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Blind men and an elephant

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177:, dated to have been written down (from earlier oral traditions) between 1500 and 1200 BCE, states "Reality is one, though wise men speak of it variously." According to Paul J. Griffiths, this premise is the foundation of universalist perspective behind the parable of the blind men and an elephant. The hymn asserts that the same reality is subject to interpretations and described in various ways by the wise. In the oldest version, four blind men walk into a forest where they meet an elephant. In this version, they do not fight with each other, but conclude that they each must have perceived a different beast although they experienced the same elephant. The expanded version of the parable occurs in various ancient and Hindu texts. Many scholars refer to it as a Hindu parable. 35: 225: 162: 144:; broadly, the parable implies that one's subjective experience can be true, but that such experience is inherently limited by its failure to account for other truths or a totality of truth. At various times the parable has provided insight into the relativism, opaqueness or inexpressible nature of truth, the behavior of experts in fields of contradicting theories, the need for deeper understanding, and respect for different perspectives on the same object of observation. In this respect, it provides an easily understood and practical example that illustrates 282: 610:...people address themselves to this story in one or more interpretations. They then accept or reject them. Now they can feel happy; they have arrived at an opinion about the matter. According to their conditioning they produce the answer. Now look at their answers. Some will say that this is a fascinating and touching allegory of the presence of God. Others will say that it is showing people how stupid mankind can be. Some say it is anti-scholastic. Others that it is just a tale copied by Rumi from Sanai – and so on. 132:
groped about it. The first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said, "This being is like a thick snake". For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said the elephant, "is a wall". Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.
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perspectives is resolved. In some versions, they stop talking, start listening and collaborate to "see" the full elephant. In another, a sighted man enters the parable and describes the entire elephant from various perspectives, the blind men then learn that they were all partially correct and partially wrong. While one's subjective experience is true, it may not be the totality of truth.
428:. In his retelling, "The Elephant in the Dark", some Hindus bring an elephant to be exhibited in a dark room. A number of men touch and feel the elephant in the dark and, depending upon where they touch it, they believe the elephant to be like a water spout (trunk), a fan (ear), a pillar (leg) and a throne (back). Rumi uses this story as an example of the limits of individual perception: 58:
from each other. In some versions, they come to suspect that the other person is dishonest and they come to blows. The moral of the parable is that humans have a tendency to claim absolute truth based on their limited, subjective experience as they ignore other people's limited, subjective experiences which may be equally true. The parable originated in the ancient
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full picture of reality. "It is impossible to properly understand an entity consisting of infinite properties without the method of modal description consisting of all viewpoints, since it will otherwise lead to a situation of seizing mere sprouts (i.e., a superficial, inadequate cognition), on the maxim of the blind (men) and the elephant."
686:) includes the story as an analogy to the impression one gets from reading a few articles about Carroll, with him only being seen as a writer and poet by some, and a mediocre mathematician by others. The full picture, however, is that "Carroll only resembles Carroll the way an elephant only resembles an elephant". 272:
understand. "Due to extreme delusion produced on account of a partial viewpoint, the immature deny one aspect and try to establish another. This is the maxim of the blind (men) and the elephant." Mallisena also cites the parable when noting the importance of considering all viewpoints in obtaining a
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In some versions, the blind men then discover their disagreements, suspect the others to be not telling the truth and come to blows. The stories also differ primarily in how the elephant's body parts are described, how violent the conflict becomes and how (or if) the conflict among the men and their
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before and who learn and imagine what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the animal's body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then describe the animal based on their limited experience and their descriptions of the elephant are different
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The men cannot agree with one another and come to blows over the question of what it is like and their dispute delights the king. The Buddha ends the story by comparing the blind men to preachers and scholars who are blind and ignorant and hold to their own views: "Just so are these preachers and
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A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: "We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable". So, they sought it out, and when they found it they
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as a poem, with a final verse that explains that the elephant is a metaphor for God, and the various blind men represent religions that disagree on something no one has fully experienced. The story has been published in many books for adults and children, and interpreted in a variety of ways.
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The eye of the Sea is one thing and the foam another. Let the foam go, and gaze with the eye of the Sea. Day and night foam-flecks are flung from the sea: oh amazing! You behold the foam but not the Sea. We are like boats dashing together; our eyes are darkened, yet we are in clear
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Six blind elephants were discussing what men were like. After arguing they decided to find one and determine what it was like by direct experience. The first blind elephant felt the man and declared, 'Men are flat.' After the other blind elephants felt the man, they
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The earliest versions of the parable of blind men and the elephant are found in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain texts, as they discuss the limits of perception and the importance of complete context. The parable has several Indian variations, but broadly goes as follows:
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In the poem, each man concluded that the elephant was like a wall, snake, spear, tree, fan or rope, depending upon where they had touched. Their heated debate comes short of physical violence, but the conflict was never resolved.
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scholars holding various views blind and unseeing.... In their ignorance they are by nature quarrelsome, wrangling, and disputatious, each maintaining reality is thus and thus." The Buddha then speaks the following verse:
328:(68–69) he uses the elephant parable to describe sectarian quarrels. A king invited a group of blind men in the capital to be brought to the palace, where an elephant is brought in and they are asked to describe it. 1498: 252:), which addresses the manifold nature of truth. This parable is found in the most ancient Jain agams before 5th century BCE. Its popularity remained till late. For example, this parable is found in 332:
When the blind men had each felt a part of the elephant, the king 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?"
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of Ācārya Mallisena (13th century). Mallisena uses the parable to argue that immature people deny various aspects of truth; deluded by the aspects they
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The story enjoys a continuing appeal in media, as shown by the number of illustrated children's books of the fable; for example, the children's book
86:. Other versions of the parable describes sighted men encountering a large statue on a dark night, or some other large object while blindfolded. 1843: 978:
This site offers a non-sectarian correspondence index of early Buddhist texts in all available language recensions, with multiple translations.
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In Japanese, the proverb is used as a simile of circumstance that ordinary men often fail to understand a great man or his great work.
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postulated that one of the blind men, encountering a pile of the elephant feces, concluded that "An elephant is soft and mushy."
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inverts the story in the following way, with the act of observation severely and fatally altering the subject of investigation:
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We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.
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The sensual eye is just like the palm of the hand. The palm has not the means of covering the whole of the beast.
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Rumi ends his poem by stating "If each had a candle and they went in together the differences would disappear."
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In Chinese, the proverb means failure to see the whole picture, for example, due to improper generalization.
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In its various versions, it is a parable that has crossed between many religious traditions and is part of
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as an example of those who follow an old text that has passed down from generation to generation. In the
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twice uses the simile of blind men led astray. The earliest known version was recorded in the one of
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The men assert the elephant is either like a pot (the blind man who felt the elephant's head), a
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by readers of the story in one of the many interpretations of the story, and its function as a
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documentary in which four people of varying ages, all blind from birth, were brought to
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or for the reasons why it is challenging to find new drugs to treat diseases such as
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lore. The tale later became well known in Europe, with 19th-century American poet
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All of Saxe's Poems including original printing of The Blindman and the Elephant
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Coping with Negative Life Events: Clinical and Social Psychological Perspectives
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Rumi does not present a resolution to the conflict in his version, but states:
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texts of 1st millennium CE or before. The story also appears in 2nd millennium
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Translation: That is like people blind by birth in/when viewing an elephant.
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An Apology for Apologetics: A Study in the Logic of Interreligious Dialogue
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For an adaptation of Rumi's poem, see this song version by David Wilcox
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Jeremy P. Shapiro; Robert D. Friedberg; Karen K. Bardenstein (2006).
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The Story with Knots, or Everything Is Not As It seems (compilation)
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The Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and Inference in Indian History
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The ancient Hindu parable of the six blind men and the elephant...."
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And Now on Radio 4: A Celebration of the World's Best Radio Station
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Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi's version as translated by A.J. Arberry
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One of the most famous versions of the 19th century was the poem "
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is a story of a group of blind men who have never come across an
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by Ohara Donshu, Edo Period (early 19th century), Brooklyn Museum
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The parable has been used to illustrate a range of truths and
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Udana and the Itivuttaka: Two Classics from the Pali Canon
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Physics and philosophy: the revolution in modern science
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Seven blind men and an elephant parable at a Jain temple
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The World's Religions: Continuities and Transformations
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Blind men and the elephant, 1907 American illustration.
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in many disciplines, being pressed into service as an
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John Godfrey Saxe's version hosted at Rice University
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The medieval era Jain texts explain the concepts of
1001:. Buddhist Publication Society. pp. 9, 81–84. 448: 1853: 1709: 1095: 1022: 1020: 1018: 894: 728:to touch an elephant and describe their response. 524:    Not one of them has seen! 494:    To learning much inclined, 1026: 2006: 734:, a 2012 Indian philosophical drama named after 520:    Of what each other mean, 1185: 1015: 994: 990: 988: 986: 516:    The disputants, I ween, 502:    Might satisfy his mind 1091: 1089: 1087: 1053: 1647:, Volume 20, Issue 3, June 2008, pp. 187–195. 1630:by David Bohm, p. 26. Retrieved 3 March 2010. 1147:Child and Adolescent Therapy: Science and Art 957: 955: 849: – Combination of beliefs and traditions 377:For, quarreling, each to his view they cling. 1643:by Michael M. Lederman and Leonid Margolis, 1122: 983: 373:O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim 1701: 1523: 1246:, 19:75–77. Dhruva, A.B. (1933) pp. 23–25. 1233:, 14:103–104. Dhruva, A.B. (1933) pp. 9–10. 1191: 1084: 1063:. Courier Dover Publications. p. 124. 214:Adi Shankara, Translator: Hans Henrich Hock 1496: 1171:. Taylor & Francis. pp. 470–471. 1047: 952: 927: 925: 923: 640:in fields well beyond the traditional. In 62:, from where it has been widely diffused. 1801: 1684: 1674: 1656: 644:, it has been seen as an analogy for the 151: 1876: 1278: 586: 566: 474: 379:Such folk see only one side of a thing. 280: 223: 160: 33: 25: 16:Parable illustrating ontologic reasoning 1966:Story of the Blind Men and the Elephant 1748: 1663:Animal Models and Experimental Medicine 1580:Octagon Press page for The Dermis Probe 1342: 1338: 1336: 920: 676:The Russian preface to a collection of 375:For preacher and monk the honored name! 268:understand, they deny the aspects they 2007: 1707: 1468:"The Blind Men and the Elephant"  1129:. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 11–12. 963:"Ud 6:4 Sectarians (1) (Tittha Sutta)" 812:Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions 1985:hosted by the University of Princeton 1907:"Leave Your Sleep - Natalie Merchant" 1904: 1841: 1807: 1716:Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine 1657:Anbalagan, Savani (7 December 2023). 1165:Peter B. Clarke; Peter Beyer (2009). 831: – Unreliability of eyewitnesses 666:chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 364:(tail) or a brush (tip of the tail). 1455: 1333: 469: 244:("conditioned viewpoints") with the 180:The parable or references appear in 1995:Jainist Version hosted by Jainworld 932:C.R. Snyder; Carol E. Ford (2013). 571:"Blind men and elephant", from the 167:(wall relief in Northeast Thailand) 13: 1977:Free to read and full text search. 1749:Кэрролл, Льюис (15 January 2021). 1641:The lymph node in HIV pathogenesis 1102:. SAGE Publications. p. 492. 1033:. Wipf and Stock. pp. 46–47. 901:. SAGE Publications. p. 492. 680:'s works (including such books as 614:Shah adapted the tale in his book 322:blind men holding on to each other 248:of the blind men and an elephant ( 205:etaddhasti darshana iva jatyandhah 14: 2151: 1933: 1808:Elmes, Simon (10 November 2009). 1602:. The Rockethouse. Archived from 843: – American figure of speech 286:Blind monks examining an elephant 2085:Metaphors referring to elephants 1842:Hanks, Robert (3 January 1998). 1550: 1461: 1287:"The Blind Men and the Elephant" 1284: 938:. Springer Science. p. 12. 760: 744:sang Saxe's poem in full on her 736:the eponymous thought experiment 671: 449:Meaning as a proverb by language 320:, the Buddha describes a row of 39:Blind Men Appraising an Elephant 1917:from the original on 2013-02-09 1898: 1877:Gaisford, Sue (19 April 1997). 1870: 1835: 1773: 1742: 1650: 1633: 1618: 1592: 1573: 1544: 1517: 1490: 1429: 1384: 1364: 1304: 1267: 1249: 1236: 1223: 738:, also references the parable. 165:The blind men and the elephant 21:The Elephant in the Dark (book) 1473:The poems of John Godfrey Saxe 1116: 888: 481:The Blind Men and the Elephant 316:In another scripture known as 121: 1: 1981:Buddhist Version as found in 1905:Jurek, Thom (13 April 2010). 1814:. Random House. p. 143. 1060:Famous Poems from Bygone Days 881: 627: 562: 73: 1759:] (in Russian). Litres. 1728:10.1097/MCP.0b013e32835d9502 1537:. University of California. 1150:. Wiley. pp. 269, 314. 496:Who went to see the Elephant 70:, Udāna 6.4, Khuddaka Nikaya 7: 2030:Elephants in Indian culture 1983:Jainism and Buddhism. Udana 1970:www.spiritual-education.org 1497:Heisenberg, Werner (1958). 1096:E. Bruce Goldstein (2010). 895:E. Bruce Goldstein (2010). 853:The blind leading the blind 815:, an 1884 satirical novella 753: 689: 598:commented on an element of 522:And prate about an Elephant 453: 276: 156: 10: 2156: 1941:Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi 1209:. Routledge. p. 282. 1099:Encyclopedia of Perception 1027:Paul J. Griffiths (2007). 898:Encyclopedia of Perception 824:Naïve realism (psychology) 654:polyclonal B cell response 518:Rail on in utter ignorance 492:It was six men of Indostan 461: 416:The Walled Garden of Truth 238:(or "many-sidedness") and 219: 18: 1352:Rumi – Tales from Masnavi 514:So oft in theologic wars, 384: 82:, during the lifetime of 51:blind men and an elephant 2045:Concepts in epistemology 995:John D. Ireland (2007). 858:The Country of the Blind 779:, a rough equivalent in 509:     500:That each by observation 2110:Philosophical analogies 2035:Elephants in literature 1600:"touching the elephant" 1589:, with preview of story 1525:Holton, Martha Adelaide 632:The story is seen as a 402:(1080–1131/1141 CE) of 194:on verse 5.18.1 of the 1955:Edward Henry Whinfield 1708:Varkey, Basil (2013). 1645:Seminars in Immunology 1539:Rand McNally & Co. 1529:Curry, Charles Madison 1503:. Harper. p. 58. 1441:dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw 1377:9 October 2010 at the 1317:Tales of the Dervishes 1126:Philosophy of Religion 612: 592: 591:Blind men and elephant 584: 577:Martha Adelaide Holton 560: 544: 527: 505: 443: 434: 382: 334: 297: 229: 217: 168: 152:References in religion 134: 42: 31: 2140:Elephants in Hinduism 2135:Elephants in Buddhism 2040:Elephants in religion 1123:Chad Meister (2016). 835:Seeing pink elephants 717:Touching the Elephant 646:wave–particle duality 608: 590: 581:Charles Madison Curry 570: 548: 539: 506: 489: 475:Variants of the story 438: 430: 370: 330: 284: 254:Tattvarthaslokavatika 227: 202: 164: 129: 37: 29: 2070:Indian short stories 1585:26 July 2011 at the 1534:Holton-Curry readers 1274:Katinkahesselink.net 1261:28 June 2006 at the 1197:Edwin Francis Bryant 1057:(1 September 1995). 819:Hasty generalization 806:Elephant in the room 777:Allegory of the cave 2075:Inductive fallacies 2025:Buddhist literature 1256:Accesstoinsight.org 875:Unreliable narrator 841:Seeing the elephant 796:Dispersed knowledge 573:Holton-Curry Reader 305:Buddhist scriptures 197:Chandogya Upanishad 190:mentions it in his 60:Indian subcontinent 2105:Persian literature 2080:Informal fallacies 1789:. 12 November 2012 1676:10.1002/ame2.12364 1463:Saxe, John Godfrey 781:Western philosophy 704:(1992) and one by 593: 585: 298: 260:(9th century) and 230: 169: 65:The Buddhist text 43: 32: 2065:Indian literature 1951:Masnavi I Ma'navi 1639:See for instance 1216:978-0-7007-1463-6 1178:978-1-135-21100-4 1157:978-0-471-38637-7 1136:978-1-137-31475-8 1109:978-1-4129-4081-8 1070:978-0-486-28623-5 1040:978-1-55635-731-2 1008:978-955-24-0164-0 945:978-1-4757-9865-4 908:978-1-4129-4081-8 791:Black cat analogy 556:Werner Heisenberg 485:John Godfrey Saxe 470:Modern treatments 410:) presented this 111:John Godfrey Saxe 2147: 1962: 1953:. 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1765: 1741: 1700: 1669:(6): 627–633. 1649: 1632: 1627:Quantum theory 1617: 1591: 1572: 1543: 1516: 1509: 1489: 1454: 1428: 1401: 1383: 1363: 1346:(2004-05-09). 1332: 1303: 1277: 1266: 1248: 1235: 1222: 1215: 1184: 1177: 1156: 1135: 1115: 1108: 1083: 1069: 1055:Martin Gardner 1046: 1039: 1014: 1007: 982: 951: 944: 919: 907: 886: 885: 883: 880: 878: 877: 872: 860: 855: 850: 844: 838: 832: 826: 821: 816: 808: 803: 798: 793: 788: 783: 773: 772: 771: 755: 752: 691: 688: 683:A Tangled Tale 673: 670: 629: 626: 604:teaching story 600:self-reference 564: 561: 552: 507: 490: 476: 473: 471: 468: 463: 460: 455: 452: 450: 447: 412:teaching story 386: 383: 371: 294:Hanabusa Itchō 278: 275: 250:Andhgajanyāyah 221: 218: 211: 158: 155: 153: 150: 123: 120: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 2152: 2141: 2138: 2136: 2133: 2131: 2128: 2126: 2123: 2121: 2118: 2116: 2113: 2111: 2108: 2106: 2103: 2101: 2098: 2096: 2093: 2091: 2088: 2086: 2083: 2081: 2078: 2076: 2073: 2071: 2068: 2066: 2063: 2061: 2058: 2056: 2053: 2051: 2048: 2046: 2043: 2041: 2038: 2036: 2033: 2031: 2028: 2026: 2023: 2021: 2018: 2016: 2013: 2012: 2010: 2001: 1998: 1996: 1993: 1991: 1988: 1986: 1984: 1979: 1976: 1973: 1971: 1967: 1964: 1960: 1956: 1952: 1947: 1942: 1938: 1937: 1916: 1912: 1908: 1901: 1886: 1885: 1880: 1873: 1858:on 2017-08-21 1856: 1851: 1850: 1845: 1838: 1823: 1821:9781407005287 1817: 1813: 1812: 1804: 1788: 1787: 1782: 1776: 1768: 1766:9785040691340 1762: 1758: 1754: 1753: 1745: 1737: 1733: 1729: 1725: 1721: 1717: 1712: 1704: 1696: 1692: 1687: 1682: 1677: 1672: 1668: 1664: 1660: 1653: 1646: 1642: 1636: 1629: 1628: 1624:For example, 1621: 1605: 1601: 1595: 1588: 1584: 1581: 1576: 1562:on 2011-07-18 1561: 1557: 1553: 1547: 1540: 1536: 1535: 1530: 1526: 1520: 1512: 1510:9780140228595 1506: 1502: 1501: 1493: 1484: 1479: 1474: 1469: 1464: 1458: 1442: 1438: 1432: 1424: 1412: 1404: 1402:4-09-521004-4 1398: 1394: 1387: 1380: 1376: 1373: 1367: 1353: 1349: 1345: 1344:Arberry, A.J. 1339: 1337: 1329: 1328:Octagon Press 1326: 1325:0-900860-47-2 1322: 1319: 1318: 1313: 1307: 1293:on 2006-08-25 1292: 1288: 1285:Wang, Randy. 1281: 1275: 1270: 1264: 1260: 1257: 1252: 1245: 1239: 1232: 1226: 1218: 1212: 1208: 1207: 1202: 1198: 1194: 1188: 1180: 1174: 1170: 1169: 1159: 1153: 1149: 1148: 1138: 1132: 1128: 1127: 1119: 1111: 1105: 1101: 1100: 1092: 1090: 1088: 1072: 1066: 1062: 1061: 1056: 1050: 1042: 1036: 1032: 1031: 1023: 1021: 1019: 1010: 1004: 1000: 999: 991: 989: 987: 979: 968: 964: 958: 956: 947: 941: 937: 936: 928: 926: 924: 916: 910: 904: 900: 899: 891: 887: 876: 873: 870: 866: 865: 861: 859: 856: 854: 851: 848: 845: 842: 839: 836: 833: 830: 827: 825: 822: 820: 817: 814: 813: 809: 807: 804: 802: 799: 797: 794: 792: 789: 787: 784: 782: 778: 775: 774: 769: 768:Novels portal 763: 758: 751: 749: 748: 743: 739: 737: 733: 729: 727: 723: 719: 718: 713: 711: 707: 703: 699: 698: 687: 685: 684: 679: 678:Lewis Carroll 672:In literature 669: 667: 663: 659: 655: 651: 647: 643: 639: 635: 625: 623: 619: 618: 611: 607: 605: 601: 597: 589: 582: 578: 574: 569: 557: 551: 547: 543: 538: 536: 535:elephant joke 531: 525: 512: 503: 488: 487:(1816–1887): 486: 482: 467: 459: 446: 442: 437: 433: 429: 427: 423: 419: 417: 413: 409: 405: 401: 398: 395: 392: 380: 369: 365: 363: 359: 355: 351: 347: 343: 339: 333: 329: 327: 323: 319: 314: 312: 311: 306: 302: 295: 291: 287: 283: 274: 271: 267: 263: 259: 255: 251: 247: 243: 242: 237: 236: 226: 210: 207: 206: 201: 199: 198: 193: 189: 185: 184: 178: 176: 175: 163: 149: 147: 143: 138: 133: 128: 119: 116: 112: 108: 104: 100: 96: 92: 87: 85: 81: 71: 69: 63: 61: 56: 52: 48: 40: 36: 28: 22: 2125:Storytelling 1982: 1957:– via 1950: 1919:. 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Retrieved 966: 934: 914: 897: 890: 864:Tittha Sutta 862: 810: 786:Anekantavada 745: 740: 730: 716: 714: 706:Paul Galdone 695: 693: 681: 675: 631: 615: 613: 609: 594: 549: 545: 540: 532: 528: 510: 508: 491: 478: 465: 457: 444: 439: 435: 431: 420: 415: 406:(currently, 388: 372: 366: 335: 331: 317: 315: 310:Tittha Sutta 308: 299: 296:(1652–1724). 285: 269: 265: 261: 253: 249: 239: 235:anekāntavāda 233: 231: 208: 204: 203: 200:as follows: 195: 191: 188:Adi Shankara 181: 179: 172: 170: 139: 135: 130: 125: 107:Baháʼí Faith 88: 68:Tittha Sutta 66: 64: 50: 44: 38: 1862:27 December 1447:14 December 1419:|work= 1312:Idries Shah 1242:Mallisena, 1229:Mallisena, 1193:Hans H Hock 972:17 December 722:BBC Radio 4 720:was a 1997 596:Idries Shah 408:Afghanistan 348:(trunk), a 318:Canki Sutta 307:, known as 148:reasoning. 122:The parable 2120:Relativism 2100:Perception 2009:Categories 1959:Wikisource 1786:BBC Online 1566:2010-03-05 1483:Wikisource 1475:. p.  1391:"群盲象を評す". 1357:2006-08-29 1297:2006-08-29 882:References 847:Syncretism 726:London Zoo 628:In science 563:Commentary 360:(back), a 356:(foot), a 352:(body), a 344:(tusk), a 301:The Buddha 258:Vidyanandi 84:the Buddha 77: 500 2055:Illusions 2020:Blindness 1890:21 August 1827:21 August 1793:21 August 1610:21 August 1478:260  1421:ignored ( 1411:cite book 1076:25 August 801:Duck test 710:Sam Gross 662:Alzheimer 342:plowshare 340:(ear), a 292:print by 146:ontologic 142:fallacies 113:creating 2095:Parables 1915:Archived 1911:AllMusic 1736:23287287 1695:38062666 1686:10757217 1583:Archived 1531:(1914). 1375:Archived 1259:Archived 1203:(eds.). 1195:(2005). 754:See also 702:Ed Young 690:In media 634:metaphor 583:, 1914). 553:—  454:Japanese 277:Buddhism 241:syādvāda 212:—  157:Hinduism 99:Buddhist 55:elephant 2115:Reality 1921:11 June 1393:日本国語大辞典 750:album. 650:biology 642:physics 638:analogy 546:Moral: 542:agreed. 462:Chinese 426:Masnavi 414:in his 391:Persian 350:granary 290:ukiyo-e 246:parable 220:Jainism 174:Rigveda 49:of the 47:parable 2050:Fables 2015:Belief 1818:  1763:  1734:  1693:  1683:  1507:  1487:  1399:  1323:  1213:  1175:  1154:  1133:  1106:  1067:  1037:  1005:  942:  915:Quote: 905:  867:(From 658:cancer 579:& 511:Moral: 441:water. 404:Ghazni 385:Sufism 362:pestle 358:mortar 354:pillar 192:bhasya 183:bhasya 1968:from 1755:[ 1330:1993. 869:Udāna 700:, by 648:. 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Index

The Elephant in the Dark (book)


parable
elephant
Indian subcontinent
Tittha Sutta
BCE
the Buddha
Jain
Hindu
Buddhist
Sufi
Baháʼí Faith
John Godfrey Saxe
his own version
fallacies
ontologic

Rigveda
bhasya
Adi Shankara
Chandogya Upanishad

anekāntavāda
syādvāda
parable
Vidyanandi

ukiyo-e

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