My guide on a recent rock-hounding trip had been struck by lightning three times, survived a bout of hanta virus, fallen off a truck and broken his back but of most immediate concern for myself, had been bitten by rattlesnakes three times in this area where we were now walking. I didn’t know whether to stay as far away from him as possible, or cling close to his side since he must have been the luckiest man in the world, definitely a final round Survivor!
Ever since I was a kid and had a fleeting encounter with a copperhead in my backyard, I’ve been afraid of snakes. I once confessed this to my old Lakota friend Sid Byrd and he shared what he called an OIT (Old Indian Trick.) “Bob! It’s very easy. If you see or hear a rattlesnake, jump as fast and high as you can. Now listen carefully, because this is the most important part. Don’t come down!”
When I got home sunburned but unbitten, I reread the story of the Snake and the Wise Man. Here’s my brief retelling.
For many years the people of a certain village lived in terror of vicious snake. Though not poisonous, his bite had sickened many. It so happened that a wise man passed through this village on his yearly pilgrimage, offering blessings to all who asked. The wise one listened as one of them asked if he could free the village of the torments of the snake. He agreed to try and was led to the hole where the fearsome serpent lived. He found the snake, fat and glistening, coiled in the midday sun.
“Snake! Please listen carefully. Your life, like all life is short. Your wickedness may be returned to you in many reincarnations of suffering. Turn from this path and embrace a life of peace and harmony. Please, you must stop biting the villagers. Try this for a year and I will return, and we can discuss your progress.” The wise man’s gently words and demeanor seemed to sooth the snake. The sun grew low in the sky, the air grew cool and the snake returned to its lair.
The year passed and the wise man returned to keep his appointment. The snake emerged from his hole. The wise one was shocked to see the great change that had come over it. It was emaciated and covered with still bloody wounds and bruises.
“What has befallen you, dear snake?”
“I have kept my promise to you,” the snake replied, “When the villagers saw that I would not bite nor harm them, they began throwing rocks and sticks at me. Still, I did not hiss nor bite. Now they were emboldened to approach me, even when I was asleep in the sun, kicking and beating me until I have become as you see me now. You are responsible for this miserable condition in which you find me.”
“I owe you an apology,” said the wise man, “for it seems that I was not entirely clear in my explanation. I wanted you to stop biting the villagers. But I never meant that you should stop hissing to caution them about your powers.”
I wish I could say that this story leaves me with a clear moral and political message or compass. I can’t help thinking about the current frightening standoff as the unpredictable leaders of North Korea and the United States both threaten each other with first strike nuclear destruction one day and then seem to offer if not an olive branch, perhaps an olive pit to plant. A pissing contest one day, a charm offensive the next. Little fingers on big triggers. The world trembles.
There’s a saying. “Rattlesnake does not bite man. Rattlesnake bites what man is thinking.” They are incredibly sensitive to even the most minuscule changes in heat. It’s one of the ways they find their prey. If you approach a snake with fear, or especially hostility, your body temperature will rise. Snake knows. We need to find a way to turn the heat down in this world.
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This post was originally published by Storyteller’s Campfire Blog and is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock