They are about everything in the world. The centuries-old wisdom of peoples is concentrated in them.

• Jewish
• Hindu
• Chinese
• Japanese
• Ukrainian
• Russians
• Scandinavian
• Greek
• Indian…

Probably, there is no people who would not compose their parables.

The rationale of the parable is most often presented in an allegorical form. Nevertheless, to understand it, in most cases, is quite simple. An exception, perhaps, can be considered Zen and Taoist stories. Although, maybe it all depends on the way of life, and European parables seem strange to the Japanese and Chinese. Or maybe we are not so different? After all, it is worth remembering that even the matryoshka was invented in Japan ...
Compressed to a few dozen sentences, the wisdom of the ages teaches how understand yourself and the world around you, gives insight about life.
But, with all due respect to the age-old knowledge that these short philosophical stories included, we should not forget that there is more author's and modern parables. Both are also based on the experience of previous generations.
Both Solomon and Leo Tolstoy, Leonardo da Vinci and Oscar Wilde spoke about the meaning of being. Yes, and many of our contemporaries are trying to put together a good instructive story.
In general, read, enjoy, absorb, look for the meaning of life and be sure to find it.

Live wisely!

Which in a different form contains some moral teachings, teachings (for example, the wisest parables of the Gospel or Solomon), some wise thoughts (parables). Officially, it is a small genre of didactic fiction. Many identify the wisest parables with fables. This article reveals the concept of "parable". In addition, wise short parables are given.

What is a parable?

A parable is not so much a story as an instructive story. Many wise thoughts and parables have been passed down through the ages from generation to generation. And this is not accidental: in each such story there are different parables: for example, the wise Thanks to them, people learn the secrets of life, gain access to the awareness of world laws. Moreover, the uniqueness of parables lies in the fact that they do not "load" the reader's consciousness, but very easily and unobtrusively convey to a person something valuable, a hidden truth.

parables of Abul Faraj

The famous Abul Faraj said that a parable is "a story that refreshes the mind and removes pain and sadness from the heart." Abul Faraja himself retold the wisest parables from all over the world.

paternal insight

remembering wise parables about life, it is impossible not to tell such a story. One day the doorbell rang and the man went to open it. On the threshold stood his daughter with eyes full of tears, entering the house, she spoke first: “I can’t live like this anymore, it’s getting harder and harder. As if every day I climb a huge mountain, and in the morning I start the procession again from the very foot. Father, what will happen next, how can I not give up?”.

He did not answer, he only went to the stove and put on it three saucepans filled with pure spring water, placing carrots, a chicken egg in turn in each and pouring coffee powder into the last one. After 10 minutes, he poured coffee into the girl's bowl, and put carrots and an egg on a saucer. As soon as she brought a cup of aromatic drink to her face, the man asked her a question:

My daughter, what has changed in these subjects?
- Fresh carrots are cooked, become softer. The coffee has completely dissolved. The egg is hard boiled.
- You appreciated only the paramount, but let's look at it from the other side. A strong and hard root crop became supple and softened. As for the egg, outwardly it retained its face, like the carrot, but its internal liquid medium became much harder and more collected. Coffee immediately began to dissolve, hitting hot water, saturating it with its taste and aroma, which you are now enjoying. This is exactly what can happen in the life of each of us. Strong people under the yoke of gravity they will weaken, and the fragile and offended will rise to their feet and will no longer lower their hands.
- But what about coffee, what does its reincarnation teach us? - with timid interest asked the daughter.
- These are the brightest representatives of worldly life, having accepted circumstances that are difficult at first glance, they become related to what is happening, while giving each problem a piece of their taste and aroma. These are special people who, overcoming each stage of their lives, draw something new, giving the world the beauty of their soul.

Parables and Parable of the Rose

A mighty wind walked around the world and did not know worldly feelings and desires. But one sunny and gentle summer day, he met a red rose, which, with its light breeze, looked even more beautiful. Beautiful petals responded to light breaths with a sweet delicate aroma and flowering. It seemed to the wind that he did not sufficiently express his devotion to the fragile plant, then he blew with all his might, forgetting about the tenderness that the flower needed. Unable to withstand such a hard and violent pressure, the slender and living stem broke. The mighty wind tried to resurrect his love and restore the former flowering, but it was too late. The impulses subsided, the former tenderness and softness returned, which enveloped the dying body of a young rose, she was losing her life faster and faster.

Then the wind howled: "I gave you all my strength, great love! How could you break so easily?! It turns out that the strength of your love was not enough to stay with me forever."

Rose only with the same aroma saw off her last seconds, answering passionate speeches with silence.

Do not shed tears in vain

Once an old but very wise lecturer, while reading another scientific work, suddenly stopped. Assuming a liberating pose, he heard from the back desks:

Instead, the lecturer began to tell a long and vivid anecdote, all sitting, without exception, laughed. When the audience fell silent, he again told the same story, but only a few smiled. A question hung in the air on the faces of the others. Repeating itself for the third time, the silent scene dragged on for a long time. None of the audience even smiled, on the contrary, everyone was in a suspended and incomprehensible state.

Why couldn't you guys laugh at my joke three times? You grieve over the same problem every day.

The professor smiled, and everyone sitting in the audience thought about his life.

Fate

One fine day, a wise wanderer came to the outskirts of a small town. He settled in a small hotel and every day received many people who were lost in their own lives.

One young man searched for an answer to his fate in books for a long time, visiting many elders. Some advised to go with the flow, avoiding problems and troubles. Others, on the contrary, said that to swim against the current means to gain strength, to find oneself. He decided to try his luck and listen to the advice of this elder.
Entering the room, the young man saw a man who was looking for something in the chest. He turned around for a moment and pointed to a chair by the table.

Tell me what's bothering you, I'll listen and advise.

The young man told him about visiting other sages, about reading books and about advice.

Go with the flow or against it? he said at the end of the story.
- Forgive me, well done, probably, due to my old age and deafness, I listened. Where do you want to go yourself? - without looking up from his occupation, the wanderer asked.

The power of a word

A blind old man sat on the street with a sign, begging passers-by. There were only a few moments in his box, the summer sun falling on his long, thin legs. At this time, a charming young woman passed by, who, stopping for a moment, picked up a tablet and wrote something herself. The old man only shook his head, but said nothing after her.

An hour later, the girl was walking back, he recognized her by her hurried and light steps. The box at that time was full of new shiny coins, which were added every minute by people passing by.

Sweet girl, did you change my sign? I would like to know what is written there.
- Nothing but the truth is written there, I just slightly corrected it. It says: "Now it's so beautiful around, but, unfortunately, I'll never be able to see it." After tossing a couple of coins, the girl gave the old man a smile and left.

Happiness

Three simple peasants were walking along the road on a summer day. They talked about their hard life, and sang songs. They hear that somewhere someone will forgive help, looking into the hole, and there is happiness.

I will fulfill your every wish! Say what you want to get - happiness refers to the first man.
- so as not to live in poverty until the end of his days, - the man answers her.
Fulfilled the happiness of his desire, and he went towards the village with a bag of money.
- And what do you want? - happiness turned to the second man.
- Babu want all the girls to be more beautiful!

Immediately, a beauty appeared next to him, the peasant grabbed her, and also went to the village.

What is your desire? - asks happiness from the last man.
- What do you really want? - says the man.
“I would like to get out of the pit, good fellow,” happiness said timidly.

The man looked around, found a long log, and fortunately tilted it. He turned and began to return to the village. Happiness quickly crawled out and ran after him, accompanying him through life.

guiding light

In ancient times, when there were still no networks of the world wide web and various engines, people went sailing on simple ships. Then one risky team went on a long journey, full of dangers.

A few days later, their ship was caught in a storm and sank, and only a couple of experienced sailors managed to escape. They woke up on a distant unfamiliar island, in fear and hunger, gradually losing their minds.

One particularly sunny day, a strange ship moored there. This brought immeasurable joy to the rescued, and they decided to build a high and durable lighthouse.
Despite persuasion, they remained on this island until the end of their days, only rejoicing at their destiny. It has become a great happiness and honor for each of them to direct people.

Conclusion

The wisest parables given in this article do not really burden the mind of the reader, but quite easily and unobtrusively convey something valuable, hidden truth to a person.

Short wise parables about life: Eastern wisdom

A parable is a short story, story, fable, with or without a moral.
The parable does not always teach life, but always gives a wise hint with a deep meaning.
The parables hide the meaning of life - a lesson for people, but not everyone can see this meaning.
A parable is not a fictional story, it is a story from life about real events. From generation to generation, parables were passed from mouth to mouth, but at the same time they did not lose their wisdom and simplicity.
Many parables describe stories that take place in everyday life, many events described in parables are very similar to ours. The parable teaches us to look at things from different angles and act wisely and prudently.
If the parable seemed incomprehensible or meaningless, this does not mean that the parable is bad. We are simply not prepared enough to understand it. Rereading parables, each time you can find something new and wise in them.
So, we read Eastern parables, think and grow wiser!

Three important questions

The ruler of one country strove for all wisdom. Rumors reached him once that there was a certain hermit who knew the answers to all questions. The ruler came to him and sees: a decrepit old man, digging a garden bed. He jumped off his horse and bowed to the old man.

- I came to get an answer to three questions: who is the most main man on earth, what is the most important thing in life, what day is more important than all the others.

The hermit did not answer and continued to dig. The ruler undertook to help him.

Suddenly he sees: a man is walking along the road - his whole face is covered with blood. The ruler stopped him, comforted him with a kind word, brought water from the stream, washed and bandaged the traveler's wounds. Then he took him to the hermit's hut, put him to bed.

The next morning he looks - the hermit is sowing the garden.

“Hermit,” the ruler pleaded, “won’t you answer my questions?”

“You already answered them yourself,” he said.

- How? - the ruler was amazed.

“Seeing my old age and weakness, you took pity on me and volunteered to help,” said the hermit. - While you were digging the garden, I was the most important person for you, and helping me was the most important thing for you. A wounded man appeared - his need was more acute than mine. And he became the most important person for you, and helping him became the most important thing. It turns out that the most important person is the one who needs your help. And the most important thing is the good that you do to him.

“Now I can answer my third question: what day in a person’s life is more important than the rest,” the ruler said. “The most important day is today.

Most valuable

One person in childhood was very friendly with an old neighbor.

But time passed, school and hobbies appeared, then work and personal life. Every minute the young man was busy, and he did not have time to remember the past, or even to be with loved ones.

Once he learned that a neighbor had died - and suddenly remembered: the old man taught him a lot, trying to replace the boy's deceased father. Feeling guilty, he came to the funeral.

In the evening, after the burial, the man entered the empty house of the deceased. Everything was the same as many years ago ...

Here are just a small golden box, in which, according to the old man, was kept the most valuable thing for him, disappeared from the table. Thinking that one of her few relatives had taken her, the man left the house.

However, two weeks later he received the package. Seeing the neighbor's name on it, the man shuddered and opened the package.

Inside was the same golden box. It contained a gold pocket watch engraved with "Thank you for the time you spent with me."

And he realized that the most valuable thing for the old man was the time spent with his little friend.

Since then, the man tried to devote as much time as possible to his wife and son.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths. It is measured by the number of moments that make us hold our breath.

Time is slipping away from us every second. And it needs to be spent right now.

Life as it is

I will tell you a parable: in ancient times, a heartbroken woman came to Gautam Buddha who had lost her son. And she began to pray to the Almighty to return her child. And Buddha ordered the woman to return to the village and collect a mustard seed from each family, in which at least one of its members would not be burned on a funeral pyre. And going around her village and many others, the poor fellow did not find a single such family. And the woman understood that death is a natural and inevitable outcome for all living. And the woman accepted her life as it is, with its inevitable departure into oblivion, with the eternal circulation of lives.

Butterflies and fire

Three butterflies, flying up to a burning candle, began to talk about the nature of fire. One flew up to the flame, returned and said:

- The fire is shining.

Another flew closer and scorched the wing. Arriving back, she said:

- He's stinging!

The third, flying very close, disappeared in the fire and did not return. She learned what she wanted to know, but was no longer able to tell the rest about it.

The one who has received knowledge is deprived of the opportunity to speak about it, therefore the one who knows is silent, and the one who speaks does not know.

understand fate

Chuang Tzu's wife died, and Hui Tzu came to mourn her. Chuang Tzu squatted down and sang songs, hitting his pelvis. Hui Tzu said:

“To not mourn the deceased, who lived with you to old age and raised your children, is too much. But singing songs while hitting the pelvis is simply no good!

“You are wrong,” Chuang Tzu replied. “When she died, could I not be sad at first? Grieving, I began to think about what she was in the beginning, when she was not yet born. And not only was she not born, but she was not yet a body. And not only was it not a body, but it was not even a breath. I realized that she was scattered in the void of boundless chaos.

Chaos turned - and she became breath. The breath changed and she became the body. The body changed and she was born. Now a new transformation has come - and she is dead. All this changed each other, as the four seasons alternate. Man is buried in the abyss of transformations, as if in the chambers of a huge house.

Money can not buy happiness

The student asked the Master:

- How true are the words that happiness is not in money?

He replied that they were completely correct. And it's easy to prove it.

For money can buy a bed, but not sleep; food, but no appetite; medicines, but not health; servants, but not friends; women, but not love; dwelling, but not the hearth; entertainment, but not joy; education, but not the mind.

And what is mentioned does not exhaust the list.

Walk straight!

There was once a woodcutter who was in a very distressed situation. He subsisted on the paltry amounts of money earned from firewood, which he brought to the city on himself from the nearest forest.

One day a sannyasin passing along the road saw him at work and advised him to go further into the forest, saying:

- Go ahead, go ahead!

The woodcutter heeded the advice, went into the forest and went on until he came to a sandalwood tree. He was very pleased with this find, cut down a tree and, taking with him as many pieces of it as he could carry, sold them in the market for good price. Then he began to wonder why the good sannyasin did not tell him that there was sandalwood in the forest, but simply advised him to go ahead.

The next day, reaching a felled tree, he went further and found copper deposits. He took with him as much copper as he could carry, and by selling it in the bazaar he made even more money.

The next day he found gold, then diamonds, and finally acquired great wealth.

This is precisely the position of a person who strives for true knowledge: if he does not stop in his movement after he reaches some paranormal powers, then, in the end, he will find the wealth of eternal Knowledge and Truth.

two snowflakes

It was snowing. The weather was calm, and large fluffy snowflakes slowly circled in a bizarre dance, slowly approaching the ground.

Two snowflakes flying side by side decided to start a conversation. Afraid of losing each other, they joined hands, and one of them cheerfully says:

- How good it is to fly, enjoy the flight!

“We don’t fly, we just fall,” the second answered sadly.

- Soon we will meet the ground and turn into a white fluffy blanket!

- No, we are flying towards death, and on the ground they will simply trample us.

We will become streams and rush to the sea. We will live forever! said the first.

“No, we will melt and disappear forever,” the second objected to her.

Finally they got tired of arguing. They unclenched their hands, and each flew towards the fate that she herself chose.

great good

A rich man asked a Zen master to write something good and encouraging, something that would bring great benefit to his whole family. “It must be something that every member of our family thinks about in relation to others,” said the rich man.

He gave a large piece of snow-white expensive paper, on which the master wrote: “The father will die, the son will die, the grandson will die. And all in one day."

The rich man was furious when he read what the master wrote to him: “I asked you to write something good for my family so that it would bring joy and prosperity to my family. Why did you write something that upsets me?

“If your son dies before you,” the master replied, “it will be an irreparable loss for your entire family. If the grandson dies before your son dies, it will be a great sorrow for everyone. But if your entire family, generation after generation, dies on the same day, it will be a real gift of fate. This will be a great happiness and benefit for your entire family.”

Heaven and Hell

There lived one person. And he spent most of his life trying to figure out the difference between hell and heaven. He pondered this subject day and night.

Then one day he had a strange dream. He went to hell. And he sees people there who are sitting in front of cauldrons of food. And everyone has a big spoon with a very long handle in their hand. But these people look hungry, thin and emaciated. They can scoop from the boiler, but they won’t get into the mouth. And they swear, fight, beat each other with spoons.

Suddenly, another person runs up to him and shouts:

- Hey, let's go faster, I'll show you the road leading to paradise.

They arrived in paradise. And they see people there who are sitting in front of the boilers with food. And everyone has a big spoon with a very long handle in their hand. But they look full, satisfied and happy. When we looked closely, we saw that they were feeding each other. Man should go to man with kindness - that's paradise.

The Secret of Happiness

One merchant sent his son to seek the secret of happiness from the wisest of all people. The young man walked through the desert for forty days and finally came to a beautiful castle that stood on the top of a mountain. There lived the sage he was looking for.

However, instead of the expected meeting with a holy man, our hero entered the hall, where everything was seething: merchants came in and out, people chatted in the corner, a small orchestra played sweet melodies and there was a table laden with the most delicious dishes of the area. The sage talked to different people, and the young man had to wait for his turn for about two hours.

The sage listened attentively to the young man's explanations about the purpose of his visit, but said in response that he did not have time to reveal to him the secret of happiness. And he invited him to take a walk around the palace and come back in two hours.

“However, I want to ask for one favor,” added the sage, holding out a small spoon to the young man, into which he dropped two drops of oil:

- While walking, hold this spoon in your hand so that the oil does not spill out.

The young man began to go up and down the palace stairs, keeping his eyes on the spoon. Two hours later he again came to the sage.

- Well, how? he asked. Have you seen the Persian carpets that are in my dining room? Have you seen the park that the head gardener has been creating for ten years? Have you noticed the beautiful parchments in my library?

The young man, embarrassed, had to confess that he had not seen anything. His only concern was not to spill the drops of oil that the Sage had entrusted to him.

“Well, come back and get acquainted with the wonders of my universe,” the Sage told him. “You can't trust a man if you don't know the house he lives in.

Reassured, the young man took the spoon and again went for a walk around the palace, this time paying attention to all the works of art hung on the walls and ceilings of the palace. He saw gardens surrounded by mountains, the most delicate flowers, the delicacy with which each piece of art was placed exactly where it needed to be. Returning to the sage, he described in detail everything he saw.

“Where are those two drops of oil that I entrusted to you?” the sage asked.

And the young man, looking at the spoon, found that the oil had spilled out.

“That is the only advice I can give you: the secret of happiness is to look at all the wonders of the world, never forgetting two drops of oil in a spoon.

Sermon

One day the mullah decided to address the believers. But a young groom came to listen to him. Mulla thought to himself, "Should I speak or not?" And he decided to ask the groom:

"There's no one here besides you, do you think I should speak or not?"

The groom replied:

“Sir, I am a simple man, I don’t understand anything about this. But when I come to the stable and see that all the horses have fled, and only one is left, I still give her food.

Mulla, taking these words to heart, began his sermon. He talked for more than two hours, and when he finished, he felt relieved in his soul. He wanted to hear confirmation of how good his speech was. He asked:

How did you like my sermon?

I have already said that I am a simple person and do not really understand all this. But if I come to the stable and see that all the horses have fled, and only one is left, I will feed her anyway. But I will not give her all the food that is intended for all horses.

Parable about positive thinking

Once an old Chinese teacher said to his student:

“Please take a good look around this room and try to notice everything in it that has a brown color.

The young man looked around. There were a lot of brown things in the room: wooden picture frames, a sofa, a curtain rod, desks, book bindings, and a host of other little things.

“Now close your eyes and list all the objects ... blue,” the teacher asked.

The young man was confused:

But I didn't notice anything!

Then the teacher said:

- Open your eyes. Just look how many blue things are here.

It was true: the blue vase, the blue photo frames, the blue carpet, the old teacher's blue shirt.

And the teacher said:

“Look at all those missing items!”

The student replied:

"But it's a trick!" After all, at your direction, I was looking for brown, not blue objects.

Master sighed softly and then smiled, “That's exactly what I wanted to show you. You searched and found only brown. The same thing happens to you in life. You seek and find only the bad and miss the good.

I have always been taught to expect the worst and you will never be disappointed. And if the worst doesn't happen, then I'm in for a pleasant surprise. And if I always hope for the best, then I will only expose myself to the risk of disappointment.

We should not lose sight of all the good things that happen in our lives. If you expect the worst, then you will definitely get it. And vice versa.

One can find a point of view from which each experience will have a positive meaning. From now on, you will look for something positive in everything and everyone.

How to reach the goal?

A great archery master named Drona taught his students. He hung a target on a tree and asked each of the students what they saw.

One said:

— I see a tree and a target on it.

Another said:

“I see a tree, a rising sun, birds in the sky…

All the rest answered in much the same way.

Then Drona approached his best student Arjuna and asked:

— And what do you see?

He replied:

— I can't see anything but the target.

And Drona said:

Only such a person can hit the target.

hidden treasures

In ancient India, there lived a poor man called Ali Hafed.

Once a Buddhist priest came to him and told him how the world was created: “Once upon a time, the earth was a continuous fog. And then the Almighty extended his fingers to the fog, and it turned into a ball of fire. And this ball rushed through the universe until the rain fell on the earth and cooled its surface. Then the fire, breaking the earth's surface, burst out. So mountains and valleys, hills and prairies arose.

When the molten mass flowing down the surface of the earth cooled quickly, it turned into granite. If it cooled slowly, it became copper, silver or gold. And after gold, diamonds were created.”

“Diamond,” said the sage Ali Hafedu, “is a frozen drop sunlight. If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, continued the priest, you could buy the whole district. But if you owned diamond deposits, you could put all your children on the throne, and all this thanks to huge wealth.

Ali Hafed learned everything there was to know about diamonds that evening. But he went to bed, as always, a poor man. He lost nothing, but he was poor because he was not satisfied, and he was not satisfied because he was afraid that he was poor.

Ali Hafed did not close his eyes all night. He only thought about diamond deposits.

Early in the morning, he woke up an old Buddhist priest and begged him to tell him where to find the diamonds. The priest at first disagreed. But Ali Hafed was so insistent that the old man finally said:

- OK then. You must find a river that flows in white sands among high mountains. There, in these white sands, you will find diamonds.

And then Ali Hafed sold his farm, left his family to a neighbor and went to look for diamonds. He went further and further, but could not find the treasure. In desperation, he committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea.

One day, the man who bought Ali Hafed's farm decided to water a camel in the garden. And when the camel poked its nose into the stream, this man suddenly noticed a strange sparkle coming from the white sand from the bottom of the stream. He put his hands into the water and pulled out a stone from which this fiery radiance emanated. He brought this unusual stone home, put it on the shelf.

Once the same old Buddhist priest came to visit the new owner. Opening the door, he immediately saw a glow over the fireplace. Rushing towards him, he exclaimed:

- It's a diamond! Ali Hafed is back?

"No," replied Ali Hafed's successor. Ali Hafed didn't come back. And this is a simple stone that I found in my stream.

- You're wrong! exclaimed the priest. “I recognize a diamond from a thousand other gems. I swear on all saints, it's a diamond!

And then they went into the garden and dug up all the white sand in the stream. And in it they found gems even more amazing and more valuable than the first. The most valuable is always there.
*

The parable of the ungrateful children

One man grew old and saw almost nothing, his hands were weakened, and his hearing was dulled. He was almost unable to hold a spoon and kept dropping food on the floor. His family daily turned away in disgust from the unfortunate man, who did not have the opportunity to get enough food normally. The son and daughter-in-law decided to put the table away from his eyes. The old man was seated in the passage, but even there he soiled the floor, because he was not able to hold the plate. The woman became angry, and her husband prepared a feeder for his father, as for a cow. But one day the little granddaughter came up to dad and said to him:

Please do one thing for me. I brought you a small piece of a withered trunk lying around in our yard.

“Of course, son, what would you like to have?” he answered kindly.

- Make me a feeder like grandpa's. Otherwise, you will soon grow old, and then I will not know how to serve you food every day.

The son and daughter-in-law blushed and immediately moved the old man to the common table. Now he was fed in the best possible way.

Parable about the essence of marriage

One young man did not know how to find a suitable bride for himself. He just could not find the most worthy girl. Some of them were not good enough, others were not very hardworking, and still others were very poorly educated. The young man was not able to stop at anyone. Then he went to the elder of his village and asked him for good advice. Old man thought carefully about his words and then said:

Yes, it's hard for you. Tell me, do you love your mother?

The young man could not believe his ears.

- Why are you asking? Is she the cause of my not being able to find a bride? But since you are curious, I will say: sometimes I get angry with her because of her constant grumpiness. She very often talks various nonsense, every day she complains about some utter nonsense and grumbles at the slightest provocation.

The elder shook his head reproachfully and said:

Now I understand what your problem is. Love and joy in marriage depend on how you treat your parents. The ability to experience strong feelings is already in the human soul. He is with early years gives his heart to the first people in his life - his father and mother. It is from them that the power to feel kindness and pity is transmitted. If you adore your mother, then all other women will seem wonderful to you. Out of gratitude for her, you will treat everyone else well. Go home and learn to love and honor your mother. Then your attitude towards girls will quickly change. You will understand what their value is.

- And in order not to make a mistake again, choose a bride who truly loves and honors her parents. If she truly respects her father, she will also love her husband. If you begin to respect your mother, then you can also become a good spouse. People who do not value their closest relatives will never be able to create a full-fledged family.

Parable of a Lasting Marriage

The old man and the old woman had been married for more than half a century. People admired the fortress of their family. One young man, who was about to get married soon, decided to find out their secret. He approached the old man and asked him:

- I think that the whole essence of your happiness lies in the fact that you and your wife tried never to quarrel.

- No, they still quarreled, - the spouses smiled.

- I understand that you were very well provided for, so discontent rarely visited your souls.

- Not at all, they knew both extreme need and everyday poverty.

- And what, you never wanted to part with each other?

“We have had hard times, too,” the old woman replied with a sigh.

- But then I don’t understand, but how did you manage to save your family after all?

“Son, we were just born in those old days, when it was not customary to throw something away and get a new one. Things were repaired ad infinitum, and not immediately taken to the trash.

Parables about relationships between people

Parable about excessive openness

One young girl did not know how to get along with the people around her. She wept for a long time, and then turned to an old woman from her village.

“What should I do, grandmother?” she asked her. - I try so hard to treat my fellow villagers kindly, I do not refuse anyone their requests. And in return I get one evil. They constantly laugh at me and don't even try to do something nice for me. And some people are just being mean. How should I deal with them next?

The old woman only smiled at the girl. She advised her:

- And you take off your dress and go out naked into the street.

- What are you, grandmother! Why are you suggesting this to me? - the girl was offended at her. “People will laugh at me, and men will despise me.

The old woman went to the chest of drawers and took out a small mirror. She silently placed it in front of the surprised girl.

“Look here,” she told her, “you don’t want to appear naked in the street. And with an open mind, you are not afraid to walk. You do not hide it from people, and then you are surprised that everyone is able to spit on it. It is like a mirror for every person. People around him look at him, but they see only themselves. The bad is its own reflection, the good is its own. And the evil one does not want to think that he sees the truth, it is easier for him to assume that the other is bad.

- What should I do now? – sadly asked her girl.

- Or follow me, daughter, look at my favorite garden. I have carefully cared for it all my life, but not a single flower has opened in my presence. I see a plant that has already blossomed and enjoy its beautiful view. We should learn this. You don't have to rush towards the person. Open your soul to him very slowly, imperceptibly for him. If you find that he is capable of defiling her, withdraw into yourself. You should also not help those who will not be grateful for your kindness and will repay it only with evil. Turn your back on these people. Open your heart only to the person who will truly appreciate it and protect it.

Parable about rudeness

One drunkard passed by the sage and kicked him out of anger. But he didn't even move. The hooligan really wanted a big scandal, and he brazenly asked the old man:

“What if I give you another one?” Why don't you answer me the same?

The elderly man was silent for a very long time, but, seeing that the loafer was not leaving, he said wearily:

“It happens that a man is unexpectedly kicked by a loose horse. He does not yell at her in this case and does not demand an apology from her. He simply turns away, walks away, and continues to try to avoid approaching her.

Parable of Mercy

One blind man was sitting on the side of the road and begging people for alms. But they threw him very little money, and by the end of the day he had only a few coins in his hat. A young girl passed by, who picked up a cardboard asking for alms lying at his feet and wrote something on it.

The beggar shook his head, but said nothing. After a while, he caught the smell of her perfume and realized that the woman was returning. But his hat was already full of money. People threw not only coins into it, but also large bills.

- Daughter, what did you write on the cardboard? the blind man asked her gratefully.

- Everything on it remained the same as before, I only slightly improved its content. I wrote at the bottom: "Man will never in his life be able to admire the beauty that surrounds him."

Parables about human qualities

Parable about the need for careful thinking

An old mouse lived in the underground with its numerous offspring. The house was rich and the animals did not know any troubles or hunger. After sunset, they would come to the kitchen and nibble on supplies.

The owner was tired of their invasion, and he took a young cat into his household. He quickly set to work and the mice no longer knew where to hide from him. Every day he caught someone, and their number began to rapidly decrease.

The animals decided to find a way out of the current difficult situation. They called general meeting, and then they began to judge and judge how they should proceed. Everyone offered something of their own. One mouse shouted that the cat should be fed with poison, another advised to kill her with a large stone, the third came up with a way to throw her down the stairs, and so on ad infinitum.

Finally, one of the oldest representatives of the tribe came out and said:

And let's get some bells somewhere and hang them around the cat's neck? Then he won't be able to take another step so that we don't know where he is. And we will always have time to escape in time.

The mice readily agreed to the astonishing proposal and considered it to be the best that had been put forward. But suddenly a tiny animal, which had always kept quiet before, asked for a word. He said:

You have suggested very wise solutions. It would be great to follow them. The thought of the bell simply delighted me. But who exactly will be sent to carry out the assignment?

Everyone fell silent. It was clear that even the best idea loses its meaning if it is not well thought out and has no ways to solve it.

Parable about love and beauty

The elderly man knew a lot about people's lives. Therefore, he told everyone that in matters of the heart, reason is of little help, and only the heart is wise. When those around him asked him what such words meant, he told them one incident.

“The young man crossed the turbulent river every day to meet his sweetheart. He overcame stormy waves and did not pay attention to steep rapids. But, one day, having met with his beloved, he discovered that the girl had a pimple. As he came back, he thought, “No. She's not perfect at all." And at that moment, his strength left him, and he drowned. All this time, only the strength that his feeling for her gave him allowed him to stay afloat.

Parable about the unworthy way of fulfilling plans

One hen turned to an ox. She said:

I would like to fly to the top of a huge cypress, but I know I will never be able to.

I advise you to take up the dunghill. Nowhere else is this a large number truly useful, energizing substances.

The chicken came up to her and began to peck. She ate and mastered the lower branch of the cypress. The next day, she again took up her own and managed to fly up to the next branch. So, day by day, she gradually managed to climb to the top of the tree. She proudly surveyed those around her and did not notice the hunter approaching her. He suddenly threw up his gun, and a minute later the chicken was already lying at his feet.

Therefore, one should not resort to improper means to an end in order to soar to too high a post. You still can't keep up with it.

Parable of Righteousness

One day a man came to the priest and asked him:

Help me with advice. I would like to embark on the path of virtue, but I do not know where I need to start.

He considered his words and said:

- Nothing special needs to be done. Return to your home and continue your usual earthly path, as before. Open the Bible: it says that any sinner does evil, but the Lord does not turn away from him. The righteous does good to people - and God always abides with him. The hermit silently lives in the deaf silence of his cell, but even in such a case, the Almighty remains nearby. Don't change anything in your daily existence. The only thing that needs to be done is to avoid the impurity of the soul and thoughts.

A story about self-confidence

One young man asked the Teacher:

– You have told us many times that for wisdom an important condition is the knowledge of oneself. But I have no idea how to achieve it.

The teacher looked at the young man approvingly and replied:

- Don't let others judge you.

– And how can I not allow them, Master? the young man asked.

“Imagine one person comes up to you and says that you are not good enough. You listen to him and lose heart. The other, on the contrary, believes that there is no one better than you. You feel happy. All people have an opinion about you, high or low. They can't tell you who you really are. Don't let them speak their minds out loud. And I shouldn't do that either. The only person who can tell you who you are is yourself.

A parable is a short story that has some deep philosophical meaning. It makes you think about something important, vital. The most common among the people are parables about meaning, since this is the topic that worries all people from time immemorial. Old stories brought from the last century are valued as wiser, they feel the experience of previous generations. However, do not underestimate modern parables about the meaning of life, they are no less in demand. This is because it doesn’t matter when the described situation took place, the main thing is the meaning.

The stories do not have to be long, some parables about the meaning of life are short, like a match, and you can read them before it burns out. However, this does not prevent them from carrying a certain message that will help some to decide what we live for, and others will simply give food for thought. Below are some well-known and interesting parables about the meaning of life as examples.

Example: "Donkey and well"

The donkey fell into the well and began to scream invitingly, attracting the attention of the owner. He really came running, but he was in no hurry to get the pet. A “brilliant” idea came into his head: “The well has dried up, it was high time to bury it and create a new one. The donkey is also old, it's time to start a new one. Let me fill the well right now! I’ll do 2 useful things right away.”

No sooner said than done, the man invited the neighbors, and they began to throw earth in the well and the donkey inside, ignoring the cries of the poor animal, who guessed what was happening.

Soon the donkey fell silent. People became curious why he was quiet, they looked into the well and saw such a picture: every clod of earth that fell on top of his back was thrown off by the donkey, and then crushed with his hooves. As a result, when the men continued, the animal finally reached the top and got out.

Life sends people a lot of trouble, comparable to clods of earth. You can whine and scream about how bad it is and you can try to shake off the ground and crush it in order to get up. The main thing is not to sit back and do something.

What Parables Teach

In addition, of course, parables help to understand good and evil, love and sympathy, faith in God, religion in general, the meaning of life and other interesting problems.

Example: "Life and Coffee"

One day, graduates of a prestigious college went to visit their wise professor, who once taught them a lot. Gradually, the conversation turned to life's difficulties, and then the teacher offered the guys coffee. After agreeing, the man left, and soon returned with a coffee pot and a tray filled with various cups. Some were beautiful and expensive, made of crystal or porcelain, others were simple and plain, plastic, cheap.

Look what you have chosen, - the professor began, when each of his students took a cup. - You all took only the most beautiful and attractive cups, leaving the cheap ones on the tray. This is the source of your troubles - you strive to get the best for yourself. But the main thing is not what is outside, but what is inside. The taste of coffee does not depend on the beauty of the cup, but it is your main goal. Think about it: coffee is our life, but money, society, work are just cups. We strive for the most beautiful cup, forgetting to fill it with contents. But after all, it serves only as a means to help maintain life. The main thing is coffee and its taste.

Why are parables useful?

From the example above, it is immediately clear that parables can carry a truly large-scale idea. Indeed, our lives are comparable to coffee. People are trying to earn a lot of money, they strive to live in luxurious houses, dress beautifully and expensively, they are looking for life partners not for love, but for other qualities such as wealth and a big name, etc. With all this, a person does not understand that happiness is not at all in a beautiful cup (and also in a wrapper, when compared with sweets), but in the contents. Surely many have heard that rich people are most often unhappy. They have everything, so they just don't know what else they need. On the other hand, poor people living in modest huts can be so satisfied with their lives that it is simply amazing.

By the way, in parables and similar philosophical stories, comparisons are very fond of. Even in both of the examples above, lives are being compared to something/someone. This happens for a better human perception of meaning.

What is the best age to start learning parables?

Most often, parables begin to interest along with the question that comes to mind about the meaning of life. For someone it may be at the age of 15, for someone at 30, but the fact remains: it is the parables that help to find answers to vital questions of interest. And absolutely any, since they relate to almost all areas.

East is a delicate matter

Most often, people are not interested in ordinary, but about the meaning of life. This happens because it is in the East that there are more wise men and masters, unlike other peoples, which means that full-fledged stories created by true masters of their craft flow from there. Of course, this is not always true, since any author can call a parable “Eastern”, whether he is from London or Russia, but still people often believe that they are reading an Eastern parable, which is why they automatically trust it more than other versions of similar stories.

Example: "Butterflies and Answers"

One day three beautiful butterflies flew up to a burning candle, admired the fire for a while and began to talk about its nature and meaning. The first decided to fly a little closer, and soon she returned.

The fire is shining, she said.

Another butterfly decided to keep up with the first one, so it also decided to fly up to the candle. She only approached the fire closer than her first friend, in order to better understand what was happening, and therefore set her wing a little on fire.

Fire burns! - she exclaimed, returning to the "girls" waiting for her.

The third butterfly also went to the candle, however, being the boldest of all, it flew straight into the fire. She did not return, but she fulfilled her dream - to know what the power and nature of fire is. Unfortunately, she could no longer tell the truth to the remaining butterflies.

Parables and the meaning of life

Everyone is looking for the true value of human existence on Earth. However, as you can see from the example above: knowledge is a powerful force. Most often it happens that those who know nothing speak, and those who know the truth for sure remain silent. The dead, for example, know the meaning of life, but they cannot tell it to earthly people, no matter how much they themselves would like to.

All parables in one way or another affect the meaning of existence, but they are unlikely to give an exact answer to the curious. Only hints, hints, which everyone will perceive in their own way and develop into a full-fledged idea, thought. Not everyone will succeed, however, some will consider that all parables are complete nonsense, but perhaps someday they will still think about this issue.