Buddha and the Cows

One day in spring, Buddha was sitting in the grass with a group of students. They were interrupted by a frantic man who ran up to them and said, “Have you seen my cows? They escaped! They are my whole life! If you see them, let me know immediately! I live in the house over there. At least I will if I find my cows. Where can they be?”

With that, the man ran off, terrified of losing his cows. The Buddha looked at each of his students and said, “Let us take a moment to be thankful that we don’t have any cows.”