This is a true story. I read it in one of Osho’s many texts and am retelling it from memory. The protagonist is Rabia al-Adawiyya, the Sufi mystic, about whom there are many anecdotes regarding how she preached her teachings. This is one of them. One day, Rabia was searching for something on the street […]
Below, I present an abridged excerpt from Howard Sasportas’ book The Gods of Change. He retells the Sumerian legend of the descent of the goddess of the heavens – Inanna – into the underworld to her sister Ereshkigal. Sasportas includes this myth in his book to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the psychological symbolism […]
This is a story from the Vedas, retold in the book “The Dynamics of the Unconscious” by Howard Sasportas and Liz Greene—leading authors in the psychological branch of astrology. “There was once a serpent that struck terror into a village. It bit and killed people. A sage arrived there, preaching his philosophy of love and […]
This is one of my favorite stories by Gianni Rodari. I have remembered it in moments when things were difficult, and it has helped me. To me, it is a truly healing tale, which I now share with pleasure. *”Once upon a time, in a distant city, a transparent child was born. One could see […]
This is a wonderful parable about three monks in a Taoist monastery who had different opinions on a matter involving a snail. “Once, two monks were walking in the garden of a Taoist monastery. Suddenly, one of them saw a snail crawling on the path. The second monk, his spiritual brother, inadvertently almost stepped on […]
“A young monk took his vows, and his first task at the monastery was to help the other monks hand-copy the church regulations, psalms, laws, and so on. After working for a week, the young monk noticed that all the monks were copying these materials from previous copies, not from the original. Surprised by this […]
I know you know this fairy tale. Now I just want to remind you of it. It is one of my absolute favorites. And fairy tales are not just stories we use to lull our children to sleep at night. They are stories about our inner life, symbols of the processes taking place in the […]
“This happened in a remote village. A young boy, the son of a poor man, was healthy and very strong. He was so strong that when the King passed through the village on his elephant, the boy would grab the elephant by its trunk, and the animal could not take a single step. This caused […]
“An emperor called his wise men and asked them to create a ring for him. He wanted an inscription engraved on it that would help him in difficult times and remind him of the transience of good times. The wise men pondered for a long time, and when the beautiful ring was finally ready, it […]
“Once upon a time, in an ancient city, there lived a Master surrounded by his disciples. The most gifted among them thought to himself: ‘Is there a question that our Master would be unable to answer?’ He went to a green meadow, caught the most beautiful butterfly, and hid it between his palms. The butterfly’s […]
The Zen Story of Bankei “Bankei was quietly teaching his followers when his talk was interrupted by a Shinshu priest who believed in miracles and thought that salvation came from repeating sacred words. Bankei was unable to continue his discourse and asked the priest what he had to say. — ‘The founder of my religion,’ […]
The Parable of Avicenna and the Apprentice “Avicenna had a very diligent, newly-initiated student. One day, a blind man was brought to the great physician. The Master specified exactly which components to mix to create two poultices. The student followed the instructions perfectly, and the next day, the patient regained his sight. Now, the student’s […]
