Mindfulness Mondays 36: Zen Sheep
February 1, 2010 by dr. lam
Wayne Dyer tells a funny story about a shepherd in Nepal who is at a higher plain of consciousness:
A westerner visits this shepherd to learn more about him and his way of life.
Westerner: ”How far do your sheep travel each day?”
Shepherd: “That depends. Are you talking about the white sheep or the black sheep?”
Westerner: “Well, let’s say the white sheep.”
Shepherd: ”Well, then they travel about 4 miles a day.”
Westerner: “How about the black sheep?”
Shepherd: “They travel about 4 miles a day too.”
Westerner: ”How much wool does your sheep produce?”
Shepherd: ”That depends. Are you talking about the white sheep or the black sheep?”
Westerner: “Well, let’s say the white sheep.”
Shepherd: “Ok, they produce about 100 spools of yarn every quarter.”
Westerner: “And the black sheep?”
Shepherd: “About the same.”
Westerner: “How much hay do your sheep consume?”
Shepherd: “Are you talking about my white or black sheep?”
Westerner: “Ok, the white sheep.”
Shepherd: “They eat a bushel a week.”
Westerner: “And the black?”
Shepherd: “The same.”
Westerner: “Wait, every time I ask you a question, you ask me are you talking about the white sheep or the black sheep and always your answer is the same for both of them. What is going on?”
Shepherd: “Well, I own the white sheep.”
Westerner: “Oh, I get it. So the white sheep are yours. How about the black sheep?”
Shepherd: “They’re mine too.”
The point of this funny story is that sometimes we don’t get other people who may think differently than we do. These blogs are meant for you to think differently and perhaps achieve a higher state of enlightenment in the process. This week be fearless to think differently, to express yourself differently, to see yourself differently, and to be free of societal dictums of what you should or should not be.
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4 Responses to “Mindfulness Mondays 36: Zen Sheep”
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I LOVE your stories, Dr. Lam!! Wonderful message!
I have to admit that I was getting a little irritated with that shepherd character…lol
What I’ve found to be ironic in life is that when I don’t understand someone or something or don’t see how someone can think a certain way, I am usually only viewing their situation through my own glasses and immediately tag it as what I think of it, when in reality, the other person that is thinking differently than me is viewing whatever situation or thing it is in a totally different plane of thinking, and it is naïve of me to think that the other person is viewing it through my own viewpoint. I think it is mature to allow oneself to understand others open-mindedly, and I find that if I understand others open-mindedly that even if I disagree with them, I at least see how they are viewing something and can respect that and probably can relate to them more. Also, I’ve found that sometimes we attach a “straw man” explanation to what we think the other person is thinking. Like, I was watching these “how to debate a creationist” videos on youtube, just because I was interested in what the guy had to say. Btw, everyone, I am a creationist, but respect the views of others. Well, the guy was arguing that creationists hold a blind eye to “science” and that if one uses “scientific” “answers” that the creationist viewpoint will crumble and he was so sure of himself, but what the guy failed to realize is that creationists (maybe some ) do not have that perspective, but they understand that there are different interpretations of the same scientific data and how “mainstream” science has taken the stronghold in society but that it is not based on science alone but on a naturalist worldview, so it was naïve of the guy to think that there was only one kind of science, and to think that all creationists are naïve. It was also naïve of him to think that science cannot be interpreted in another light or that it is unbiased. BTW, I don’t mean to start any PC incorrectness here, but just thought to use that as an example. I totally respect the views of others.
I’ve also come across someone that claimed he was “open-minded” but was only blindly following whatever society claimed was “open-minded” and I tried to point that out to him, by explaining that sometimes being “open-minded” is not being open-minded (lol), but he immediately tagged me as blindly holding to some belief…lol Just funny. If he had listened, he might have seen my perspective in a different view.
Anyhow, I’ll totally remember this blog message, Dr. Lam! Great blog!!!!
I sincerely hope I haven’t breached the rules here on PC. If I have, Dr. Lam, I am terribly sorry and feel completely welcome to delete it.
thanks heather. you are free to voice your opinion here.
What a nicey you are, Dr. Lam!
Thanks for being so sweet! 