There once was an old Zen farmer. Every day, the farmer used his horse to help

work his fields and keep his farm healthy.

But one day, the horse ran away. All the villagers came by and said, “We're so

sorry to hear this. This is such bad luck.”But the farmer responded, “Bad luck.

Good luck. Who knows?”

The villagers were confused, but decided to ignore him. A few weeks went by

and then one afternoon, while the farmer was working outside, he looked up and

saw his horse running toward him. But the horse was not alone. The horse was

returning to him with a whole herd of horses. So now the farmer had 10 horses

to help work his fields.All the villagers came by to congratulate the farmer and

said, “Wow! This is such good luck!”

But the farmer responded, “Good luck. Bad luck. Who knows?

A few weeks later, the farmer's son came over to visit and help his father work

on the farm. While trying to tame one of the horses, the farmer’s son fell and

broke his leg.The villagers came by to commiserate and said, “How awful. This

is such bad luck.”

Just as he did the first time, the farmer responded, “Bad luck. Good luck. Who

knows?”

A month later, the farmer’s son was still recovering. He wasn’t able to walk or do

any manual labor to help his father around the farm.

A regiment of the army came marching through town conscripting every able-

bodied young man to join them. When the regiment came to the farmer’s house

and saw the young boy's broken leg, they marched past and left him where he

lay.

Of course, all the villagers came by and said, “Amazing! This is such good luck.

You're so fortunate.”

And you know the farmer’s response by now…

"Bad luck. Good luck. Who knows?"