A troubled individual seeking truth and enlightenment climbs the mountain to seek answers from a very wise, old woman. When he arrives at her hut, the wizened old woman says, before our friend can even speak, "Ha! You have a problem my son."
Startled, the man asks how the woman knows he has a problem.
"Because," the woman replies, "you have eighty three problems."
"How do you know that?" the man asks, somewhat indignantly.
As she sips her tea through a sugar cube, the old woman replies, "The universe is very fair; everyone always has eighty three problems."
The man ponders this for a moment and then asks, "What am I to do with these problems?"
"Solve them!" the woman snaps.
"What will happen then?"
"Then you will receive more problems, because everyone will always have eighty three problems." She sips her tea and then adds "But you actually have an eighty fourth problem."
"Oh yeah, and what is that?" the man asks in exasperation.
The old woman says "Your eighty fourth problem is believing that you shouldn't have eighty three problems."
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This story is often attributed to the Buddha.
ReplyDeleteGood point: attribution is important. I read this story in a book entitled "Choosing Growth Over Fear in Work and Life," by Larry Wilson and Hersch Wilson. Messrs. Wilson did not cite their source for the story.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Buddhist story:
ReplyDeleteThere is a wise farmer and a foolish farmer who live near each other. One day, the wise farmer receives a young horse as a gift. His neighbor, the foolish farmer, comes over to congratulate him on his good fortune. The wise farmer responds, "Who knows what's good or bad?"
The next day, the wise farmer's son breaks his leg while trying to saddle train the young horse. The foolish farmer comes to express his condolences to the wise farmer. Again, the wise farmer just says, "Who knows what's good or bad?"
The following day, the army comes through town conscripting men for soldiers. They pass over the wise farmers son because of his broken leg. The foolish farmer comes over again to say how fortunate for the wise farmer. The wise farmer, as you may have guessed, just says, "Who knows what's good or bad?"
When does this story end?
Why do good stories have to end anyways?
ReplyDelete