#Chinese parable

[itmovesmemorelol]

PARABLE OF THE CRACKED POT A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house,the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws,you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it up a bit. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?

That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I put it to good use. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Artwork By Penny Parker

Chinese Parable author unknown

Source: Grimoire of the Modern Witch

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☽✪☾ The Dance at Alder Cove - Youth/Father/Geezer  -  I see you

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[interstellar-superdrive]

Did you know? The farmer and the horse story told in "The Sign" is a real Chinese parable. It promotes the Taoist views on good and bad luck.

Long ago, there was a widowed Chinese farmer. The farmer and his only son labored through the cold winds of winter and scorching rays of summer with their last remaining horse. One day, the son didn’t lock the gate of the stable properly, and the horse bolted away.  When neighbors learned what happened, they came to the farmer and said, “What a sadness this is! Without your horse, you’ll be unable to maintain the farm. What a failure that your son did not lock the gate properly! This is a great tragedy!” The farmer replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

[robertawalker]

Good, Bad, Who Knows?

  I've heard a few different renditions of this story the details differ slightly but they hall share the same essence.

Parable of a Chinese farmer

  A Chinese farmer uses his horse to plow his field to provide food for his family and to sell at the market.   He also uses the horse to transport all his goods weekly to the market, passing by his neighbor on each trip to the market.   

  The neighbor comments one day, “How lucky to have such a good horse to plow your fields and carry your goods to the market. This is truly a good blessing.” The farmer replies, “Good, Bad, who can say?”

   One day the horse runs away. The neighbor says, "What an awful thing to happen, how will you plow your fields and bring your goods to the market? This is definitely bad news" The farmer replies, "Good, bad, who can say?"   The horse comes back and brings a pack of wild horses with him. His neighbor comments, “Wow this is good news, now you will be able to plow more and carry more goods to the market. A very good blessing for your family” The farmer replies, “Good, bad, who can say?

   While attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he farmer’s son  was thrown off and badly breaks his leg.

"So sorry for your bad news," says the concerned neighbor. “This is not good , you will not have your son to help you plow the fields.” "Good, bad, who can say?" the farmer replies.

   In a week or so, the emperor's men come and take every able-bodied young man to fight in a war. The farmer's son who is injured is not able to fight and is spared from joining the battle. The war is bloody and none of the young men survive.    Good news, of course.

   The tale of the farmer is said to be Taoist. Taoist (pronounced Dow-ist) theology emphasizes themes such as naturalness, peace, effortless action, detachment and receptiveness.

   The farmer's tale captures many of those. In short, it reminds us that it's best not to get too upset -- or attached -- to what happens to us. Even something that seems dark and confounding can turn out to be an opportunity, when looked on in hindsight.

   How many times has something not turn out the way we wanted -- only to find out that something way better was to come?

   I'm sure no matter what your beliefs or where you are in life, from where we stand now, we don't know the end of the story we're living. We don't know the twists and turns still to come.

   To me this parable resonates in me that we never know what gifts will follow "bad news," and encourages me to take both good and bad as simply what happens in life.

  Life is life so just live it!

[thaymondo]

What is gained and what is lost?

Getting a promotion, winning a prize, losing something valuable. When things happen, we tend to classify events as bad or good, as gain or loss, as luck or misfortune. Should we do that? Are we always correct? Philosopher Alan Watts shared his wisdom through ‘The story of the Chinese farmer’, a tale illustrated in this animation by Steve Agnos.

[vtscience]

A Man Loses His Horse: Bad Luck or Good Luck? http://dlvr.it/QmwPnV

[visiontimes]

A Man Loses His Horse: Bad Luck or Good Luck? http://dlvr.it/QmwN3Z