Routine often blocks and limits us. But it is so comfortable and safe that we get used to it so quickly and forget it. However, the Zen story of the cow is one of those anecdotes that works like a bell. An awakening to what we cannot see in our daily lives, but which affects us more than we think.
Thanks to this Zen story, we discover the true symbolism of the cow, what we will get from it and the degree of addiction we can develop to everything. But, above all, it will help us discover which is the cow of our life.
The Zen story of the cow tells of a wise Master who was walking through the fields with his disciple. One day, the two found themselves in front of a wooden house inhabited by a couple with their three children. They were all in bad shape, with torn and dirty clothes. Bare feet, their surroundings terribly poor.
The teacher asked the head of the family how they managed to survive, since there was no industry or trade nearby, and no circular wealth was visible.
Very calmly, the father replied: "Look, we have a cow that gives us several liters of milk a day. We sell a part and buy other things with that money, while the rest we consume. So we can survive."
The teacher thanked him for the information, said goodbye and left. As he ran away, he said to the disciple: "Look for the cow, take it to the edge of the cliff and push it." The young man was surprised, the cow was the only means of support for that poor family.
But he thought that the Teacher had reasons for asking him to do so, and with great effort he led the cow to the precipice and pushed it down. That horrible scene remained etched in his mind for many years. Much later, the disciple, feeling guilty for what he had done, decided to leave the Master, to return to that place and apologize to the family, to whom he had caused great harm. When he got closer, he noticed that everything had changed.
A beautiful house with trees around, lots of kids playing and a car parked outside. The young man felt even more sad and depressed, thinking that that poor family had sold everything to survive. When he asked about them, he was told that they were always there, that they had not left. He ran into the house and realized that it was indeed inhabited by the same family as before.
He asked the head of the family what had happened, and the latter, with a big smile, answered: "We had a cow that gave us milk and with which we made a living. But one day the cow fell off the cliff and died. From that moment on, we found ourselves forced to do other things, to develop other skills that we never imagined we had. So we started to be successful and our lives changed."
Ease of doing "always the same"
Perhaps, like the disciple, you too were horrified by the Master's decision to throw the cow off the cliff. However, this story is a metaphor for how to deal with what makes us comfortable but, at the same time, limits us.
When that poor family ran out of the food they were surviving on, they had no choice but to look for alternatives. Instead of facing more poverty, the family found a way to prosper, something they never imagined. If the cow had never disappeared from their lives, they would have continued to live in poverty, without getting out of it, without believing that they could go any further.
Many people are grateful for those moments in life that, although painful and difficult, have forced them out of that safe zone in which they had settled and remained stuck. As human beings, we seek security, comfort, that which does not make us live in uncertainty. But when it all comes crashing down, we discover abilities and qualities we never imagined lay dormant within us.
The story about the cow is extraordinary because it allows us to reflect on the way we live. Especially if we complain about our life. We don't have to wait for a Teacher to come and throw that cow off the cliff that limits us so much. Today, we can look beyond our comfort to become aware of the potential we have. Because we have no boundaries. We create obstacles for ourselves.
*The article was published by Bota.al and reposted by Tiranapost.al
