Teaching stories

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. Other stories, such as those from the Thousand and One Nights and other collections of traditional myths and folktales, are considered by some to fall into this category as well.