The Mango Tree
How To Stop Analyzing Everything In Life
A group of men went to study a mango tree. This tree was ordinary, except that it produced these extraordinary mangoes, bringing unbounded joy to those who enjoyed its fruits. Other creatures were seen enjoying the treasure of the tree as well. All who enjoyed its labors were happy, including the tree which sacrificed its fruit to grow more.
This group of men, however, were dissatisfied even though the mangoes brought enjoyment to all. Displeased, the men finely tuned their instruments of thought to engineering different formulas that would define both the tree and its fruit.
Each man was specialized in his own area of study. With their respective sciences, each member of the group studied the tree according to his own discipline.
The mathematician researched the leaves. There were many leaves on this mango tree, and each day passing grew more. He did everything he could to count the leaves, study them, categorize them, and keep up with the new growth. The age and life expectancy of the tree were calculated, and its fruit production was determined.
The chemist studied the soil beneath the tree. He learned all there was of the material, bacterial, and mineral content of the dirt. Days passed as the soil content would continually change. He always had to finish his experiments to keep up with the change and run new tests.
The concept of a mango tree interested the philosopher. He questioned all perceptual knowledge of the tree itself. he wondered whether the tree even existed. “A mango tree stands before me,” he thought, “Or do I stand before a mango tree?” The philosopher had long discussions in his mind about the true nature of the tree—each idea connected itself with other ideas that would circle to the first ideas, breeding confusion. The philosopher continued his study using his exceptional reasoning above all else.
The fourth man in the group studied the natural forces that make the tree what it is. Mango trees are material, and all material is just energy condensed to a slow vibration. The light, the heat, day and night cycles, the rainfall, and the wind were examined. “Different astrological alignments cause the tree to take a specific shape,” he thought. The elements were affecting the growth of this tree, and if he studied and mastered them, all the knowledge of the tree could be known. According to the scientist of energy, with enough knowledge of how energy, force, and matter interplay with another, the truth will be revealed.
These four men quarreled with each other over who had the right idea of the tree's true nature.
None of them were wrong. They learned everything they possibly could without further study. But each of them contradicted one another. The Philosopher could never have agreed with the man who spoke of “energies.” The man who explained the tree through an interplay of natural energies thought the mathematician was a fool, “Who would spend all that time counting leaves,” he thought.
The Chemist couldn't believe a philosopher would waste his time contemplating a tree when all the facts of its composition were present in the Chemist’s findings. The Mathematician counted every leaf and calculated how many more would grow, how many fruits the tree would give, and the tree's life expectancy. He thought all the others were fools, for they knew nothing of the tree's geometrical and algebraic structure.
As the four scientists argued, they became aware of a stranger sitting beneath the tree enjoying a freshly peeled mango. After he gulped down his second sweet bite of tender mango, he spoke thus, “Gentlemen, whilst performing ye duty towards scientific veracity; thy hast enjoyed a fruit beyond study.”
With pitiful scorn, the men laughed harmoniously at the fool beneath the tree. The fool replied, “Lo! Behold a group of men in agreement. When truth is seen, there is consonance; where falsehoods live, there can only be division. Set aside your theories and taste the fruit of which your theories speak. The fruit is ripe. Groups like yours have been coming here for years—all with the same bickering, weeping, wailing, and righteousness. Laugh and eat together before this harvest goes to waste. Set down your vain arguments and experience the truth this tree has to offer.”
First, it is obvious that there are different areas of expertise that anybody can study; they are inexhaustible and offer only a fragmented version of truth. Whatever “truth” philosophy offers, the physical sciences will refute, so on and so forth…These people have been bickering for thousands of years; it will never end.
Quit trying to make sense of the world as if it’s your duty to do so.
There will always be those who, instead of enjoying their lives, make attempts to examine all the different types and ways of enjoying. You never did this as a child; you simply enjoyed. You cannot add any joy to yourself which you do not already possess. Put an end to all that casts a shadow over your happiness.
Remove the veil of ignorance. Return to a natural state of bliss, happiness, and joy. The veil is the dazzling spectacle your five senses project as reality. Ignorance begins when we believe ourselves being different from this projection of the sensory world.
When we see ourselves as something separate from our environment, we think of ourselves as distinguished flag carriers and world conquerors. When we shift our perspective to one of inclusion, that we are part and parcel of the whole of existence, what then is there to conquer?
Any flag planting would be you claiming yourself; any conquering of land would be you conquering the land that is already yours.
Stop spending your time figuring out some things when you can be spending your time enjoying all things. Stop picking and choosing what to enjoy and when; every moment is enjoyment.
Our rigid ideas of life furl our brow and bind our experience to colorless ideas of duality .
Remember, the fruit is waiting to be eaten. Why do you enjoy the fruit? It is you experiencing life unfettered. Your ideas will always leave you parched. Each sip of knowledge aggravates the craving for more. Why settle for more when you can have everything there is? If you are unsatisfied with life, you are a beggar. You beg for satisfaction, for enjoyment, for wealth, fulfillment, power, and fame.
Stop begging. You are already satisfied, but it is your thoughts which tell you otherwise. Thinking and intellectualizing about the world will lead you from one mountain peak to another while never sitting still to enjoy the view.
Life itself is the mango. The tree is the universe from which the mango materializes itself. Unity occurs when opinions cease as to what this tree is or as to how the fruit came about. There is the fruit; eating it gives an experience that cannot be denied.
Live your life. All you need to know is that we don't know. Once that is firmly established in your mind, eat the mango.
