Parable of the Monk and the Scorpion

Origin: Ancient Zen Parable

Parable:

One day, a Monk was walking alongside a stream when he saw a Scorpion struggling in the water. Knowing that scorpions cannot swim, he knelt down to scoop it out of the water.

Just before setting it down, the Scorpion turned and stung his hand. The Monk withdrew his hand in pain and the Scorpion fell back into the stream.

When the Monk realized this, he scooped his hands down again to save the Scorpion. And just as before, the Scorpion stung his hand and fell back into the stream. This scene repeated itself several times.

A little boy who was playing near the stream asked the Monk, “Excuse me. Why do you keep trying to save the Scorpion — Don’t you know it will just sting you every time you try to rescue it?”

The Monk, picking up a leaf and rescuing the scorpion successfully this time, replied, “Dear boy, just as it is a Scorpion’s nature to sting, and Water’s nature to make things wet, so it is my nature — a Monk’s nature — to save.”

Lesson:

Be true to your nature. Know that, though another’s nature may be quite different from your own, that does not make it good or bad. The hawk is not evil because it hunts the mouse. It is the hawk’s nature to hunt the mouse. It would be a bad sign if the hawk moped around guiltily refusing to hunt the mouse. Discover your own nature — your own calling — and live that to the fullest extent while respecting, and not judging, the myriad nature of others.