How do we know?

A Taoist master and his friend, a famous logician, were standing on the bridge that crossed the river Hao.

The Taosit looked down and said, "How happy the fish are!"

The Logician said, "How do you know whether the fish are happy or not?"

Three Questions

Once a king decided that if he knew the answer to three questions, he would be the master of life itself:
When is the best time?
Who is the most important person?
What is the most vital thing to do?

What are you carrying?

Once two Zen monks were walking together through the woods. They came to a broad, shallow river and began hitching up their robes for a walk across to the other side. Suddenly, a short distance away, a beautiful young woman dressed in wedding finery stepped out of the forest and paused before the river. By observing the troubled expression on her face and the way she paced back and forth, the monks could tell that she needed to get across, but couldn't without ruining her clothes. The older monk said to the younger one, "I will offer to carry her across."

How do you do?

Ἐπίκτητος (55 A.D.-135 A.D.) was born a slave in Turkey and became one of the great stoic philosophers of Rome. He was expelled from the city in 94 A.D. and it was while in exile that he came up with a way of teaching his followers.

His teachings were noted down and published by his pupil Arrian in his discourses. Here is an extract from his Art of Living.