The master of similes
“Will power is like the rudder of a ship”
This simile (उपमा) from one of Plato’s dialogues, Cleitophon, clarifies the importance of willpower in our life. Our willpower takes us in the right direction by steering away from the fusillade of distractions and temptations.
One can find countless similes in different cultures across the globe. From the ancient bards to modern writers, they have been a valuable tool to convey the point lucidly to the masses.
Metaphors, analogies, and similes are an essential part of the philosopher’s toolkit. Though rarely used in academic publishing, they play an important role in public philosophy to easily explain concepts according to the prevailing cultural milieu.
Aristotle used to maintain a public treatise known as exoteric for circulating the philosophical ideas with the general population. Like pollen in the air, philosophy, when discussed in public, can germinate new thoughts and blossom societal changes.
Some 200 years before Aristotle, there lived a man across the oceans who delivered sermons that guided the masses and shaped a world religion - Buddhism.
The enlightened one, Buddha, propagated his ethical teachings of non-violence, love, and compassion with analogies and similes that captivated the royalty and the commoner.
In one of his sermons, Buddha gives the simile of the snake to highlight the importance of examining the Dhamma (teachings) to gain reflective acceptance rather than learning them for the sake of winning arguments.
“Suppose a man seeking a snake saw a large snake and grasped its coils or its tail. It would turn back on him and bite his hand or his arm. Why is that? Because of his wrong grasp of the snake. So too, some misguided men have a wrong grasp of Dhamma and use it just for the sake of criticizing and winning debates.
Now suppose a man seeking a snake, saw a large snake and caught it rightly with a cleft stick. Then the snake will not be able to bite his hand or his arm. Why is that? Because of his right grasp of the snake. So too, some clansmen learn the Dhamma. They have the right grasp of the Dhamma.” - Majjhima Nikāya
On another occasion, he gives the simile of the raft to convey that Dhamma (teachings) is for liberation (crossing over) and not just grasping.
“Suppose a man makes a raft and uses it to cross a river. Once he gets across, he might think - This raft has been very useful to me, and I got safely across to the shore. Suppose I were to hoist it on my head or load it on my shoulder, and then go wherever I want.” Buddha says that this would be the wrong way. Dhamma is similar to a raft, for crossing over or liberation, not to grasp. - Majjhima Nikāya
Buddha used his surroundings - the natural elements, animals, and daily objects to give relatable similes to the masses. He is one of the greatest spiritual teachers and philosophers the world has ever seen. And undoubtedly, a master of similes.
Cognitive Tools
Explaining with analogies, similes, and examples is the best way to propagate your message across a wide audience. Philosophers use thought experiments to analyze, explore, and illustrate concepts. An investment into these cognitive tools will compound to provide remarkable insights over time.
As Arthur Schopenhauer once said, “‘Nothing is easier than to write so that no one can understand; just as, contrarily, nothing is more difficult than to express deep things in such a way that everyone must necessarily grasp them.”