There were once two neighboring zen monasteries each with a young student who served as couriers.
Every morning on the way to the town center, the boys would pass each other.
“Where are you going?” — asked one boy to the other.
“Wherever the wind blows” — the other responded.
This reply puzzled the first boy who went to his master for help.
The master advised him — “Tomorrow morning when you meet that little fellow, ask him the same question and then you ask him, ‘What if the wind stopped blowing?’ That will show him.”
The two boys met again the following morning.
“Where are you going?” — asked the first boy.
“Wherever my feet take me,” — answered the other. This again confused the youngster, who took his defeat to his master for more advice on how he should respond.
“What if you had no feet?” — suggested the master.
The next day the boys met a third time.
“Where are you going?” asked the first child.
“To the town center” — the other replied.
“Dammit!”