A man seeking help went to see the Buddha. He told him he was a farmer. "I like farming," the man said, "but sometimes it doesn't rain enough, and sometimes it rains too much. One year we nearly starved." The Buddha listened.
"I like my wife," the man said, "but sometimes she nags too much, then I get tired of her...We have kids too. Good kids, but sometimes they don't show enough respect, and..."the man went on and on like this.
After the man finished, the Buddha sat, thought, then said, "I'm sorry, I can't help you." "Everyone has problems. In fact, we have 83 problems", and he enumerated them, from birth to death, but as he talked the man grew more and more furious until he questioned the very premise of the Buddha's teaching.
"Well," the Buddha finally said, "I may be able to help you with the 84th problem."
"The 84th Problem? What's that?" the man queried.
The Buddha said, "The problem of wanting to not have any problems."
Hands palm to palm,
Shinzen
Hands palm to palm,
Shinzen
