Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Chah

The bird, the fish and the wise crab

From a talk by Ajahn Chah, “Monastery of Confusion (Q&A)”

1 min read

A fable he told: A fable or parable Ajahn Chah told to make a point, not something that happened to him.

The story — retold in our own words from Ajahn Chah's talk

Retold in our own words from Ajahn Chah's talk “Monastery of Confusion (Q&A)”, in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), pp. 592–593. Read the original talk

A large pond full of fish grew shallow as the rains decreased. A bird arrived and told the fish he pitied them, since nearby there was a deep lake where fish swam happily, and offered to carry them there one at a time in his bill. The fish lined up eagerly. Each time, once out of sight, the bird landed and ate the fish, then returned saying their friend was swimming happily and asking when they would join him, so the fish pushed to the front of the line. When all the fish were gone, only a crab remained. The skeptical crab agreed to go only by riding on the bird's back with his claws around its neck, warning he would choke the bird if it tried tricks. Whenever the bird tried to descend, the crab squeezed its throat until it could only croak, so in the end the bird had to return the crab to the pond.

A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Chah's talk)

When life feels shallow, the promise of a deeper lake elsewhere can sound irresistible. Ajahn Chah told this fable to a monk thinking of leaving and hoped he would have the crab's wisdom. Restless moods come and go. Keep a gentle grip on your good sense before you follow a voice that promises everything.

Reflection written by Being Mindful Stories with AI help, in the spirit of the talk. These are not Ajahn Chah's own words.

In brief (our summary)

A bird lures the fish of a shrinking pond away one by one with tales of a wonderful lake, until a careful crab rides on his back with its claws around his neck and gets safely home.

Teaching point

Be wary of the voice that says everything will be wonderful somewhere else.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Chah in the talk “Monastery of Confusion (Q&A)”, in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), pp. 592–593

The book is © The Sangha, Wat Nong Pah Pong, offered for free distribution. Read the talk free at ajahnchah.org.

The story text is Being Mindful Stories's retelling in our own words of how Ajahn Chah tells it in this talk, not his own words and not a quotation. Read the talk in the book for his exact words. The title, summary and reflection are Being Mindful Stories's editorial notes. Please credit the teacher and link the original talk in the book. Markdown version

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