The Parable of Judgment: The Old Man and His Horse
This parable about a poor old man and his white horse is about how quickly we call something a misfortune or a blessing, even though we only see a small piece of it.
A wise old man in a Chinese painting
There are only a few events in this parable, and after each one the old man’s neighbors rush to decide whether it is good or bad.
In a village there lived an old man. He was very poor, yet even kings envied him, because he owned a beautiful white horse. Kings offered him a fabulous price for it, but the old man always replied:
“To me this horse is not just a horse. He is a person. How can you sell a person, how can you sell a friend?”The old man was poor, but he never sold the horse.
One day he found that the horse was not in the stable. The whole village gathered, and people said:
“You old fool! We knew that one day the horse would be gone. You should have sold it. What a misfortune!”
“Don’t go so far,” the old man answered. “Just say that the horse is not in the stable. That is the fact; the rest is judgment. Whether it is a misfortune or a blessing, I don’t know, because this is only a fragment. Who knows what comes next?”People laughed at the old man; they had always thought he was a little crazy. But fifteen days later, one night, the horse came back. It had not been stolen; it had simply run off into the wild. And that was not all: it brought a dozen horses with it. Again the people gathered and said:
“The old man was right. It wasn’t a misfortune. Now it’s clear it was a blessing.”
“Again you go too far,” the old man calmly replied. “Just say that the horse has come back. Who knows whether it is a blessing or not? It is only a fragment. You have read one word in a sentence. How can you judge the whole book?”This time people didn’t say much, but inside they decided he was wrong: twelve beautiful horses!
The old man had an only son, who began to break in the horses. Just a week later he fell from a horse and broke both legs. Once more the people gathered and judged:
“You’ve proved right again! This is a misfortune. Your only son can’t walk, and at your age he is your only support. Now you are poorer than ever.”
“You are obsessed with judging. Don’t go so far. Just say that my son has broken his legs. Nobody knows whether it is a misfortune or a blessing. Life comes in fragments, and we are never given more.”A few weeks later the country went to war, and all the young men were taken into the army. Only the old man’s son stayed behind, because he was crippled. The whole village wept: a decisive battle lay ahead, and they knew most of the young men would never return. They came to the old man and said:
“You were right, old man, now it’s obvious it was a blessing. Your son may be crippled, but he is with you. Our sons are gone forever.”The old man replied once more:
“You keep judging. Nobody knows! Just say that your sons were taken into the army and mine was not. Only God, the Absolute, knows whether it is a misfortune or a blessing.”As long as you judge, you don’t grow or develop. Judgment is a frozen state of mind. And the mind always demands judgments, because staying in the process, in growth, is risky and uncomfortable. In reality the journey never ends. One stage ends and another begins; one door closes and another opens. You reach a peak, and another, higher one appears. Life is an endless journey.
Where the parable comes from
It is based on an old Chinese story about an old man living at the frontier whose horse ran away. It was recorded in the Huainanzi (2nd century BC), and it gave rise to the Chinese saying “The old man at the frontier lost his horse; who knows if it isn’t a blessing.” The version above, with its reflection on judgment, has been circulating online for years without an author’s name.
What to take from it
It’s an interesting and wise parable. Whatever happens to us, it’s better not to rush to label it good or bad: we only see a fragment, and the rest is still ahead. That isn’t easy, because over a lifetime we pick up many stereotypes, and the mind hurries to pass a verdict.
Next time something doesn’t go to plan, try saying to yourself what the old man would: “It just happened. Let’s see what comes of it.”