The House

[ A Tibetan wisdom story. Enjoy ! ]

A young man lived with his old uncle in a house.

The young man liked to drink to inebriation.

His uncle would scold him, saying: ” Don’t go outside when you are drunk – you could hurt yourself !”

One evening, the young man went out to a bar and drank himself very drunk.

Then he thought to himself: I will go to my friend’s house so my uncle won’t scold me for drinking.

He was so drunk, he ended up at his own house, but thought he was at his friend’s house.

His uncle let him in.

” I can’t go home like this !
My uncle will give me an earful !
Let me stay here !”

The uncle failed to convince the nephew that he was actually home,
so he came up with a plan.

“OK! Let’s go to your house!” said the uncle, escorting his drunken nephew out the front door and around the block, arriving again at the front door to the very same house.

“Oh yes, I see I am home now!” said the young man.

The young man represents the pre-awake .
The uncle represents anyone who sees reality as it is, pointing the way.
The house represents things-as-they-are.
The story represents the value of words and concepts in encouraging the pre-awake awareness to see, to notice what is already there.

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Thanks to this blog for the photo: http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/149814

Thanks to Khenpo Kunga for this story from the Tibetan wisdom traditions, and for a lively verbal delivery!