17 Answers

  1. Singing in the blackthorn.

    There is such a legend – about a bird that sings only once in a lifetime, but it is more beautiful than anyone else in the world. One day she leaves her nest and flies to look for a thorn bush and won't rest until she finds it. Among the thorny branches, she sings a song and throws her chest on the longest, sharpest thorn. And, rising above the unspeakable torment, he sings as he dies, so that both the lark and the nightingale would envy this exultant song. A single, incomparable song, and it comes at the cost of life. But the whole world stands still, listening, and God himself smiles in the sky. For all the best is bought only at the price of great suffering… At least, that's what the legend says.

  2. There is one favorite, though I don't know the authorship.

    Met a guy and a girl. After some time, he proposed to her. The girl agreed and said before the wedding that before the full moon she would leave the house for a week, and that no one would follow her in any case. My husband agreed.

    A year has passed. The girl in the next full moon left the house. The husband sat for a while and couldn't stand the curiosity: he followed quietly.

    They walked for a very long time, turning into the forest. The wife went out into the clearing, and the husband hid in the bushes. A minute later, the woman turned into a wolf, and then sniffed at her husband and ate him.

    The moral is this: if you said “don't get involved in this business”, then don't get involved.

  3. Winter. Sparrow on the fly froze, fell, dies. A cow was passing by and shat on a sparrow. He warmed up, stuck his head out of the dung, and chirped at the top of his voice like a sparrow. A cat was passing by, heard a chirp, pulled out a sparrow, wiped it, and used it according to its feline understanding…
    Moral: Not everyone is your enemy who accidentally slapped you with shit, not everyone is a friend who pulled you out of the shit, and most importantly – if you got into the shit, then at least do not tweet!..

  4. One day, the teacher showed the students a blank sheet of paper with a black dot in the middle and asked:

    “What do you see?”

    “A point,” the first student replied.

    “A black dot,” said the other.

    – “Fat dot”, after thinking, the third replied.

    Then the teacher answered:

    “You all only saw a dot and no one noticed the leaf! So remember, the main enemy of love is indifference…”

    “What does love have to do with it?”

    – “Fuck knows!” – with these words, the teacher smeared his face with shit and jumped out of the window.

  5. The parable of how the devil was put to shame three times…

    Three hermit monks lived in the desert. To achieve the highest sanctity, they fasted, they prayed, and they observed all religious rituals.�

    Then one day, during a particularly strict fast, the devil decided to desecrate them and deprive them of their great sanctity.

    The devil appeared to the first monk and began to whisper sinful words in his ears… The holy monk took the candles from the altar, melted the wax, and poured the wax into his ears. So the devil was put to shame by the first monk…

    The devil came to the second monk and began to tempt him with food and drink. But the monk, in order not to succumb to the temptation of the devil, filled his mouth with sealing wax and died of starvation unbroken and holy. So the devil was put to shame by the second monk…

    To the third monk, the devil came and turned into the most seductive woman in the world. The monk fucked the seductress wherever he wanted. Thus was the devil put to shame by the third monk…

  6. A man runs through the forest, and a tiger chases after him. Runs, terrified, stumbles and falls into the cliff. It's flying. Barely manages to grab a twig, hangs in the middle. Looks like there's a tiger down there, too. And there are guards at the top of it. And our peasant prayed to God, saying: “It's too early yet! I want to live! save me, please.”

    And God heard him (He always does). And even answered (He always answers). God said to the peasant:

    “I'll go with you.” I'll help you. JUST LET GO OF THE TWIG…

  7. A student comes to the teacher.

    “Teacher, you said that some things need to be experienced firsthand. Now I want to try hard drugs.

    – Student, – the teacher answers, – tell me, how do you know whether you need to drive a nail into the board or screw in a screw?�

    “I don't know, Master.

    “Drive in a nail and see if the board is cracked, then you should have screwed in a screw.”

  8. The wolf and the sheep

    A Greek parable

    The sheep, fleeing from the wolf, ran into the fence of the temple.

    “If you don't come out,” said the wolf, ” the priest will seize you and kill you as a sacrifice.”

    “I don't care,” said the sheep, ” whether the priest slaughters me or whether you eat me.

    “My friend,” said the wolf, ” it grieves me to hear you consider such an important question from such a narrow personal point of view. I do care!

  9. I really like the legends of Ancient Greece.
    And the most-most favorite legend about Danko *_*

    There were only people on earth in the old days, impenetrable forests surrounded them on three sides by camps of these people, and on the fourth – there was a steppe. They were funny, strong and brave people. And then one day a hard time came: other tribes came from somewhere and drove the former ones into the depths of the forest. It was swampy and dark, for the forest was old and the branches were so thickly intertwined that you couldn't see the sky through them, and the sun's rays could barely make their way to the swamp through the thick foliage. But when its rays fell on the water of the marshes, the stench rose, and people died one by one from it.

    Then the wives and children of this tribe began to cry, and the fathers became thoughtful and fell into melancholy. It was necessary to get out of this forest, and for that there were two roads: one – back, where there were strong and evil enemies, the other – forward, where the giant trees stood, hugging each other tightly with powerful branches, sinking their gnarled roots deep into the clinging mud of the swamp. These stone trees stood silent and motionless in the gray gloom, and moved even closer around the people in the evening when the bonfires were lit. And always, day and night, there was a ring of strong darkness around those people, as if it was going to crush them, and they were used to the steppe expanse.

    And it was even more terrible when the wind beat on the treetops and the whole forest hummed hollowly, as if it threatened and sang a funeral song to those people. They were still strong men, and they could have gone to fight to the death with those who had once defeated them, but they could not die in battle, because they had covenants, and if they had died, the covenants would have been lost with them.

    And so they sat and thought in the long nights, under the dull roar of the forest, in the noxious stench of the swamp. As they sat there, the shadows of the bonfires danced around them in a silent dance, and it seemed to everyone that it was not the shadows that were dancing, but the evil spirits of the forest and swamp that were triumphant. But nothing – neither work nor women-exhausts the bodies and souls of people as much as they exhaust melancholy thoughts. And people were weakened by thoughts …

    Fear was born among them, and bound their strong hands, and terror was born of the women weeping over the corpses of the stinking dead and the fate of the fear-bound living – and the cowardly words were heard in the forest, timid and low at first, and then louder and louder … They already wanted to go to the enemy and offer him their free will as a gift, and no one, frightened by death, was afraid of a slave life …

    But then Danko came and saved them all by himself. Danko is one of those people, a handsome young man. Beautiful – always bold. And so he says to them, his comrades: “Do not turn a stone with your mind. If you do nothing, nothing will happen to you. That we spend our energy on thinking and melancholy? Get up, let's go to the forest and walk through it, because it has an end-everything in the world has an end! Come on!” Well! Gay!”

    They looked at him and saw that he was the best of all, for in his eyes shone much power and a living fire. “Lead the way,” they said. Then he led … Danko led them. Together, everyone followed him – they believed in him. It was a hard road! It was dark, and at every step the swamp opened its greedy, rotten mouth, swallowing people, and the trees blocked the road like a mighty wall. Their branches intertwined with each other; roots stretched out like snakes everywhere, and every step was worth a lot of sweat and blood to those people. They walked for a long time … the forest grew thicker and thicker, and they had less and less strength! And so they began to complain about Danko, saying that it was in vain that he, young and inexperienced, led them somewhere. But he was walking ahead of them, and he was bright and alert.

    But one day a thunderstorm broke over the forest, the trees whispered muffled, menacing. And then it was so dark in the forest, as if all the nights that had been in the world since he was born were gathered in it at once. Little people walked among the big trees and in the terrible noise of lightning, they walked, and, swaying, the giant trees creaked and hummed angry songs, and the lightning, flying over the tops of the forest, lit it up for a moment with a blue, cold fire and disappeared as quickly as they came, scaring people. And the trees, lit by the cold fire of lightning, seemed alive, reaching out around the people who were escaping from the darkness, gnarled, long arms, weaving them into a dense network, trying to stop the people. And out of the darkness of the branches, something terrible, dark and cold stared at them as they walked. It was a difficult journey, and the people who were tired of it lost heart. But they were ashamed to admit that they were powerless, and so they turned on Danko, the man who was walking ahead of them, in anger and anger. And they began to reproach him for not being able to control them-that's how!

    They stopped, and amid the triumphant noise of the forest and the trembling darkness, tired and angry, they began to judge Danko. “You,” they said, ” are an insignificant and harmful person to us! You have led us and wearied us, and for that you will perish!”

    “You said: “Lead!” – and I led! Danko shouted, putting his chest up against them. – I have the courage to lead, and that's why I led you!” And you? What did you do to help yourself? You only went and did not know how to save your strength for a longer path! You just walked, walked like a flock of sheep!”

    But these words enraged them even more.

    “You're going to die! You're going to die! ” they roared.

    And the forest hummed and hummed, echoing their cries, and lightning tore the darkness to shreds. Danko looked at those for whom he had labored and saw that they were like animals. Many people were standing around him, but there was no nobility on their faces, and he could not expect mercy from them. Then indignation boiled up in his heart, but out of pity for people, it was extinguished. He loved people and thought that maybe they would die without him. And then his heart flared with the desire to save them, to lead them to an easy path, and then the rays of that mighty fire shone in his eyes… And when they saw this, they thought that he was angry, which made their eyes so bright, and they were alert like wolves, waiting for him to fight them, and they began to surround him more closely, so that But he had already understood their thoughts, and that made his heart glow even brighter, for this thought of theirs had given birth to melancholy in him.

    And the forest still sang its dark song, and the thunder thundered, and the rain poured… ” What will I do for the people!?” Danko shouted louder than thunder.

    And suddenly he tore his chest with his hands and tore out his heart and held it high above his head.

    It glowed as brightly as the sun, and brighter than the sun, and the whole forest was silent, lit by this torch of great love for people, and the darkness was scattered by its light and there, deep in the forest, trembling, fell into the rotten mouth of the swamp. But the people, astonished, became like stones.

    “Let's go!” Danko shouted and rushed forward to his seat, holding the burning heart high and lighting the way for the people.

    They ran after him, fascinated. Then the forest began to roar again, shaking its peaks in surprise, but its noise was drowned out by the sound of running people. Everyone ran quickly and boldly, carried away by the wonderful sight of a burning heart. And now they were dying, but they were dying without complaint or tears. But Danko was still ahead, and his heart was still burning, burning!

    And suddenly the forest parted in front of him, parted and remained behind, dense and silent, and Danko and all those people immediately plunged into a sea of sunlight and clean air washed by rain. There was a thunderstorm-there, behind them, over the forest, and here the sun shone, the steppe sighed, the grass glittered in diamonds of rain, and the river glittered with gold … It was evening, and the sunset rays made the river seem red, like the blood that spurted hotly from Danko's torn chest.

    The proud daredevil Danko looked ahead of him at the wide expanse of the steppe – and he threw a joyful glance at the free land and laughed proudly. Then he fell and died.

    But the people, full of joy and hope, did not notice his death and did not see that his brave heart was still burning next to Danko's corpse. Only one cautious person noticed this and, afraid of something, stepped on the proud heart with his foot … And then it crumbled into sparks and went out … That's where they come from, the blue sparks of the steppe that appear before a thunderstorm!

  10. I found this parable a long time ago, but I never stop admiring it. In fact, it is about each of us.

    THERE ARE A LOT OF BEECHES HERE 😘

    • “Look,” Pharaoh said to the priests, ” down below, long lines of chained slaves are carrying one stone at a time. They are guarded by many soldiers. The more slaves, the better for the state – that's what we've always thought. But the more slaves there are, the more we have to fear their rebellion. We're increasing security. We have to feed our slaves well, otherwise they won't be able to do the hard physical work. But they are still lazy and rebellious…

    “Look how slowly they move, and the lazy guards don't whip them or beat them, not even healthy and strong slaves. But, they will move much faster. They won't need guards. The guards will also be turned into slaves. You can do this like this. Let today, before sunset, the heralds will announce the decree of Pharaoh, which will say: “With the dawn of a new day, all slaves will be granted complete freedom. For each stone delivered to the city, a free person will receive one coin. Coins can be exchanged for food, clothing, housing, a palace in the city, and the city itself. From now on, you are free people.”… In the morning of the next day, the priests and the Pharaoh once again ascended to the platform of the artificial mountain. The picture that presented itself to their eyes was amazing. Thousands of people, former slaves, were racing to drag the same stones as before. Sweating profusely, many carried two stones apiece. Others, who each had one, ran, kicking up dust. Some of the guards were also carrying rocks. People who considered themselves free – after all, the shackles were removed from them, sought to get as many coveted coins as possible in order to build their happy lives.

    Kratius spent several more months on his own platform, watching with satisfaction what was happening below.

    And the changes were huge. Some of the slaves gathered in small groups, built carts, and, loaded to the top with stones, sweating profusely, pushed these carts. “They'll invent many more devices,” Kratius thought to himself with satisfaction, ” and now the internal services have appeared: peddlers of water and food… Soon they will choose their bosses and judges. Let them choose: they, after all, consider themselves free, and the essence has not changed, they still carry stones…

  11. The famous myth of Sisyphus and his stone is a philosophical essay by Albert Camus, published in 1942, in which the author tries to answer the only philosophical question that, in his opinion, is important: “Is life worth the work to be lived?”

    Sisyphus challenged the Gods. When it was time to die, he tried to escape from the underworld. For this, the Gods decided to punish him: he always had to roll a huge stone into the mountain, from where it always rolled down, and everything had to start all over again. The gods believed that there was nothing worse in the world than hard and useless work. Camus sees Sisyphus as an absurd hero who lives life to the fullest, hates death, and is doomed to pointless labor. Sisyphus is most interesting to Camus when he descends to the foot of the mountain to a rolling stone. This is a truly tragic moment when the hero realizes his hopeless situation. He has no hope, but there is no fate that cannot be overcome by contempt for it. But Sisyphus has a stone that is his property, and every glimmer of ore in it is a whole world for the hero. Camus concludes that “all is well” and that ” Sisyphus should be imagined happy.”

    The author presents the continuous and meaningless labor of Sisyphus as a metaphor for modern life spent on useless labor in factories and offices. “Today's worker works on the same task every day of his life, and this fate is no less absurd. But this is tragic only in rare moments when it is realized.”

  12. Sarochka and Esya got married, but immediately after the marriage, Sarah said to her husband, ” dear Esya.. you will pay me for any sexual act.” Yesya shrugged his shoulders, submitted, and began to pay her. Years passed… everything was fine… but this is life and there was a precedent, the Jew-Esya went bankrupt. He comes to Sarah and says, ” I don't have any more money, Sarah.. I'm bankrupt.” Sarah looked at him, patted him on the head, and said, ” Do you see the grocery store across the street? Know that Yesya is my shop! Do you remember that perfume shop we went to last week? This is also my store. If you'd been a little more CAREFUL, THE WHOLE WORLD WOULD HAVE BEEN AT OUR FEET!”

  13. About two frogs falling into the milk, where one drowned, and the other floundered and beat its legs until it beat the milk into butter and floated on it.

  14. I really like Sufi parables.�

    1

    The Sufi said — ” No one understands a person unless they understand the connection between greed, obsequiousness, and impossibility.

    “This,” said the apprentice, ” is a puzzle that I cannot fathom.

    The Sufi said — ” Don't seek understanding by solving puzzles…

    He led the apprentice to a nearby bazaar where robes were sold.

    “Show me the best robe,” said the Sufi to the shopkeeper, ” and the most expensive one at that.”

    A sumptuous robe was brought to him, and an exceptionally high price was set for it.

    “That's exactly what I want,” said the Sufi. “But I'd prefer the collar to be sequined and trimmed with fur.”

    “Nothing is easier,” the salesman said immediately. — That's the kind of robe I have in my workshop behind the store. He disappeared for a few moments and returned with a hastily sewn coat of fur and sequins.

    — How much does this one cost?” The sufi asked.

    “Twenty times more than the previous one,” the shopkeeper replied.

    “Excellent! The Sufi exclaimed. — I'll take both…

    2

    Unfortunately, I can't find the exact text of this parable, so I write from memory.

    Once, during or after the lesson, the Teacher began to go around the students with a dish, and each took a flatbread for himself. At the same time, he started from the last rows, and one student sitting in the first row thought:: “What if I don't get it?” However, he was ashamed of these thoughts, and when the Teacher approached him with a tray, the student turned his cup over and said: “Thank you, but I've already eaten my share.”

    Something like that.

  15. I grew up in a village guy-smart, handsome, hardworking, from a good family. In general, the first guy in the village. It was time for him to get married, and he decided that he needed the same ideal wife in all plans. There was no such thing in the area, so he went in search of it. He returned forty years later alone, old and gray-haired. His fellow villagers ask him-has he found his ideal? Found… the guy replied with a sigh. BUT unfortunately, SHE IS still WAITING FOR THE PERFECT HUSBAND!

    So, this parable is true not only in your personal life, it is applicable to any human relationship. There is no ideal, but it is possible and necessary to strive for it!

    It's the same in politics, as long as we wait for the ideal ruler in every sense, who will judge everyone, warm them, feed them and arrange everything, we will continue to be ruled by thieves and criminals…

  16. The Talmud. Socrates and the two men in the chimney.

    In his mid-20s, a young Jew came to a prominent New York rabbi and stated that he wanted to study the Talmud.

    — Do you know Aramaic?” the rabbi asked.

    – no.

    “And Hebrew?”

    – no.

    — Did you teach Torah as a child?

    “No, Rebbe. But don't worry. I graduated from Berkeley's philosophy department and just finished my dissertation on logic in Socratic philosophy. Now, to fill in the gaps in my knowledge, I want to learn a little Talmud.

    “You're not ready to learn the Talmud,” the rabbi said. — This is the most profound book ever written by humans. But if you insist, I'll give you a logic test: if you do, I'll teach you.

    The young man agreed, and the rabbi continued.

    “Two men are coming down the chimney. One gets out with a clean face, the other with a dirty one. Which one of them is going to wash?

    The young philosopher's eyes widened.

    “Is this a logic test?!

    The rabbi nodded.

    “Well, of course, the one with the dirty face!

    “Wrong. Think logically: someone who has a dirty face will look at someone who has a clean face and decide that his face is also clean. And the one with a clean face will look at the one with a dirty face, decide that he himself is also dirty,and go to wash.

    “Clever idea! – the guest admired. “Come on, Rebbe, give me another test!”

    “Very well, young man. Two people come down the chimney. One gets out with a clean face, the other with a dirty one. Which one of them is going to wash?

    — But we already found out-the one with a clean face!

    “Wrong. They're both going to wash up. Think logically: someone who has a clean face will look at someone who has a dirty face and decide that his face is also dirty. And the one with a dirty face will see that the other one has gone to wash, will understand that he has a dirty face, and will also go to wash.

    — I hadn't thought of that!” It's amazing — I made a logical mistake! Rebbe, let's take another test!

    — All right. Two people come down the chimney. One gets out with a clean face, the other with a dirty one. Which one of them is going to wash?

    “Well… they're both going to wash up.

    “Wrong. None of them will go to wash. Think logically: someone who has a dirty face will look at someone who has a clean face and not go to wash. And the one with a clean face will see that the one with a dirty face does not go to wash, will understand that his face is clean, and also will not go to wash.

    The young man became desperate.

    – Well, believe me, I can learn the Talmud! Ask something else!

    — All right. Two people go down the chimney…

    “Oh, my God! Not one of them is going to wash!!!

    “Wrong. Are you now convinced that your knowledge of Socratic logic is not sufficient to teach you the Talmud? Tell me, how can two people go down the same pipe and one of them gets his face dirty and the other doesn't?! Don't you see? This whole question is nonsense, and if you spend your life answering meaningless questions, then all your answers will also be meaningless!

  17. I have long liked this parable. I first heard it in 2010, but I haven't established the exact authorship. Some say that this is a Sufi parable, some say that it is written by Norbekov, and some say that it is attributed to Anthony de Mello:

    One day, a father, son, and donkey were walking through the dusty streets of the city in the heat of the day. The father sat astride the donkey, and the son led it.

    “Poor boy! “His feet can barely keep up with the donkey,” said a passerby. How can you sit lazily on a donkey, seeing that the boy is exhausted?!

    The father listened, got down from the donkey, and told his son to sit in his place.

    They went on and met another person. He screamed:

    “And don't be ashamed! The kid sits there like a sultan, with his poor old man trailing behind.

    The boy was distressed by these words and asked his father to sit on the donkey behind him.

    “Good people, where have you ever seen such a thing?�— a woman wailed.�- So torment the animal! The poor donkey's back is already sagging, and two loafers are sitting on it like it's a sofa!

    Without a word, the father and son dismounted from the donkey. They had barely taken a few steps when the man who met them began to sneer:

    — That donkey of yours doesn't do anything, he's useless, why doesn't he take some of you?”

    The father put his hand on his son's shoulder and said:

    — No matter what we do, there's bound to be someone who doesn't agree with us. We must decide for ourselves how to live.

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