Parable Of The Chinese Farmer

Have you heard the parable of the Chinese farmer? It goes something like this:

Long ago, there was a Chinese farmer. His horse ran away, so the villagers gathered at his house to console him. They said, “What misfortune, your horse ran away!”. He simply replied, “Maybe”.

Few days later, the horse came back and brought with him 7 wild horses. Now the farmer had 8 horses, so the villagers came by to celebrate his good luck. They said, “All’s well that ends well. You have so many horses now, you must be very happy!”. He just said “Maybe”.

Then the farmer’s son started to tame one of the wild horses. During his attempt, he fell on the ground and broke his leg. The villagers who came to see the boy said to the farmer, “We’re sorry for your son’s accident. That’s too bad, isn’t it?”. And once again, the farmer said “Maybe”.

The following week, the Chinese army visited the village and began force recruiting soldiers. They exempted the farmer’s son because he had a broken leg. So the villagers yet again deemed this as the farmer’s good fortune. They said, “Your son broke his leg just in time. How great is that?!”. You can guess what the farmer says — “Maybe”.

It’s a very simple story with a very simple message. An event isn’t good or bad in itself, and can further lead to positive or negative outcomes. So there’s no point in giving too much importance to a particular event. Just accept reality for what it is — neutral, and keep going, for we don’t know what’s gonna happen next.

There’s a popular saying here in India — “Jo hota hai, achhe ke liye hota hai” (Whatever happens, happens for good). I think that pretty much sums up the moral of the story. If you wait long enough, you can witness the positive outcomes of the event, the hidden good of the event.

I also like Kahani song for its lyrics that share the same philosophy of embracing uncertainty as this story. Listen here:

Easier said then done. Knowing this story is one thing, but achieving that state of mental equilibrium is extremely difficult. My mind starts to daydream when I see a small victory. And sinks even faster when things don’t work out as I had imagined. Letting life just flow through time is something I’m working on. Hopefully I’ll get better at it in the coming years.

How did you like the parable? Let me know by replying to this email or commenting on the website :)

Night night!
Aachman