Releasing the Cows
(Told by Master Thich Nhat Hanh)
One day the Buddha was sitting in the wood with thirty or forty monks. They
had an excellent lunch and they were enjoying the company of each other. There
was a farmer passing by and the farmer was very unhappy. He asked the Buddha
and the monks whether they had seen his cows passing by. The Buddha said they
had not seen any cows passing by.
The farmer said, "Monks, I'm so unhappy. I have twelve cows and I don't
know why they all ran away. I have also a few acres of a sesame seed plantation
and the insects have eaten up everything. I suffer so much I think I am going
to kill myself.
The Buddha said, "My friend, we have not seen any cows passing by here.
You might like to look for them in the other direction."
So the farmer thanked him and ran away, and the Buddha turned to his monks and
said, "My dear friends, you are the happiest people in the world. You don't
have any cows to lose. If you have too many cows to take care of, you will be
very busy.
"That is why, in order to be happy, you have to learn the art of cow releasing
(laughter). You release the cows one by one. In the beginning you thought that
those cows were essential to your happiness, and you tried to get more and more
cows. But now you realize that cows are not really conditions for your happiness;
they constitute an obstacle for your happiness. That is why you are determined
to release your cows."