Meaning of the Idiom
mang ren mo xiang
make an overall judgement of something on the basis of one-sided viewpoint;
draw a conclusion [make a decision] on the basis of partial understanding;
draw a conclusion from incomplete data;
take a part for the whole
The Blind Men and the Elephant
Once upon a time there were six blind men who lived in a village in India. Every day they went to the road nearby and stood there begging. They had often heard of elephants, but they had never seen one, for being blind, how could they?
One morning, an elephant was led down the road where they stood. When they heard that an elephant was passing by, they asked the driver to stop the beast so that they could have a “look”. Of course they could not look at him with their eyes, but they thought they might learn what kind of animal he was by touching and feeling him. For, you see, they trust their own sense of touch very much.
The first blind man happened to place his hand on the elephant’s side. “Well, well, ” he said. “This beast is exactly like a wall.”
The second grasped one of the elephant’s tusks and felt it. “You’re quite mistaken,” he said. “He’s round and smooth and sharp. He’s more like a spear than anything else.”
The third happened to take hold of the elephant’s trunk. “You’re both completely wrong,” he said. “This elephant is like a snake, as anybody can see.”
The fourth opened both his arms the closed them around one of the elephant’s legs. “Oh, how blind you are!” he cried. “It’s very clear that he’s round and tall like a tree.”
The fifth was a very tall man, and he caught one of the elephant’s ears. “Even the blindest person must see that this elephant isn’t like any of the things you name.” he said. “He’s exactly like a huge fan.”
The sixth man went forward to feel the elephant. He was old and slow and it took him quite some time to find the elephant at all. At last he got hold of the beast’s tail. “Oh, how silly you all are!” cried he. “The elephant isn’t like a wall, or a spear, or a snake, or a tree; neither is he like a fan. Any man with eyes in his head can see that he’s exactly like a rope.”
Then the driver and the elephant moved on, and the six men sat by the roadside all day, quarrelling about the elephant. They could not agree with one another, because each believed that he knew just what the beast looked like. It is not only blind men who make such stupid mistakes. People who can see sometimes act just as foolishly.
盲人摸象
máng rén mō xiàng ， 意思是比喻对事物只凭片面的了解或局部的经验，就乱加猜测，想做出全面的判断；以偏概全，不能了解真相。
出自僧伽斯那《百喻经》。
例句
不了解事情的前因后果，总是去猜测，就像盲人摸象，解决不了问题。
就像盲人摸象，每个人都只看了不同的一部分。
只了解一个侧面就下结论，这和盲人摸象没什么两样。
Reading The Paragraphs!
Meaning of Words
| 词语 | 华文解释 | 英文解释 |
|---|---|---|
| 信奉 | 意思是信仰；敬奉。 例句：奶奶信奉佛教，心肠慈善，经常不计回报的帮助他人。 | believe in； profess； faith in |
| 虔（qián）诚 | 指恭敬而有诚意的态度。 例句：阿拉罕对信仰非常虔诚，每天都按时做祷告。 | devout |
| 迷惑 | 意思是辨不清是非；摸不着头脑；使人意识迷乱。 例句：这两份消息前后矛盾，令人对这一事件的原委十分迷惑。 | confuse |
| 皈依（guī yī） | 归向依附。佛教术語，是成为正式佛教徒之前的宣誓仪式。 例句：他历经大起大落之后，有感于人生无常，决心皈依佛門。 | convert |
| 现身说法 | 原指佛力广大，能现出种种人相，向人说法。现指以亲身经历和体验为例来说明某种道理。 例句：校长的现身说法，使人更加相信遇到危急情况应当如何自救。 | act as an example to others |
| 诱导 | 指用启发诱惑的方式来引导思维或行为。 例句：读书的真正目的在于诱导头脑自己去思考。 | induced |
| 吩咐 | 意思是指口头指派或嘱咐。 例句：她临走前吩咐女儿把房间整理好。 | commanded; told |
| 禀（bǐng）报 | 指向上级或长辈报告。 例句：部长派出一名信使向首相禀报所发生的事。 | report |
| 沸沸（fèi fèi）扬扬 | 像水沸腾后气泡、热气蒸腾翻滚一样，形容人声喧扰，议论纷纷。 例句：事情发生后的第二天，消息就在小镇沸沸扬扬地传开来了。 | discuss animatedly |
| 交头接耳 | 交头：头靠着头；接耳：嘴凑近耳朵。形容两个人凑近低声交谈。 例句：自习课上，同学们有的嘻嘻哈哈，有的交头接耳，秩序混乱。 | whisper; speak in each other’s ears |
| 圣明 | 意思是指英明圣哲，无所不知。 例句：拥有一位圣明的君主无疑是臣民的幸运。 | wise |
| 簸箕（bò ji） | 一是指铲状器具，用以装垃圾；二是用藤条或去皮的柳条、竹篾编成的大撮子，扬米去糠的器具； 例句：她用扫帚将垃圾扫进簸箕，然后拿出去倒掉。 | dustpan |
| 争论不休 | 争论：各抒己见，互相辩论。休：停止。意思就是双方或多方对某一个问题各执一词，讨论不出最终的结果，谁也不肯停下来。 例句：科学家和环保人士一直在为全球变暖的严重性争论不休。 | to keep arguing about something |
| 争辩 | 意思是辩论、争论。 例句：能否请大家各自说明，不要急于争辩。 | contend |
| 意味深长 | 指的是含蓄深远，耐人寻味。 例句：书中所述的人生哲理意味深长、发人深省。 | meaningful |
Daily Language 