Inspirational Metaphor Of Odorless Flowers

The metaphor of odorless flowers tells the story of an old samurai, a truly wise man who was revered by all. This old man held meetings in his home to pass on his teachings to young men who listened to him with great interest and respect. They were receiving an amazing lesson on anger and how to manage anger.

His reputation spread before him to nearby areas and people began to come to him from different directions. The old samurai mostly talked about the importance of detachment and how to dispel the selfish feelings within us.

His most loyal student was a young man named Alino. He wanted to learn everything possible from his teacher and and therefore he took part in the lessons of the old samurai on a daily basis. He also made tea for everyone and everyone considered him a helpful young man. The Samurai liked him because of his humility and interest in other people. This is the story of a young man were to receive an important lesson  h ajuttomat flowers.

Anger and a metaphor for odorless flowers

One day one of the old samurai’s students poured his tea on another student’s clothes. The other did not hesitate for a moment, but he reacted immediately and pushed the student who poured the tea on him. “What’s really bothering you? You are so clumsy! ” he said. He said his clothes were made of Chinese silk, and that now they are completely ruined.

The old samurai remained motionless. He continued, as if nothing had happened. Some of the people mumbled quietly. It seemed unprecedented for an old teacher to allow such a dispute at home. Most of them felt that the samurai should intervene and blame the student in question for his misbehavior.

Alino was confused. When the meeting was over, he couldn’t take any longer and asked his teacher,  “why do you allow such an injustice to happen when you know you only have to say one word to put that proud man in his place? Why didn’t you drive him out of your home? ”

The teacher smiled. “There are odorless flowers that shouldn’t be in our garden.” he replied to Alino. His response greatly confused Alino. He did not understand his teacher’s message. The old samurai then added, “Anger is an odorless flower that only grows in gardens where there is no freedom.” This was the first lesson in the metaphor of odorless flowers.

The aggressive man returns

A few weeks after this event, something happened that no one could have expected. The aggressive man returned to the old samurai’s home, and from the moment he stepped in, he was really hostile to everyone. He pushed his way through people. He almost shouted, and he didn’t care that the teacher was talking.

Suddenly he did something that surprised everyone. He got up, stepped close to the teacher, and then spat on his face. The teacher was silent for a few seconds. Everyone was shocked. At first, no one reacted, but after a while the crowd started making angry noises.

Alino was alert. He took one of the tails in his hand. He said to the old samurai,  “Master, allow me to give this man the lesson he deserves!” The teacher remained indifferent and simply raised his hand, showing that Alino should do nothing. It seemed that Alino still did not understand the metaphor of odorless flowers.

An unimaginable end

The teacher asked everyone to calm down. He remained completely calm. The attacker was ready to respond to anyone who would try to attack him. There was a contented smile on his face as he had defied the most famous man in the whole area. Suddenly the samurai broke the silence. He looked straight at the man who had spit on his face and said, “Thank you.”

No one in the house had faith in their ears. Alino didn’t know what to think. He said to the wise teacher, “What the hell did you say, teacher? How can you thank this puppy who will come to your home to offend and disgrace you? How on earth can you thank him? ”

The teacher addressed the assailant calmly, saying, “Your gesture has allowed me to testify that anger has disappeared from my heart. I have no need to pay you back. I’m not going to let odorless flowers grow in my garden. ” Alino was ashamed.

The teacher had taught them for months how to avoid various feelings of fervor, such as anger. People who offend are more aggressive, negative and critical than odorless flowers. The only proper sensible way to respond to them is to disregard them,  and not allow them to destroy our inner garden. This is an inspiring teaching about the metaphor of odorless flowers, and next we just have to apply it to our lives.