Wednesday, October 24, 2012

your moment of zen


A parable referenced in Charlie Wilson's War:
There is this very rich family with a son in this village. And they get the son a horse for his birthday. A villager comes to the Zen master and says, “how nice that they can get their son such a grand gift for his birthday.” The Zen master replies, “we will see.” A few years pass and the son falls off the hoarse and breaks his leg bad and it does not heal properly and he can’t walk well. A villager comes to the Zen master and says, “too bad he got that hoarse for his birthday.” The Zen master replies, “we will see.” Later in life, war breaks out. Many of the young men in the village are sent off to war to die, but not the son because of his bad leg. A villager comes to the Zen master and says, “good thing that guy broke his leg.” The Zen master replies, “we will see.”

Hat tip: RJ