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Blind men and an elephant

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188:, 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. 46: 236: 173: 155:; 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 621:...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. 143:
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.
293: 631:. This version begins with a conference of scientists, from different fields of expertise, presenting their conflicting conclusions on the material upon which a camera is focused. As the camera slowly zooms out it gradually becomes clear that the material under examination is the hide of an African elephant. The words 'The Parts Are Greater Than The Whole' then appear on the screen. This retelling formed the script for a short four-minute film by the animator 38: 599: 579: 148:
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.
439:. 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: 773: 69:
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."
697:) 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". 283:
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:
339:(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. 1509: 263:), 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 343:
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
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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."
1670:""Blind men and an elephant": The need for animals in research, drug safety studies, and understanding civilizational diseases" 1593: 548:
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
675:'s disease. In medicine, the story has also been used to describe situations where diseases such as 2130: 2110: 1354: 885: 851: 806: 583: 207: 70: 2065: 2030: 1421: 791: 347:
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
197:(commentaries, secondary literature) in the Hindu traditions. For example, 1567:"The Teaching Story: Observations on the Folklore of Our "Modern" Thought" 435:, the 13th Century Persian poet and teacher of Sufism, included it in his 1614: 879: 822: 644: 156: 109: 65: 1792:"BBC Radio 4 Extra - 90 by 90 The Full Set, 1998: Touching The Elephant" 1381:
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
1012:. Buddhist Publication Society. pp. 9, 81–84. 1864: 1720: 1033: 1031: 1029: 739:to touch an elephant and describe their response. 535:    Not one of them has seen! 505:    To learning much inclined, 745:, a 2012 Indian philosophical drama named after 531:    Of what each other mean, 1001: 999: 997: 559: 527:    The disputants, I ween, 517: 513:    Might satisfy his mind 500: 381: 213: 140: 1102: 1100: 1098: 1658:, Volume 20, Issue 3, June 2008, pp. 187–195. 1641:by David Bohm, p. 26. Retrieved 3 March 2010. 1158:Child and Adolescent Therapy: Science and Art 968: 966: 860: – Combination of beliefs and traditions 388:For, quarreling, each to his view they cling. 8: 1654:by Michael M. Lederman and Leonid Margolis, 384:O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim 1257:, 19:75–77. Dhruva, A.B. (1933) pp. 23–25. 1244:, 14:103–104. Dhruva, A.B. (1933) pp. 9–10. 1074:. Courier Dover Publications. p. 124. 225:Adi Shankara, Translator: Hans Henrich Hock 1182:. Taylor & Francis. pp. 470–471. 938: 936: 934: 651:in fields well beyond the traditional. In 73:, from where it has been widely diffused. 1695: 1685: 655:, it has been seen as an analogy for the 390:Such folk see only one side of a thing. 27:Parable illustrating ontologic reasoning 1977:Story of the Blind Men and the Elephant 1674:Animal Models and Experimental Medicine 1591:Octagon Press page for The Dermis Probe 1349: 1347: 898: 687:The Russian preface to a collection of 386:For preacher and monk the honored name! 279:understand, they deny the aspects they 1479:"The Blind Men and the Elephant"  1429: 1419: 1140:. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 11–12. 974:"Ud 6:4 Sectarians (1) (Tittha Sutta)" 823:Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions 1996:hosted by the University of Princeton 1918:"Leave Your Sleep - Natalie Merchant" 1727:Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine 1668:Anbalagan, Savani (7 December 2023). 1176:Peter B. Clarke; Peter Beyer (2009). 842: – Unreliability of eyewitnesses 677:chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 375:(tail) or a brush (tip of the tail). 7: 255:("conditioned viewpoints") with the 191:The parable or references appear in 2006:Jainist Version hosted by Jainworld 943:C.R. Snyder; Carol E. Ford (2013). 582:"Blind men and elephant", from the 178:(wall relief in Northeast Thailand) 1988:Free to read and full text search. 1760:Кэрролл, Льюис (15 January 2021). 1652:The lymph node in HIV pathogenesis 1113:. SAGE Publications. p. 492. 1044:. Wipf and Stock. pp. 46–47. 912:. SAGE Publications. p. 492. 691:'s works (including such books as 625:Shah adapted the tale in his book 333:blind men holding on to each other 259:of the blind men and an elephant ( 216:etaddhasti darshana iva jatyandhah 25: 1819:Elmes, Simon (10 November 2009). 1613:. The Rockethouse. Archived from 854: – American figure of speech 297:Blind monks examining an elephant 2096:Metaphors referring to elephants 1853:Hanks, Robert (3 January 1998). 1298:"The Blind Men and the Elephant" 949:. Springer Science. p. 12. 771: 755:sang Saxe's poem in full on her 747:the eponymous thought experiment 460:Meaning as a proverb by language 331:, the Buddha describes a row of 50:Blind Men Appraising an Elephant 1928:from the original on 2013-02-09 1888:Gaisford, Sue (19 April 1997). 749:, also references the parable. 176:The blind men and the elephant 32:The Elephant in the Dark (book) 1484:The poems of John Godfrey Saxe 492:The Blind Men and the Elephant 327:In another scripture known as 1: 1992:Buddhist Version as found in 1916:Jurek, Thom (13 April 2010). 1825:. Random House. p. 143. 1071:Famous Poems from Bygone Days 84: 1770:] (in Russian). Litres. 1739:10.1097/MCP.0b013e32835d9502 1548:. University of California. 1161:. Wiley. pp. 269, 314. 507:Who went to see the Elephant 81:, Udāna 6.4, Khuddaka Nikaya 2041:Elephants in Indian culture 1994:Jainism and Buddhism. Udana 1981:www.spiritual-education.org 1508:Heisenberg, Werner (1958). 1107:E. Bruce Goldstein (2010). 906:E. Bruce Goldstein (2010). 864:The blind leading the blind 826:, an 1884 satirical novella 609:commented on an element of 533:And prate about an Elephant 2167: 1952:Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi 1220:. Routledge. p. 282. 1110:Encyclopedia of Perception 1038:Paul J. Griffiths (2007). 909:Encyclopedia of Perception 835:Naïve realism (psychology) 665:polyclonal B cell response 529:Rail on in utter ignorance 503:It was six men of Indostan 427:The Walled Garden of Truth 249:(or "many-sidedness") and 29: 18:Blind men and the elephant 1363:Rumi – Tales from Masnavi 525:So oft in theologic wars, 93:, during the lifetime of 62:blind men and an elephant 2056:Concepts in epistemology 1006:John D. Ireland (2007). 869:The Country of the Blind 790:, a rough equivalent in 520:     511:That each by observation 2121:Philosophical analogies 2046:Elephants in literature 1611:"touching the elephant" 1600:, with preview of story 1536:Holton, Martha Adelaide 643:The story is seen as a 413:(1080–1131/1141 CE) of 205:on verse 5.18.1 of the 1966:Edward Henry Whinfield 1719:Varkey, Basil (2013). 1656:Seminars in Immunology 1550:Rand McNally & Co. 1540:Curry, Charles Madison 1514:. Harper. p. 58. 1452:dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw 1388:9 October 2010 at the 1328:Tales of the Dervishes 1137:Philosophy of Religion 623: 603: 602:Blind men and elephant 595: 588:Martha Adelaide Holton 571: 555: 538: 516: 454: 445: 393: 345: 308: 240: 228: 179: 163:References in religion 145: 53: 42: 2151:Elephants in Hinduism 2146:Elephants in Buddhism 2051:Elephants in religion 1134:Chad Meister (2016). 846:Seeing pink elephants 728:Touching the Elephant 657:wave–particle duality 619: 601: 592:Charles Madison Curry 581: 550: 486:Variants of the story 449: 441: 341: 295: 265:Tattvarthaslokavatika 238: 175: 48: 40: 2081:Indian short stories 1596:26 July 2011 at the 1545:Holton-Curry readers 1285:Katinkahesselink.net 1272:28 June 2006 at the 1208:Edwin Francis Bryant 1068:(1 September 1995). 830:Hasty generalization 817:Elephant in the room 788:Allegory of the cave 2086:Inductive fallacies 2036:Buddhist literature 1267:Accesstoinsight.org 886:Unreliable narrator 852:Seeing the elephant 807:Dispersed knowledge 584:Holton-Curry Reader 316:Buddhist scriptures 208:Chandogya Upanishad 201:mentions it in his 71:Indian subcontinent 2116:Persian literature 2091:Informal fallacies 1800:. 12 November 2012 1687:10.1002/ame2.12364 1474:Saxe, John Godfrey 792:Western philosophy 715:(1992) and one by 604: 596: 309: 271:(9th century) and 241: 180: 76:The Buddhist text 54: 43: 2076:Indian literature 1962:Masnavi I Ma'navi 1650:See for instance 1227:978-0-7007-1463-6 1189:978-1-135-21100-4 1168:978-0-471-38637-7 1147:978-1-137-31475-8 1120:978-1-4129-4081-8 1081:978-0-486-28623-5 1051:978-1-55635-731-2 1019:978-955-24-0164-0 956:978-1-4757-9865-4 919:978-1-4129-4081-8 802:Black cat analogy 567:Werner Heisenberg 496:John Godfrey Saxe 481:Modern treatments 421:) presented this 122:John Godfrey Saxe 16:(Redirected from 2158: 1973: 1964:. 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856: 853: 850: 847: 844: 841: 838: 836: 833: 831: 828: 825: 824: 820: 818: 815: 813: 810: 808: 805: 803: 800: 798: 795: 793: 789: 786: 785: 780: 779:Novels portal 774: 769: 764: 762: 760: 759: 754: 750: 748: 744: 740: 738: 734: 730: 729: 724: 722: 718: 714: 710: 709: 700: 698: 696: 695: 690: 689:Lewis Carroll 683:In literature 682: 680: 678: 674: 670: 666: 662: 658: 654: 650: 646: 638: 636: 634: 630: 629: 622: 618: 616: 612: 608: 600: 593: 589: 585: 580: 573: 568: 562: 558: 554: 549: 547: 546:elephant joke 542: 536: 523: 514: 499: 498:(1816–1887): 497: 493: 485: 480: 478: 472: 470: 464: 459: 457: 453: 448: 444: 440: 438: 434: 430: 428: 424: 420: 416: 412: 409: 406: 403: 395: 391: 380: 376: 374: 370: 366: 362: 358: 354: 350: 344: 340: 338: 334: 330: 325: 323: 322: 317: 313: 306: 302: 298: 294: 287: 285: 282: 278: 274: 270: 266: 262: 258: 254: 253: 248: 247: 237: 230: 221: 218: 217: 212: 210: 209: 204: 200: 196: 195: 189: 187: 186: 174: 167: 162: 160: 158: 154: 149: 144: 139: 132: 130: 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Retrieved 1921: 1911: 1899:. Retrieved 1893: 1883: 1871:. Retrieved 1866:the original 1858: 1848: 1836:. Retrieved 1821: 1814: 1802:. Retrieved 1795: 1786: 1767: 1762: 1755: 1733:(2): 93–94. 1730: 1726: 1714: 1677: 1673: 1663: 1655: 1651: 1646: 1637: 1631: 1619:. Retrieved 1615:the original 1605: 1586: 1575:. Retrieved 1571:the original 1563:Shah, Idries 1557: 1544: 1530: 1510: 1503: 1492:– via 1483: 1468: 1456:. Retrieved 1451: 1442: 1403: 1397: 1377: 1366:. Retrieved 1362: 1326: 1321:Included in 1317: 1306:. Retrieved 1302:the original 1291: 1280: 1262: 1254: 1249: 1241: 1236: 1216: 1198: 1178: 1157: 1136: 1129: 1109: 1085:. Retrieved 1070: 1060: 1040: 1008: 988: 981:. Retrieved 977: 945: 925: 908: 901: 875:Tittha Sutta 873: 821: 797:Anekantavada 756: 751: 741: 727: 725: 717:Paul Galdone 706: 704: 692: 686: 642: 626: 624: 620: 605: 560: 556: 551: 543: 539: 521: 519: 502: 489: 476: 468: 455: 450: 446: 442: 431: 426: 417:(currently, 399: 383: 377: 346: 342: 328: 326: 321:Tittha Sutta 319: 310: 307:(1652–1724). 296: 280: 276: 272: 264: 260: 250: 246:anekāntavāda 244: 242: 219: 215: 214: 211:as follows: 206: 202: 199:Adi Shankara 192: 190: 183: 181: 150: 146: 141: 136: 118:Baháʼí Faith 99: 79:Tittha Sutta 77: 75: 61: 55: 49: 1873:27 December 1458:14 December 1430:|work= 1323:Idries Shah 1253:Mallisena, 1240:Mallisena, 1204:Hans H Hock 983:17 December 733:BBC Radio 4 731:was a 1997 607:Idries Shah 419:Afghanistan 359:(trunk), a 329:Canki Sutta 318:, known as 159:reasoning. 133:The parable 2131:Relativism 2111:Perception 2020:Categories 1970:Wikisource 1797:BBC Online 1577:2010-03-05 1494:Wikisource 1486:. p.  1402:"群盲象を評す". 1368:2006-08-29 1308:2006-08-29 893:References 858:Syncretism 737:London Zoo 639:In science 574:Commentary 371:(back), a 367:(foot), a 363:(body), a 355:(tusk), a 312:The Buddha 269:Vidyanandi 95:the Buddha 88: 500 2066:Illusions 2031:Blindness 1901:21 August 1838:21 August 1804:21 August 1621:21 August 1489:260  1432:ignored ( 1422:cite book 1087:25 August 812:Duck test 721:Sam Gross 673:Alzheimer 353:plowshare 351:(ear), a 303:print by 157:ontologic 153:fallacies 124:creating 2106:Parables 1926:Archived 1922:AllMusic 1747:23287287 1706:38062666 1697:10757217 1594:Archived 1542:(1914). 1386:Archived 1270:Archived 1214:(eds.). 1206:(2005). 765:See also 713:Ed Young 701:In media 645:metaphor 594:, 1914). 564:—  465:Japanese 288:Buddhism 252:syādvāda 223:—  168:Hinduism 110:Buddhist 66:elephant 2126:Reality 1932:11 June 1404:日本国語大辞典 761:album. 661:biology 653:physics 649:analogy 557:Moral: 553:agreed. 473:Chinese 437:Masnavi 425:in his 402:Persian 361:granary 301:ukiyo-e 257:parable 231:Jainism 185:Rigveda 60:of the 58:parable 2061:Fables 2026:Belief 1829:  1774:  1745:  1704:  1694:  1518:  1498:  1410:  1334:  1224:  1186:  1165:  1144:  1117:  1078:  1048:  1016:  953:  926:Quote: 916:  878:(From 669:cancer 590:& 522:Moral: 452:water. 415:Ghazni 396:Sufism 373:pestle 369:mortar 365:pillar 203:bhasya 194:bhasya 1979:from 1766:[ 1341:1993. 880:Udāna 711:, by 659:. 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Index

Blind men and the elephant
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

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