and you feel grateful to me. You mother brought you into this world and has fed you since you were young. It is to her you should be grateful, not me.”

Anna recognized the wisdom of these words and returned home.

Be thankful for the gift of a stranger, but always remember the sacrifice of ones parents.

Empty Your Cup

Once there was a great scholar who wished to learn the way of the Sun Soul. He came before a master of the order and asked for an audience. The master, being gracious, invited him to tea. As they were drinking the master was never able to speak, for the scholar was too busy explaining his own thoughts on morality, the way of the world, and all the other things he had learned in his travels.

The master began to pour tea into the scholar’s cup. He continued to pour even after the cup was full.

As the hot tea poured down out of the cup the scholar could contain himself no longer and spoke, “Master! Can you not see the cup is full?”

At this the master stopped and spoke, “So it is with the way of the monk. How can I teach you if you do not bring me an empty cup?”

Finding Your Path

Once there was a student of the Sun Soul who was quite curious and was eager to learn the way. He approached his master and asked, “What path must I take to become like you.”

The master looked him over for a while and said, “It is right in front of you.”

“Why do I not see it then?”

“You are too busy thinking of yourself.”

“Well if I cannot see it, can you?”

"So long as you see double, saying I don't and you do, and so on,
your eyes are clouded," said the master.

"When there is neither 'I' nor 'You,' can one see it?"

"When there is neither 'I' nor 'You,' who is the one that wants to
see it?"

The student thought on this for a while and nodded. He saw the foolishness of his question. There is no one path to follow. The path is you and you are the path. No one can find it for you.

Worth It's Weight in Gold

Once there was a official of a local government. He was always so busy with his work that he never had time to spend with his family or friends. He was constantly writing down requests and delivering missives. He found his work very dull.

This man went the local priest and asked him, "How can I spend my days more eventfully? My life is so dull and my work takes up so much of my time."

The priest nodded and wrote down a few sentences on a folded piece of paper and handed them to the official. The priest told him to open it when he got home.

The official did as he was told and when he got home he opened the paper. It read:

Time does not go backwards: Each day is worth a mountain of gold. You can always get more gold, you cannot get more time.

From that day forward the official resolved to spend more time with his family and friends and as a result lived a happier life.

To See an Elephant

Once there was a temple in the mountains. In this temple lived a master and his many students. One day the students went before the master and said, “There are many who travel these lands who are constantly arguing over the nature of the world. They all claim to know the answers of the world and yet they have different answers. How can this be, if each has been enlightened by their god?"

The master answered, "Once upon a time there was a monk of this order who called to his servant and said, “Go and gather together in one place all the men of this city who were born blind... and show them an elephant.’

The servant went and he did as he was told. When he had assembled the blind of the city he said to them, 'Here is an elephant,' and to one man he presented the head of the elephant, to another its ears, to another a tusk, to another the trunk, the foot, back, tail, and tuft of the tail, saying to each one that that was the elephant.

"When the blind men had felt the elephant, the monk went to each of them and said to each, 'Well, blind man, have you seen the elephant? Tell me, what sort of thing is an elephant?'

"The men who were presented with the head answered, 'Sir, an elephant is like a pot.' And the men who had observed the ear replied, 'An elephant is like a winnowing basket.' Those who had been presented with a tusk said it was a ploughshare. Those who knew only the trunk said it was a plough; others said the body was a grainery; the foot, a pillar; the back, a mortar; the tail, a pestle, the tuft of the tail, a brush.

"Then they began to quarrel, shouting, 'Yes it is!' 'No, it is not!' 'An elephant is not that!' 'Yes, it's like that!' and so on, till they came to blows over the matter.

"Brethren, the monk was delighted with the scene.

"Just so are these preachers and scholars holding various views blind and unseeing. In their ignorance they are by nature quarrelsome, each maintaining reality is thus and thus."

"O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim
For preacher and monk the honored name!
For, quarreling, each to his view they cling.
Such folk see only one side of a thing."

The Jealous Courtier

Once there was a wise king who was very fond of his chief minister. This made a certain courtier very jealous. Now this courtier always wanted to be chief minister, but this was not possible as the position was filled.  One day the king praised this minister in front of the courtier. This made the courtier very angry and he said that the king praised him unjustly and if he could answer three of his questions, he would accept the fact that he was intelligent. The king, always wanting to test the minister’s wit, readily agreed.

The three questions were

1. How many stars are there in the sky?
2. Where is the center of the Earth?
3. How many men and how many women are there in the world?

Immediately, the king asked his chief minister these three questions and informed him that if he could not answer them, he would have to resign as chief minister.

To answer the first question, the minister brought a hairy sheep and said, “There are as many stars in the sky as there is hair on the sheep’s body. My friend the courtier is welcome to count them if he likes.”

To answer the second question, the minister drew a couple of lines on the floor and bore an iron rod in it and said, “this is the center of the Earth, the courtier may measure it himself if he has any doubts.”


In answer to the third question, the minister said, “Counting the exact number of men and women in the world would be a problem as there are some specimens like our courtier friend here who cannot easily be classified as either. Therefore if all people like him are killed, then and only then can one count the exact number.”

The Holy Text

Once there was a priest of Lathander who was in the possession of a rare holy text. This text was not written in the common tongue so he could not share it with the people, but only with himself. He planned to have several hundred copies printed and went from town to town collecting donations to do so. After ten years he had the money and started the preparations to have the books printed.

Just then the nearby river flooded and famine became rampant. This priest took the money he had collected and bought food for the starving. His funds depleted he began to ask for donations again. Whether the donation was small or large he was grateful. After some years he had enough money again.

At that time a disease passed through the country. Thousands were infected and the priest spent all his wealth to help these helpless folk. When his money was gone he began to collect again.

At long last he gathered the money a third time and was able to print the books. He died content having accomplished his goal. These books can still be seen in the Temple of the Sun. Those who know, say that the first two editions, which have never been seen, far surpass the third.

The Wise Drunk

Once there was a student of the Sun Soul who was fond of liquor. The little money he had he spent on drink. He was so often drunk, that the other students took to ridiculing him, but he did not seem to mind. In fact, this only caused him to drink more. 

He was fond of dancing with the common folk and telling stories to their children. He was known as a jovial man, if sometimes a drunk one, to the people of the town.

One day another student (who was known for his strict adherence to the teachings) went before the master and said, "Why is this drunk allowed to train here under you? Surely there are others more deserving of your teachings than this buffoon?"

The master nodded and went to speak with the drunk.

"Why is it that I should teach you when there are others who would take my teachings more seriously," he asked.

The drunk answered, "Master, I have listened to all that you have taught, but when I am sober I find that my stories are boring and my dancing plain. The townsfolk find no joy in my presence. I drink so that I can give them joy, even if it means not following your teachings."

The master nodded and returned to the other student, "He shall stay. He brings joy to those around him despite my teachings. What right do I have to deny him?"

A Psalm

The Sun has fallen in the halls of light,
The night comes; Darkness envelops us.
Where are you in our hour of need?
The dead rise, and the living conspire with them to bring about our downfall.
They strike down your servants, and you are absent.
The wicked laugh at the righteous saying,
“Where is your god now? Why has he not saved you?”
Do not abandon us.

We are weak, and the darkness strong.
Without you we cannot long hold out.
We turn to our brothers and sisters, and find no comfort.
You have given a great gift, but like a rose this gift bears thorns.
As the hounds of Hell encircle us, will it save us?

Morninglord, do not be far from us.
We have need of your strength; your light.
Give it to us that the morning may come once again.
Let the eyes of your servants bask in your presence.
We have given you our trust and in this darkest hour:
We wait.
Hoping.

Living like the Poor

Once there was a wealthy merchant who decided to take a trip through the country with his son so that he could see how the poor lived. They spent their nights sleeping at the homes of some of the poor as they travelled.

After the trip was over the father asked the son, “So, did you enjoy the journey?”


“Yes Father, it was very enjoyable”
“Did you see how poor people can live?”
“Yes I did Father!”
“And what is it that you have learned”
“I learned that where you have one son, they have many. Where we have a bathing pool, they have a river that has no end. Where we have lamps from Calimshan, they have the stars. Our properties extend far, but they have the horizon.”

When the boy was finished the father was speechless. The son added, “Thank you Father for showing me how poor we are.”
 

Making a Difference

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day.

So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer he called out,"Good morning! What are you doing?" 

The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean."


"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"


The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one."

The Emperor and the Wise Man

Once there was an emperor in a land far to the east. This emperor sought to become enlightened, and was not sure what to do. He had heard of a great wise man who lived in the mountains north of his palace and so he sent a messenger to fetch this wise man.

The messenger returned much, much later without the wise man. The emperor was furious.

“Why have you not done as I have asked? I could have your head!”

The messenger listened and said, "I am sorry, but he refused to come with. I spoke with him and have learned much”

At that, the emperor dismissed the messenger.

He still wanted to become enlightened so he said to himself, “I will send my son. He cannot possibly refuse to come if the son of the emperor comes to him.”

And so he sent his son. His son also did not return for some time, much longer than it should have taken. When he did return he came home without the wise man. When the emperor asked why, he said nothing to his father. No matter how much his father asked, he said nothing.

Furious, the emperor decided to visit the wise man himself.

When he arrived he found a small cottage with nothing but a bed and a chair. The place only had three walls. The wise man was sitting in the chair facing east.

The emperor stood there for a time and became more and more furious as the wise man did and said nothing. He just sat in his chair facing east. Eventually, his anger got the better of him and he spoke up.

“I send you a messenger and you ignore my edict. I send you my son and he returns silent. Tell me, why I should not have my guards drag you to my dungeons?”

The wise man continued to look into the east and said,
“Rain falls upwards and the clouds part,

Time moves backwards, and the sun rises in the north.

The master does the bidding of the servant.

The fool is wise and the wise man a fool”

The emperor said, “What are you saying? Have you not heard me? I do not understand you.”

The wise man laughed and said, “I cannot understand myself.”