Inspired by KoansMetaphorsAndParables
Some aspects of the parable form that might make a pattern...
- Are typically oral stories
- Are good stories that draw the hearer in
- invitational, not prescriptive - invites the listener to see things a they might not otherwise see, suggest more than they say, and invite a transformation of perception.
- "arresting crystallizations of insight that invite further insight"
- do not invoke external authority- are authoritative in themselves
- are about seeing for oneself, not about hearing what to believe
- Said singly, presented in a context appropriate to the insight.
- Said many times, not always the same way, but with differing emphasis and elaboration.
- Not presented as speeches, but in the context of a dialog with the hearer.
- Often appear as simple truisms, but the hearer is expected to see them in metaphor, and observe what lesson there might be beyond the surface meaning.
Parables on Wiki
- ParableOfTheIdiotFlowers
- ParableOfThePainter
- ParableOfTheRepairMan
- TheParableOfTheAutoMechanic
- TheParableOfTheGoldenHammerPolicy
- TreeParable
- WoodsmanParable
SharpenTheSaw probably counts as a parable.