An old monk was washing his bowl in a river when he noticed a scorpion struggling in the water. It was being swept toward the current, about to drown.
He reached in, scooped it into his hand, and carried it toward the bank.
The scorpion stung him. The pain shot up his arm, and he dropped it back into the water.
The monk took a breath, reached in again, and lifted the scorpion out. It stung him again.
A traveler on the bank had been watching. "Why do you keep doing that?" he called out. "Can't you see it will sting you every time?"
The monk reached in a third time and set the scorpion safely on the shore. Then he looked up, holding his swelling hand.
"It is the nature of the scorpion to sting," he said. "It is my nature to save. Why should I give up my nature because the scorpion will not give up his?"
What the monk and the scorpion teaches
This is often read in two ways, and both are worth holding.
- Don't let other people decide who you are. Unkind people do not get to make you unkind.
- Your kindness is about you, not about whether it is returned.
- And: know what a scorpion is. You can be kind and still use a stick. Compassion does not require letting someone hurt you again and again.
The moral in one sentence
Stay true to your own good nature, even when others stay true to theirs, but protect yourself while you do it.
Questions to sit with
- Who has been trying to change your nature lately?
- Where do you need to stay kind, and where do you need a stick?
For more, read 10 short stories about kindness or browse our wisdom quotes.
