The Scorpion and the Sage
One morning, after he had finished his meditation, the old man opened his eyes and saw a scorpion floating helplessly in the water. As the scorpion was washed closer to the tree, the old man quickly stretched himself out on one of the long roots that branched out into the river and reached out to rescue the drowning creature. As soon as he touched it, the scorpion stung him. Instinctively the man withdrew his hand. A minute later, after he had regained his balance, he stretched himself out again on the roots to save the scorpion. This time the scorpion stung him so badly with its poisonous tail that his hand became swollen and bloody and his face contorted with pain. At that moment, a passerby saw the old man stretched out on the roots struggling with the scorpion and shouted: “Hey, stupid old man, what’s wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for the sake of an ugly, evil creature. Don’t you know you could kill yourself trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?” The old man turned his head. Looking into the stranger’s eyes he said calmly, “My friend, just because it is the scorpion’s nature to sting, that does not change my nature to save.”
Jalaluddin Rumi (retold by Osho)
It is the nature of the ego to make you forget yourself, and it is the nature of wisdom or holy spirit to make you remember. Either you are aware or you are not aware. The more you remember to be aware the more you see yourself truly.
Let’s now become scorpion. What can be said to the “stinging” nature of a scorpion? Evil?
The nature of a scorpion is to sting. To put a meaning to sting clouds the experience of nature.
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Hello,I love reading through your blog, I wanted to leave a little comment to support you and wish you a good continuation. Wishing you the best of luck for all your blogging efforts.
I don’t have a good command in English too so we are on the same boat! welcome! But one thing is for sure – the essence is more important than the form. And I am still amazed by the each new essence that comes through me.
Thanks! And may you too have the potential wisdom to realize who “you” really are.