 The Parable of the 84th Problem A man once came to see the Buddha to get help with his problems. After the man had told the Buddha one of his problems and asked for help, the Buddha replied, I cannot help you get rid of that problem. The man was surprised that Buddha could not help him in this regard, but he told the Buddha about another problem. He thought to himself that the Buddha should at least be able to help him with that problem. But the Buddha told him, I cannot help you with that problem either. The man started to get impatient. He said, How could it be that you are the perfectly enlightened Buddha and you can't even help people get rid of their problems? The Buddha answered, You will always have 83 problems in your life. Sometimes a problem will go, but then another problem will come. I cannot help you with that. The baffled man asked the Buddha, But what can you help me with then? The Buddha replied, I can help you get rid of your 84th problem. The man asked, But what is my 84th problem? The Buddha replied, That you want to get rid of your 83 problems. I feel this parable is important for everyone who is struggling with their own individual problems of today. The Buddha tells the man that there are always going to be plenty of problems that exist in your life and that solving each and every one are not the most important thing in growing consciously and spiritually. The key is not in solving the problems individually, but rather the whole of the problems. In the last patch parable, we looked at good and bad and seeing things just as they are. Try and see all of the problems in your own life as they are in the moment, rather than individually working through each and every one of them. As your perception of them changes, the problems themselves change as well. The world that you experience is a mirror of your own consciousness. What you put out is what you will see back, always. By putting out strain and misfortune on all of your problems, you will continue to experience those problems exactly as you are perceiving them. By shifting perspective and moving your awareness into a new, more thriving and healthy light, your problems can fade away as new, brighter realities take their place. Namaste.