The Parable of the Sealed Well
Purity that denies water becomes death
Chapter 208 passages162 words
1A village declared its well holy and built a wall around it. At first the wall kept animals from fouling the water. 2Then priests required payment to enter. Later they required the correct ancestry. Finally, during a drought, children died outside while the guarded water remained clear. 3The keeper of the well praised its purity. A traveler broke the lock and gave water to the dying. 4The council called him a defiler. He answered, “You preserved the water from every purpose for which water was made.” 5When rain returned, the villagers discovered the sealed well had become bitter from stillness. 6Vahram asked the students which person had profaned it. Some named the traveler. Darya named the first priest who confused guardianship with ownership. 7The parable entered the oath: “Every boundary must answer to the life it protects. When the boundary begins consuming life, Asha stands outside the gate.” 8And the Keepers left one side of every ritual basin open toward the stranger.