The old man Sai Weng 塞翁 had a horse. One day his horse was gone. His neighbors came to see him and were very sad, “Oh poor Sai Weng, you lost your horse!” Sai Weng replied, “I don’t know if losing my horse is good or bad, I just know I lost my horse.”
The next day the lost horse came back with a Qian Li Ma 千里馬, (a thousand-miles horse, one who can travel 1000 miles with one step). The neighbors came again, offering him their congratulations. “You must be so happy to have your horse back and now you have a famous Qian Li Ma!” The old man replied, “I don’t know if having my horse back and having a Qian Li Ma is a good thing or a bad thing, all I know is I have two horses now.”
The next day the old man’s son wanted to ride on the Qian Li Ma. The Qian Li Ma was too fast though and the son fell off and broke his leg. The neighbors came again and offered their condolences. Sai Weng replied, “I don’t know if my son falling down and breaking his leg is a good thing or a bad thing, all I know is he fell down and broke his leg.”
Soon the war started. Every young man had to go to war, except the son of Sai Weng, who was exempt, and who’s life was spared, because of his broken his leg.
***
Sai Weng Lost His Horse is one of the more famous Chinese children’s fables. It is told to teach us not to pre-judge things. During these recent weeks I have been thinking a lot about this story. Deaths, stock market crashes, stripped grocery store shelves, hands raw from alcohol sprays, trips cancelled, social distancing, quarantines, health care collapses; we are overwhelmed. Our entire world has changed in an instant, and not just for a few, but for us all.
Because we are in the early stages of our global pandemic, it is quite difficult to reach out from our fear of the unknown and imagine what might be good about it all. We just do not know. We cannot yet know. Moreover, to require our minds at this time to assess good or bad is an exercise in futility. It’s just simply too big for us to fathom or control or define. All we know is we have a virus.
We are not used to having no idea on such a large scale are we? We are not used to having the brakes of our lives slam on so quickly. We are not used to chaos and ambiguity ripping the fabric of our control so precisely. What are we asked to do with it all? We are asked to simply stop. Stop doing all of the activities we have built our lives and society on. Just stop. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
I do find it fascinating how quickly we, as a species, are adapting. Our human spirit is grabbing the flame of this crisis and running with it. We are complying with rules. Voluntarily. For the good of not just ourselves, but for us all. Also, within a week, there are global options for streaming Opera, Symphonies, Library Collections, all for free. Disney is releasing Frozen 2 for streaming 3 months ahead of schedule. People in my profession are creating online classes and videos to keep people active. People are volunteering at food banks. Cities are giving out free lunches while schools are shut down. Breweries are turning their waste into hand sanitizer and giving it away. Professional athletes are donating their millions to keep stadium workers paid. Billionaires are funding free testing sites. The once highly competitive global Immunology and Virology fields are all working together at breakneck speed. With every story about the horrendous virus, there is another that exemplifies what is the most magnificent in us all.
We will all suffer tremendously. Yet we will all become more resilient than we have ever known ourselves to be. How can I be so sure? Because we are already rising to the occasion. And lest we not forget, it IS what we do, given the chance. We are seeing through the Escher painting down to the most minute of our connections to each other and we are rising to the occasion. Our world will never be the same. And to be frank, I hope it is not. We needed to change, and we did not know how to do it. So, nature is doing it for us. Is this good or bad? We do not know. All we know is we have a virus. And each other.
***
Thank you to Jan Silberstorff for sharing with me his translation of Sai Weng Lost His Horse 塞翁失馬 in his recent Seattle seminar. He also shared with me one of his students years ago, upon hearing this story said of the “good or bad” koan, “Only the horse knows!”
“Never forget the Thousand Year View
- Zen Saying”