The Farmer’s Luck

Posted by Brad Osborne on October 9, 2019 · 3 Comments 

In the village of Szichen, lived a humble farmer who studied and followed the Tao. One day, his one and only horse had broken out of the corral and ran off. The farmer’s neighbors, all hearing of the horse running away, came to visit. Staring at the empty corral, the neighbors all said, “Oh, what bad luck!” To each, the farmer’s simple reply was, “Maybe”.

After a week, the horse returned bringing with it three wild horses. The neighbors, hearing of this, came to visit and see for themselves. Looking upon the corral now full of horses, the neighbors all said, “Oh, what good fortune!” To each, the farmer’s simple reply was, “Maybe”.

One day, the farmer’s only son, took one of the horses out of the corral for a ride. During the ride, the farmer’s son was thrown from the horse and broke his leg. After having his leg set, the son returned to the farm to recover. The neighbors, hearing of the bad news, came to visit. Seeing his son with a broken leg and now unable to help his father in the fields, the neighbors all said, “Oh, what bad luck!” To each, the farmer’s simple reply was, “Maybe”.

During this time, there was war between rival warlords, including the warlord who oversaw the village of Szichen. In need of more soldiers, the warlord sent his captain to the village to conscript young men to fight in the war. When the captain arrived at the farmer’s home, he saw the son would be unable to fight because of his broken leg and passed him by. The neighbors, hearing of the son’s not being taken to fight in the war, came to visit and all said, “Oh, what good luck!” To each, the farmer’s simple reply was, “Maybe”.

Filed under Taoist Parables · Tagged with bad luck, duality, good, good luck, life, luck, parable, perception, perspective, philosophy, silver lining, taoism, taoist koan, yin and yang