The Old Man Who Lost His Horse

This stick references one of China's most famous philosophical parables about Sai Weng, an old man living near the northern frontier. When his prized horse ran away, neighbors offered sympathy, but Sai Weng simply said 'How do you know this isn't good fortune?' The horse returned with a whole herd of wild horses.

When neighbors congratulated him, he replied 'How do you know this isn't bad luck?' His son tried to tame one of the wild horses, fell, and broke his leg. Again, Sai Weng remained neutral about the 'misfortune.

' Later, when war broke out and all young men were conscripted, his son was spared due to his injury. The story teaches that apparent setbacks often contain hidden opportunities, and what seems like success might lead to future problems. This wisdom became central to Daoist philosophy about the cyclical nature of fortune and misfortune.

Sai Weng's lost horse is the figure behind this stick, and it lands on your studies for a reason. Something in your academic life has not gone the way you wanted: a grade that stings, a programme that rejected you, a subject you cannot seem to crack, a path you thought was set that has quietly closed. You came to the temple half-hoping the stick would say the loss was a mistake, that the horse would return on its own. Instead it answers with a shrug and a question: how do you know this isn't the better road?

The verse is not asking you to perform optimism. It is reflecting back the fact that you are still measuring this setback against the plan you had three months ago, when the plan itself may have been the problem. A failed exam can mean the wrong major. A rejection can mean a teacher who would not have taught you well. The stick at Average grade is honest here; it does not promise the wild herd will come galloping in next week. It says the meaning of this loss is not yet finished revealing itself, and your job is to stay in the conversation rather than close the book on it.

Sit with the specific result that brought you to the cylinder and write down, plainly, what you thought it would unlock and what it actually closed off. Then list two paths this setback now makes possible that were not available before, even small ones. Talk to a teacher or senior who has taken a non-linear route through their field; their story will calibrate yours.

Keep studying, but loosen your grip on the original timeline by one semester. Revisit this question in three months before deciding what the loss meant.