The Three Doors of Wisdom or The Parable of Wisdom

 Parable of wisdom, which we collect while walking the Path in search of meaning and happiness.

A king had an only son - brave, skillful and clever. When the young prince completed his studies, his father sent him to an old sage to improve his knowledge of life.

- Advise me how to cross the Path of Life - said the young man.

- My words will disappear like footsteps in the sand - replied the sage - Instead, I will give you some guidance. On your way you will face three doors. Read what is written on each of them. You will feel an irresistible urge to follow the instructions. Do not resist this desire, or you will be condemned to experience again and again what you want to escape. I can't tell you anything more. You have to feel it yourself with your heart and flesh. Now go. Follow the road in front of you.

The old sage disappeared, and the prince took the Path of Life. Soon he found himself in front of a large door that read:

"CHANGE THE WORLD"

"That's exactly what I was going to do," the young man said to himself. - Because the truth is that I like some things in this world, but others are not at all to my taste.

And he went into his first battle. His ideal, his determination and his drive impelled him to fight, to undertake, to conquer, to shape reality according to his will. He experienced the pleasure and intoxication of the conqueror, but no peace in his soul. He changed a lot of things, but he didn't succeed in many others.

Past years.

One day he met the old sage who asked him:

– What did you learn along the way?

"I have learned," replied the prince, "to distinguish what is in my power from what is not: to distinguish what depends on me from what is not."

"Good," said the old man. –Use your power to influence the things that depend on you. Forget about those who slip away from their power.

And disappeared.

Shortly afterwards the prince found the second door. On it was written:

"CHANGE OTHERS"

"That's what I thought," he said to himself. - Others are a source of pleasure and joy, but also of pain and bitterness.

And he rose up against that which did not satisfy him and irritated him in his fellow men. He did his best to change their character and eradicate their faults. This was his second fight.

Past years. One day, when the prince had already begun to deeply doubt the results of his attempts to change others, the sage appeared again and asked him:

– What did you learn along the way?

"I have learned," replied the prince, "that others are not the cause or the source of my joys and sorrows, of my satisfaction or disappointment." They are simply a pretext and an opportunity for my feelings to manifest. But my feelings are born in myself.

- You are right - agreed the sage. –By what they awaken in you, others give you the opportunity to know yourself.Be grateful to those who bring you joy and pleasure. But also give thanks to those who cause you to experience disappointment and suffering, because through them Life teaches you what you have not yet mastered and what you will need to walk your path.

The old man said these words and disappeared.

Then the prince reached the third door, on which was written:

"CHANGE YOURSELF"

"Yes," thought the prince. "If I am really the cause of all my problems, this is the only thing left for me to do."

And began his third battle. He did everything possible to improve his character, to eradicate his flaws, to change what he did not like about himself and everything that did not correspond to his ideal. He fought this battle for many years, reaped success, but also met resistance, suffered defeats. When he met the sage again, he had to answer the same question:

– What did you learn along the way?

- I have learned, - replied the prince, - that there are things in our country that we can change, but also things that resist and that we never manage to break.

"Okay," said the old sage.

- Yes - continued the prince - but I'm getting tired of these eternal battles with everything, with everyone, with myself. Will it never end? When will I finally find peace? I want so badly to stop fighting, to drop everything, to rest!

"This is exactly your goal," the sage told him. – But before you move on, turn to look at the road you've traveled.

He said this and disappeared.

The prince looked back and noticed that the third door had an inscription on its reverse side as well! The inscription read:

"ACCEPT YOURSELF"

The prince was surprised that he had not seen the inscription earlier.

"Apparently, when one goes into battle, one is blinded," he said to himself.

The prince also saw scattered on the ground all those things he had fought within himself: his flaws, his weaknesses, his fears, his limitations, all his old demons. And he learned to know them, accept them, even love them. He learned to love himself without comparing himself to others, without judging and reprimanding himself.

Then he met the sage again, who asked him the usual question:

– What did you learn along the way?

"I learned," replied the prince, "that to hate or reject a part of yourself is to condemn yourself to eternal disagreement with yourself. I learned to accept myself as I am - completely and unconditionally.

"Okay," said the sage. – You have mastered the First Wisdom. Now you can go through the Third Gate again.

No sooner had he passed through the third door than the prince saw in the distance the back of the second and read:

"ACCEPT OTHERS"

Around him he saw the people he had met along the way. Those he loved and those he hated. Those he supported and those he fought against. But to his great astonishment, he was no longer able to see their faults and faults, which had once so irritated him, and which he wished to eradicate.

When he met the sage again, the latter asked him:

– What did you learn along the way?

"I learned," answered the prince, "that since I am in agreement with myself, I have nothing to reproach others with, and no reason to fear them. I learned to accept and love others completely and unconditionally.

"Okay," said the sage. – This is the Second Wisdom. Now you can go through the second door again.

On the other side, the prince noticed the reverse side of the first door. It said:

"EMBRACE THE WORLD"

"It's strange how I didn't see this inscription the first time," the prince wondered.

He looked around and saw around him the world that he had previously wanted to conquer, transform, change. He was stunned by the brilliance and beauty of everything about it. From his perfection. And it was still the same world... Had the world changed, or his view?

– What did you learn along the way? – asked the sage at their next meeting.

- I learned - answered the prince - that the world is a mirror of my soul. Che my soul does not see the world, but its own reflection in it. When she is happy, the world seems cheerful to her. When something weighs on her, her world seems sad. But the world in itself is neither happy nor sad. It's just here, it exists – and that's all. It wasn't him that tormented me, but the image I had of him. I learned to accept it without judging it – completely and unconditionally.

"This is the Third Wisdom," said the old sage. - Here it is you are already in harmony with yourself, with others and with the World.

A sense of serene calmness, serenity, and completeness overwhelmed the prince. He felt himself sinking into the Silence.

- Now you are ready to cross the last threshold again - said the sage - that of the transition from The Silence of the Fullness to the Fullness of the Silence.

And the old man disappeared.

Also read: The main marks of a spiritually aware person

Everything that happens to us is for good!