One day, after the Buddha and a group of monks finished eating lunch mindfully together, a farmer, very agitated, came by and asked, “Monks, have you seen my cows? I don’t think I can survive so much misfortune.”
The Buddha asked him, ‘What happened?” and the man said, “Monks, this morning all twelve of my cows ran away. And this year my whole crop of sesame plants was eaten by insects!”
The Buddha said, “Sir, we have not seen your cows. Perhaps they have gone in the other direction.”
After the farmer went off in that direction, the Buddha turned to his Sangha and said, “Dear friends, do you know you are the happiest people on Earth? You have no cows or sesame plants to lose.”
We always try to accumulate more and more, and we think these ‘cows’ are essential for our existence. In fact, they may be the obstacles that prevent us from being happy.
Release your cows and become a free person. Release your cows so you can be truly happy."
(Source : Old Path White Clouds by Thich Nhat Hanh)
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