# The tortoise who pitied the snake

- Teacher: Ajahn Chah
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/chah-tortoise-who-pitied-the-snake
- Themes: humility, perspective, wisdom, judgement
- Life situations: judging others, judging others' choices, family pressure about monastic life

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

In a forest fire a slow tortoise pities a snake for having no legs, but the snake slips away easily while the tortoise is caught.

## The story, retold in our own words (a paraphrase, not Ajahn Chah's words)

_Retold in our own words from Ajahn Chah's talk “The Dhamma Goes Westward”, in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), p. 656._

_A fable or parable Ajahn Chah told to make a point, not something that happened to him._

A forest was on fire and a tortoise and a snake were both trying to flee. The lumbering tortoise saw the snake slither by and pitied it, thinking that with no legs the snake could never escape, and wanted to help it. But as the fire spread, the snake fled easily, while the tortoise, even with four legs, could not get away and died there.

## Teaching point

We pity people who do not share our ways, assuming our way is the only way.

## Reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Chah's talk)

It is easy to feel sorry for people whose lives look nothing like ours. Ajahn Chah told this fable about those who worried for him because he lived differently. Each of us is ignorant in our own way. Holding our views a little more lightly leaves room to respect paths we do not understand.

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

## Source

- Talk "The Dhamma Goes Westward", in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), p. 656 — https://www.ajahnchah.org/book/Dhamma_Goes_Westward.php

_The book is © The Sangha, Wat Nong Pah Pong, offered for free distribution; read the talk free at its source link. No book text is reproduced here._