Parable of the elephant – 15 March 2019

Fr Laurence Freeman tells the Parable of the Elephant:  Elephants are not as peaceful, wise and well behaved as often portrayed.  If uncontrolled they will walk anywhere at all, knocking over things on their path.  When passing by roadside stalls their mischievous trunk will pick up whenever possible whatever it can – bananas, mangoes, anything tempting.  Those who train elephants, the mahouts, are very aware of this fact and when they have to take an elephant through the crowded streets in a religious or marriage procession, they have two ways of controlling the elephant’s behaviour. First they dress him in a special way with decorations and a seat on his back, making him feel important.  This encourages the elephant to walk in a careful and measured way.  Secondly they give his mischievous trunk a stick to hold on to and the elephant proudly holds on to this and is not tempted to pick up tasty morsels.


So then, fellow elephants, the mantra you use in meditation is the stick you are holding in your trunk.  It is an important stick, not because it is beautiful or meaningful, but because it keeps you on track, out of mischief as we say, it brings you back if you chance to see a tasty morsel.  The elephant, moreover, feels special, being dressed up – we are special because we have set aside this time, and we know how to be still in a helpful posture, and we surround our immediate vicinity as much as we can with silence. 

Inner silence however is another matter and the work of a lifetime.  Here is part of the liturgy for Ash Wednesday, from Iona Abbey:

  … This is not the past.
Do not live there.
Let the voices go.
Do not cling to what is gone.

This is not the future.
You are not there yet.
Let the worries be.
Do not live where you are not.

This is here and now.
This is all you have.
Do not miss where you are …

The wisdom is in the words, let the voices go… let the worries be… do not miss where you are…  The voices and the worries will all be there, still clamouring, at the end of our meditation.  But for now, what is needed is the courage, the trust, the singleness of purpose, to be present in the present moment, not looking to control it, or tidy it up, but rather in simple consent and attention.  That’s all.  The elephant, feeling special, and deploying the stick in his trunk, is free then to do what he is supposed to do – simply putting one foot in front of the other.