The Little Musk Deer

I suspect that for as long as there have been people there have been stories told to capture their imagination, echo their ideas and dreams and help them understand their fears. Stories often help to suggest and frame that which we cannot touch, but which we nonetheless feel is true. I have a lot of sympathy with Philip Pullman when he writes:

After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.

As a teacher, one of my greatest privileges is sharing stories, and I have a particular fondness for those tales that can be enjoyed at any age but that can also, if we allow them, have a deeper meaning. I've collected quite a few over the years and have decided that I would like to occasionally share them here, as a record for my own enjoyment, and in the hope that others will enjoy them too.

I've long admired the writing of Eknath Easwaren, an Indian scholar and spiritual teacher who moved to America in 1959 to teach Literature at Berkeley, and who later established the Blue Mountain Meditation Centre which still exists today. He had a wonderful way of telling stories that were both simple (often based on the teaching of his Grandmother) and profound. One of my personal favourites is the tale of of the little Musk deer, recounted in Eknath's book ‘Your Life Is Your Message’ by Hyperion Press:

In the Indian tradition they tell of a story which describes a spiritual search very well. It is about the musk deer, a gentle creature which makes it's home on the lower slopes of the Himalayas. One day, it is said, a little musk deer went to his Granny musk deer. He was puzzled. “Granny,” he said, “I smell a haunting fragrance. What is it? Where is it coming from?” “Why don't you go and smell the animals in the forest to see if it comes from any of them,” said his Granny. So the musk deer went to the lion, smelled the lion, and said, “No, it's not the lion.” Then he went to the tiger and said, “Oh no, it's definitely not the tiger.” Then the monkey, then the bear, then the fish, then the elephant; on by one, he went to all the animals in the forest and finally, quite baffled, returned to Granny. “I have been to every animal in the forest,” he said, “and none of them has this perfume.” Granny just smiled wisely and said, “Then here, smell your own paw.” The musk deer lifted his paw, gave it a sniff, and let out a cry of joy. " It comes from me,” he cried. “It comes from me! It comes from me!”

Please   email me should you have a comment or query relating to this post.

Tweet