Principles and Praxis of Dialogue in the Qur’an

According to the Long Discourses of the Buddha Volume 19, Dragon Bird Chapter: “In the past, King Mirror-Face ordered his attendants to bring an elephant and let the blind touch it. Those who touched the elephant’s trunk said it was like a plow handle, those who touched the elephant’s tusks said it was like a pestle, those who touched the elephant’s ears said it was like a winnowing fan, those who touched the elephant’s head said it was like a cauldron, those who touched the elephant’s back said it was like a hill, those who touched the elephant’s belly said it was like a wall, those who touched the elephant’s thigh said it was like a tree, those who touched the elephant’s arm said it was like a pillar, and those who touched the elephant’s tail said it was like a rope. Each argued and debated, each had their own opinions. The king saw this and laughed heartily, praising: ‘All the blind people gathered here, competing to argue and praise. The elephant’s body is originally one, but different parts give rise to different opinions”.