The Hobo and the Zen Master
Situation puzzles (sometimes called lateral thinking puzzles) are ones where you need to ask lots of yes or no questions to figure out what happened in the situation. These are good puzzles for groups where one person knows the puzzle and answers the questions.
A hobo had just been kicked off the train by one of the bosses. As he made his way down a dusty side road, he noticed a saffron robed man sitting next to a campfire apparently deep in thought. A wonderful smelling stew was bubbling in a pot next to him. It had been a full day since the hobo's last meal, so he went over to the man and tapped him on the shoulder.
"I see by your robes that you are some kind of holy man," said the hobo.
The Zen Master turned to the hobo and said, "You speak the truth."
The hobo spoke, "I would sure like to try the stew you have on the campfire there; perhaps if I could tell you something to increase your wisdom, you will agree to share your meal."
The Zen Master turned to the hobo and said, "Please, you are welcome to share my meal because you have already increased my wisdom!"
What had the Zen Master learned from the hobo to increase his wisdom?
HintThe lesson was taught before the hobo spoke.
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Answer
The Zen Master learned that he should find a more private place to meditate if he doesn't want to be interrupted by every vagabond that happens by.
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Comments
WJSMama  
Jan 02, 2006
|  good one |
Sunrose  
Jan 02, 2006
| Very well written. Enjoyed this one as well. Good Job  Loved the personal touch |
Brainy_1
Jan 02, 2006
| Good one Zona!! I really enjoyed it!  But now I'm hungry... |
mr_brainiac
Jan 02, 2006
| har har - sounds like something the crabby old guru Mr. Natural would have said in the 1970's hippie comic book "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers"! |
TheEarthling  
Jan 02, 2006
| Funny. |
teen_wiz
Jan 02, 2006
| This puzzle, well, I had noooooooooooooo idea what the answer was  . Anyway, it was really cute! |
brules370
Jan 02, 2006
| It was funny! |
sugarnspice4u7
Jan 02, 2006
| liked it |
Coolfreeze 
Jan 03, 2006
| i found it funny...very funny! |
sgtammo
Jan 03, 2006
| Very fun teaser. |
lovefrenzy
Jan 03, 2006
| this one is great! i love it
|
mmpp123
Jan 05, 2006
| I love this one! Very funny! |
Gesmynaim
Jan 06, 2006
| I really liked this puzzle! Very clever, and very good use of lateral thinking. I wish I would have come up with the idea! (I figured it out by the way) |
yardchicken2
Jan 08, 2006
| I like this - I thought maybe it was to not doze off by your cook pot and let some one walk up on you! -not too far off. |
zonarita
Jan 08, 2006
| So glad to see this one show up on site. It continues to be so funny!
Let us see some more of your wonderful humor! |
juggler
Jan 15, 2006
| I loved it! I guessed that the Zen master learned that the hobo was truthful... but then I looked at the hint! very good teaser! |
zonahobo
Jan 17, 2006
| Glad you all enjoyed this .. we'll see if we can hear more about the Zen Master .. Zona |
rkaaland
Jan 21, 2006
| This was Great!! I definately want to see more!!! I love trying to figure out the learning modes of Zen |
Celanba
Jan 22, 2006
| Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!! |
broken_dreams
Mar 08, 2006
| i liked this one. it was cute. but i didnt get it. i also thought it was that the hobo was truthful, juggler. |
MadDog72
Mar 19, 2006
| This one made me laugh so hard! |
OldChinaHand
Jun 06, 2006
| The old Zen Master knew that 'you cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair'.
Good one. Remember to keep to keep your fires low and your stews covered.
 |
maingle-_-
Oct 28, 2006
| very funny! not much of a riddle, though. |
CountdownCrispy
Nov 05, 2006
| Brilliant! |
senther7
Jan 16, 2007
| ......
Why ddint i think of that?!?!? (sigh)
good teaser |
Radioguy
Oct 09, 2007
| funny! Don't care much for Zen, but loved the teaser! |
tonjawithaj
Jan 13, 2009
| HAHAHAHA! Good one! |
princess2007
Mar 08, 2011
| that was plain mean =.= |
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