A student monk was on his way to buy vegetables at the market for his monastery. On the way, he came across another student from a different monastery whom he had seen occasionally.
At the meeting, he asked, “Where are you going?”
“Where my legs direct me”, replied the other fellow.
This answer was enough for our man to get a bit confused and curious. He thought that surely there was some meaning hidden in its depths. On reaching back at the monastery, he narrated this story to his elderly master. The master said: “You should have asked the boy what he would do if he didn’t have any legs.”
A few days later, our student monk encountered the other boy yet again. “Where are you going?” he immediately asked, and before the boy could reply, he said, "And yes, I know…wherever your legs direct you, isn't it ?!"
“Nope!” came the unexpected response. “Today, I am going to follow the wind!” This reply threw our student into so much disturbance that his mind went blank. Back again at the monastery, he narrated the conversation to his teacher. On this, the teacher said, “You should have asked him what he’d do if no wind was blowing”.
A few days later, the student met the other boy once more in the market. Aha! Here was his aha moment or 'clever' moment 🙂.
“So where are you off to this time? Where your legs go or where the wind blows, I suppose. But, what if…”
“Neither of the two,” replied the boy, with a smile. “Today, I am here to buy vegetables!”
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