<p><i>A fire broke out in the house of a wealthy man. H<b>e tried to warn the children inside the burning house but they were too absorbed in their games to pay attention to him or the flames.</b></i></p><p><i>Then, the wealthy man shouted there were incredible toys outside. And the children rushed out. Relieved, the wealthy man gave the kids even better toys than the ones he had mentioned.</i></p>

The Parable Of The Burning House

<p><b>The father is the Buddha and sentient beings are the children.</b> The Burning House represents the world burning with the fires of old age, sickness and death. The teachings of the Buddha are like the father getting the kids <b>to leave their pleasures for a greater pleasure, Nirvana. </b></p>

The meaning behind the parable of the Burning House

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<img src="../images/site-banner.gif"/>
<header>
<br/>
<h1>The Parable of the Burning House</h1>
<nav>
	<ul>
<li><a href="../index.html">Home</a></li>
               <li><a href="../sitemap.html">Explore our Site</a></li>
<li><a href="#linked_pages">Related link pages</a></li>	    	
	</ul>
</nav>
</header>
<div>
<div>
<section>
<header>
<h2>The Parable of the Burning House<br/>from the Lotus Sutra</h2>
</header>
 The Parable of the Burning House appears in Chapter 3 ( the Hiyu Chapter ) of the Lotus Sutra. 
 In this parable a scenario is presented where children are in great danger in a house on fire :-
<br/>
<br/>
 One day, a fire broke out in the house of a wealthy 
man who had many children. The wealthy man shouted at his children inside the
 burning house to flee. But, the children were absorbed in their games and
 did not heed his warning, though the house was being consumed by flames.<br/>
<br/>
 Then, the wealthy man devised a practical way to lure the children from the burning house.
 Knowing that the children were fond of interesting playthings, he called out to them,
 "Listen! Outside the gate are the carts that you have always wanted: carts pulled
 by goats, carts pulled by deer, and carts pulled by oxen. Why don't you come out
 and play with them?"  
The wealthy man knew that these things would be irresistible to his children.<br/>
 <br/>
The children, eager to play with these new toys rushed out of the house but,
 instead of the carts that he had promised, the father gave them a cart much better than any he
 has described - a cart draped with precious stones and pulled by white bullocks. The important 
 thing being that the children were saved from the dangers of the house on fire.
<br/>
 <br/>
 In this parable the father, of course, is the Buddha and sentient beings
 are the children trapped in the burning house. The Burning House represents the world burning with the
 fires of old age,
 sickness and death. The teachings of the Buddha are like the father getting the boys
 to leave their pleasures for a greater pleasure, Nirvana.
<br/>
<br/>
 A further interpretation
 is to see the the goat, deer, and ox carts as representing the early teachings of Buddhism, as
  the teachings of Hinayana Buddhism (the Mahayana
 term for the Buddhism that preceded it),
 and the cart pulled by white bullocks to 'The Lotus Sutra' which, when followed,
 leads to Buddhahood.
<br/>
<br/>
<div>
<font>World Religions Spirituality Quotations</font>
<br/>
<br/>
<a href="../mysticism/buddhist_spirituality.html">Buddhist</a>            
<a href="../mysticism/islamic_spirituality.html">Islamic</a>            
<a href="../mysticism/vedic_hindu_spirituality.html">Vedic <font>or</font> Hindu</a>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<a href="../../mysticism/christian_spirituality.html">Christian</a>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<a href="../mysticism/sikh_spirituality.html">Sikh</a>            
<a href="../mysticism/taoist_spirituality.html">Taoist</a>            
<a href="../mysticism/jewish_spirituality.html">Jewish</a>
<br/>
<br/>
</div>
</section>             
</div>
<div>
<br/>
<br/>
<h2>Links to Particularly Popular Topics &amp; Pages</h2>
<ul>
 <li><div>Archaeology +</div> 
  <ul> 
   <li><br/><a href="../archaeology/terracotta_warriors.html">Chinese Terracotta Warriors</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="../archaeology/otzi_the_iceman.html">Otzi the Iceman</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="../archaeology/antikythera_mechanism.html">The Antikythera Mechanism</a><br/><br/></li>
   <li><br/><a href="../sitemap.html#archaeology">More Archaeology pages ...</a><br/><br/></li>
  </ul> 
 </li>
 <li><div>Social Psychology +</div> 
  <ul> 
   <li><br/><a href="../psychology/milgram_obedience_experiment.html">Stanley Milgram : Obedience to Authority Experiments</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="../psychology/social/asch_conformity.html">Conformity under Social Pressure : Solomon Asch</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="../psychology/nature_nurture.html">The Nature vs Nurture Debate</a><br/><br/></li>
   <li><br/><a href="../sitemap.html#social_psychology">More Social Psychology pages ...</a><br/><br/></li>
  </ul> 
 </li>
 <li><div>Quotations &amp; Quotes +</div> 
  <ul> 
   <li><br/><a href="../quotations/quotes/stephen_fry_gods_religions_beliefs.html">Stephen Fry quotations and quotes on God and Religion</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="../quotations/quotes/stephen_fry_irish_tv_interview.html">Stephen Fry's controversial interview on Irish TV</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="../scientist/stephen_hawking_god_religion.html">Stephen Hawking : God &amp; Religion quotes</a><br/><br/></li>
   <li><br/><a href="../philosophy/friedrich_nietzsche_quotes.html">'God is dead' - Nietzsche</a><br/><br/></li>
   <li><br/><a href="../sitemap.html#quotations_quotes">More Quotations &amp; Quotes pages ...</a><br/><br/></li>
  </ul> 
 </li>
 <li><div>Historical Biography +</div> 
  <ul> 
   <li><br/><a href="../historical/biography/maximilien_robespierre.html">Maximilien Robespierre : Reign of Terror</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="../historical/biography/otto_von_bismarck.html">Otto von Bismarck</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="../historical/biography/metternich.html">Metternich</a><br/><br/></li>
   <li><br/><a href="../sitemap.html#historical_biography">More Historical Biography pages ...</a><br/><br/></li>
  </ul> 
 </li>
 <li><div>History +</div> 
  <ul> 
   <li><br/><a href="../history/1848/revolution_of_1848.html">The European Revolutions of 1848</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="../history/italian_unification.html">Cavour &amp; Italian Unification</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="../history/german_unification.html">Bismarck &amp; German Unification</a><br/><br/></li>
   <li><br/><a href="../sitemap.html#history">More History pages ...</a><br/><br/></li>
  </ul> 
 </li> 
 <li><div>Spirituality +</div> 
  <ul> 
   <li><br/><a href="../index.html">The Faith vs. Reason Debate</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="../mysticism/world_religions_populations.html">World Religions Populations Statistics</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="../mysticism.html">Central spiritual insights</a><br/><br/></li>
   <li><br/><a href="../interfaith_studies.html">Other spiritual wisdoms</a><br/><br/></li>
   <li><br/><a href="../sitemap.html#spirituality">More Spirituality pages ...</a><br/><br/></li>
  </ul> 
 </li>
 <li><div>Buddhism +</div> 
  <ul> 
   <li><br/><a href="Buddha_teachings.html">Buddha's teachings</a><br/><br/></li>
   <li><br/><a href="../mysticism/buddhist_spirituality.html">Buddhist Spirituality</a><br/><br/></li>  
   <li><br/><a href="buddhist_philosophy.html">Buddhist Philosophy</a><br/><br/></li> 
   <li><br/><a href="buddhism_christianity.html">Buddhism vs. Christianity</a><br/><br/></li>
   <li><br/><a href="../philosophy/eastern_western_metaphysics.html">Eastern vs Western Metaphysics</a><br/><br/></li>
   <li><br/><a href="../sitemap.html#buddhism">More Buddhism pages ...</a><br/><br/></li>
  </ul> 
 </li>
 <li><div>Downloads +</div> 
  <ul> 
   <li><br/><a href="../biography_life_works.html">Our Downloads page ...</a><br/><br/></li>  
  </ul> 
 </li> 
</ul>
</div>
<footer>
<h2>Related Link Pages</h2>
<div>
<a href="Buddha_teachings.html">Buddha's teachings</a><br/><br/><br/><br/>
<a href="buddhist_philosophy.html">Buddhist Philosophy</a><br/><br/><br/><br/>
<a href="buddhism_christianity.html">Buddhism vs. Christianity</a><br/><br/><br/><br/>
<a href="../philosophy/eastern_western_metaphysics.html">Eastern vs. Western Metaphysics and Philosophy</a><br/><br/><br/><br/>
<a href="../science_and_religion_quotes.html">Science and Religion quotes</a><br/><br/><br/><br/>
<a href="../science-versus-religion-debate.html">The Science versus Religion Debate</a><br/><br/><br/><br/>
<a href="../index.html">Comparative Religion - Aldous Huxley's "The Perennial Philosophy"</a><br/><br/>
</div>
<br/>
<br/>
<div><br/><br/>
<a href="#Parable_Burning_House">Start of Parable of the Burning House<br/>from the Lotus Sutra</a>
<br/><br/></div>
<br/>
<br/>
</footer>

<script> 
$("#menu > li > div").click(function(){ 

if(false == $(this).next().is(':visible')) {
$('#menu ul').slideUp(300); 
} 
  $(this).next().slideToggle(300); 
  });
 
$('#menu ul:eq(6)').show();
 
</script>

</div></body></html>

Burning House Parable - Lotus Sutra

The Parable Of The Burning House

The meaning behind the parable of the Burning House

James Cooper's ideas are part of this journey:

Related collections

Similar ideas