The Chinese Monk's Solution

There was once an old Chinese monk who travelled far with his pupils to teach them things about life. 

During one of their excursions, they came across a patch of land where nothing grew. It was a hilly and arid place. The only sign of habitation was a shabby hut on the top of a hill. 

The monk and his pupils were thirsty so they went to the hut. There they came across a poor man and his family. His sad-faced wife wore torn clothes. The children were so undernourished that their bones stuck out of their skins. 

The monk asked the poor man how they could find food in that dry place. The man replied that they had a cow in the backyard that provided a little milk for them to survive. The monk and his pupils went around in the backyard and saw that the cow was old and weak. They wondered how the cow could satisfy the hunger of a family. 

When evening came, the monk and his pupils rested at the foot of the hill. They all felt sorry for the poor man’s family and his cow.

“Master, is there any way that we can help that poor family?” the pupils asked the monk.

“Yes” replied the monk.

“The cow must be taken away from them” he added thoughtfully.

The pupils stared at the monk in disbelief. They couldn’t imagine that their wise and learned Master had suggested such a strange solution.

“Surely, Master, you are not serious” they said.

“I have never been more serious. Let us go to that hut at midnight and set the cow free” replied the monk.

None of the pupils wanted to participate in such a crime which would rob the poor man’s family of their only source of food. 

Finally, one pupil agreed to go up the hill with the monk that midnight. Against his will, he helped the monk to set the cow free. He felt extremely guilty. The cow, slowly came down the hill, and went away in the direction of a river where grass grew abundantly. 

Several years passed and the pupil who had helped the monk still felt guilty about setting the cow free. He wondered what had happened to the poor man’s family so he decided to travel to that part of the country again to find out. 

When he reached the hill, he found that it was completely different from what he remembered. Fruit trees laden with abundant fruit were everywhere. Crops were grown on one side of the hill and vegetables grew on the other. There was a majestic mansion where the hut once stood. Several carriages were making their way in and out of the main gate of the mansion. 

The monk’s pupil entered the gate and saw the same man he had seen in the hut several years earlier. He and his wife, dressed in fine clothes, were entertaining some guests.

The pupil introduced himself to the man and reminded him of the time when he had visited their hut with the monk several years ago. He then asked the man whether his family suffered after the cow escaped.

“Oh no, that was the best thing that ever happened to my family. While the poor cow fed us, we did not feel any desire to use our talents and skills. Later, without the cow to feed us, we started farming and cultivated this land. As you can see, we reaped great benefits from our labour.”

The monk’s pupil was amazed at the foresightedness of his Master.