The story of the frog in the well is a parable that shows how sometimes we are trapped in a very limited way of thinking because of our habit of seeing things from our own point of view.

The story of the frog in the well has many versions. Typically, a frog (or turtle) from the sea visits a frog living inside a well, and they discuss the sizes of their respective homes. The frog from the well believes his home is quite spacious and cannot fathom a larger body of water. When he finally visits the sea, he struggles to grasp its vastness. This story is used by Patrul Rinpoche in The Words of My Perfect Teacher to illustrate the importance of seeking a teacher who has a bigger view than the frog in the well, a creature who knows a little but thinks they know a lot. A limited perspective can be an obstacle, and taking pride in one’s restricted view makes it much harder to see beyond it.

A similar analogy is provided by tadpoles that encounter a frog attempting to describe dry land to them; they are unable to comprehend the idea of dry land, as it lies beyond their realm of experience.

Generally, perspective-taking can help us to see other points of view about a situation. However, simply knowing that our view is not the complete view allows us to consider the idea that our own view may be very limited. When learning about the dharma from others who have more experience than we do, we must consider that they may know something experientially that we don’t know yet.

Our perspective, which we often see as broad and clear, is frequently more limited than we realize. By recognizing that we may only see part of the picture, we encourage ourselves to welcome unconventional viewpoints.

Reflect on the experience of realizing something was more complex or vast than initially thought. Explore the impact of not seeing the big picture.

• Have you ever considered the possibility that what you know and what you see is an incomplete view?
• Do you think it's helpful to consider regular thinking as limited when trying to generate outside-the-box ideas?

Implement practices that cultivate an expansive, “bird’s eye view” perspective, and analyze the frog-in-the-well parable to illustrate the limitations of narrow viewpoints, and to remember that a bigger perspective is possible.