A Zen story told by Osho:
“Life moves so fast; it is dynamic, not static. It is not a stagnant pool; it is the Ganges, it is flowing. It is never the same for two consecutive moments. Therefore, one thing may be right this moment and may be wrong the next moment. What to do then? The only thing possible is to make people so aware that they can decide for themselves how to respond to the changing life. Here is a Zen story:
There were two temples that were rivals. Both Masters — they must have been just so-called Masters, they must have been priests — were so much against each other that they told their followers never to look at the other temple.
Each priest had a boy to serve him, to run errands. The priest of the first temple told his boy: ‘Never talk to the other boy. Those people are dangerous.’ But boys are boys. One day they met on the road and the first boy asked the other: ‘Where are you going?’ The other boy said: ‘Wherever the wind takes me.’ He must have been listening to great Zen sayings in his temple, so he said, ‘Wherever the wind takes me.’ A great thought, real Tao!
But the first boy was very embarrassed, offended, and couldn’t think of what to answer. He felt discouraged, angry, and a little guilty: ‘My Master told me not to talk to these people. They are dangerous. What kind of answer is this? He humiliated me.’
The boy went to his Master and told him what had happened: ‘I’m sorry I talked to him. You were right, those people are strange. I asked him a simple question, knowing he was going to the market just as I was. But he said: “Wherever the wind takes me.”‘ The Master said: ‘I warned you, but you didn’t listen. Now, tomorrow, stand in the same place. When he comes, ask him: “Where are you going?”, and he will say: “Wherever the wind takes me.” Then you show your philosophy. Ask him: “And if you had no legs, then what?” — because the soul is bodiless and the wind cannot take it anywhere. “What would you say to that?”‘
The boy prepared all night long. The next morning, he stood in the right spot at the right moment. The other boy arrived. The first boy was happy — now he would show him what real philosophy was. He asked: ‘Where are you going?’ And he waited. But the other boy replied: ‘I am going to the market to buy some vegetables.’
Now, what to do with the philosophy he had learned?
And life is like that. You cannot prepare for it, you cannot be ready. That is its beauty, that is its wonder — that it always catches you unready, it always comes as a surprise. If you have eyes, you will see that every single moment is a surprise and no ready-made answer is ever applicable.”
— Osho.
