Teaching stories
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Teaching stories is a term introduced by Idries Shah to describe stories and anecdotes that have been deliberately created as vehicles for the transmission of wisdom.
- "On the surface teaching stories often appear to be little more than fairy or folk tales. But they are designed to embody - in their characters, plots and imagery - patterns and relationships that nurture a part of the mind that is unreachable in more direct ways, thus increasing our understanding and breadth of vision, in addition to fostering our ability to think critically." - Robert Ornstein
Some examples of teaching stories are Sufi stories of Nasrudin or Farid al-Din Attar, Zen koans, and the parables of Jesus.