An Elephant

Mary: The story of the blind men and the elephant comes from ancient India. It's about four blind men who had never encountered an elephant. One day, they were asked to describe an elephant kept nearby. The first man touched a leg and said, "It's like a pillar." The second touched the tail and said, "It's like a rope." The third felt the ear and said, "It's like a fan," and the fourth touched the belly and said, "It's like a wall." Their answers were all different, and they argued about who was right.


Blind Men and An Elephant

Pedro: I thought it was six blind men. So the story has different versions depending on who's telling it or where it's from?

M: Yes, four or six, it doesn't really matter. The idea's the same. The version I heard ends with the Buddha commenting on the men. He pitied them for arguing based on their limited perspectives. If only they could see the whole elephant, they'd stop fighting.

P: So talking about the mind is like the blind men describing the elephant? We can't really see the mind, not even our own, and we don't have the Buddha's insight to see it fully. We just know bits and pieces from what we've learned or imagined.

M: Maybe even the Buddha didn't see the entire mind. According to legend, before he became the Buddha, before he was even born, his mother, Queen Maya, dreamed she was dancing with a baby elephant. That's the night she conceived him.

P: Whoa, another elephant? I heard that China also has a version of the blind men and the elephant. It's made a big impact on Chinese culture. The word for elephant, 象, is a pictograph 象形 of the animal. It also means "form" or "shape" in some contexts. Isn't that fitting for the story?

M: Really? What are some Chinese phrases with "elephant" in them?

P: Well, 氣象 literally means "air-elephant" or "air-form". It refers to the weather. 肖像 means "likeness-elephant" or "resemblance-form," which means portrait. 對象 means "match-elephant," as in a partner or spouse. The word 相 is a simplified form of 象 and also means "appearance" or "form." 相片 means "form-piece" or a photo. 照相 means "reflect-form," or taking a picture. By the way, why don't you think the Buddha sees the whole mind? Isn't enlightenment supposed to let him know the ultimate truth?

M: I just think the truth might be more complicated. Sure, someone with sight can see more than the blind men. But that doesn't mean they see everything. The Buddha might know his own mind, but not someone else's. He even said he couldn't help people who didn't believe in him. That means he didn't know their minds well enough to reach them. If he did, he could say something that would help them understand and believe.

P: So you're saying the Buddha understands the mind, but not completely?

M: Exactly. You know that saying, "There's more to it than meets the eye"? Let's go back to the elephant story. A person with vision can see its trunk, ears, tail, and so on. He knows more than the blind men. But does he see everything about the elephant? No. A hunter or a vet would notice more than he does, because the specialist has trained to see more.

And then there's mood and perception. Our emotions, often shaped by the subconscious, affect how we see things. Under the elephant's skin are bones, muscles, blood, nerves, microscopic cells, bacteria - all interacting and affecting the elephant's state. And we have our own mood while observing. If we don't see what's beneath the surface, are we really seeing the whole elephant? And beyond visuals, what roles do the other senses play in the observation? Does a bird, a mouse, or even a tiger see the elephant the same way a human does? If not, who sees it "fully"?

The blind men argued because each had only a limited experience. But even people with sight don't always agree. Suppose they're all calm, rational, and have good eyesight, then you'd think they'd describe the elephant the same way, like taking identical photos of the same thing. But no! Ask a group of people to describe an object - an elephant, a rock, anything. If they don't talk to and consult with each other, you'll get different answers. Why? Because each person sees it from a different angle, shaped by their own mental filters and priorities.

Le Boy de Marius Bouillabès

P: So you're saying it's impossible to fully and objectively describe an elephant? And our understanding of the mind will always be partial and subjective?

M: Yes, that's what I think. Absolute objective truth is an idea we believe in, but no one's ever proven it. For instance, someone might say, "It's daytime now," and call that an absolute truth. But it's night on the other side of the world. Still, even subjective observations can give us knowledge. Meaning comes from the context. It makes sense to say, "The mind is like this in that situation," or "Under these brain activities, the mind does this." That's one way to understand the mind - by looking at brain activity. But there are other ways too. The key is combining the context with the thing you're describing. Change the context, and you change the meaning.

P: Are there other contexts to the blind men and the elephant story?

M: Definitely. There are lots of contexts. For example, the audience or the storyteller can be the context. Maybe the storyteller meant to highlight people's ignorance. Or maybe the audience interprets it as showing the Buddha's wisdom. What we take from the story depends on our own thoughts and memories.

P: So to understand the mind, maybe we don't need to chase after some absolute truth. We can just choose a specific context as a reference, and use that to get a partial but still meaningful understanding?

M: Yes, I think that's how rational research works. Of course, there are other approaches, like poetry or religious visions, that reveal something about the mind in their own way. Those are different contexts, offering different kinds of knowledge.