The old man lost his horse

The story is well-known throughout the East Asian cultural sphere and is often invoked to express the idea of "silver lining" or "blessing in disguise" in Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese.

The English text is mostly based on the translation by Claude Larre et al. Les grands traités du Huainan zi, 1993, p. 208–209.

He reacts with wu wei (Chinese: 無爲; pinyin: wú wéi; i.e. 'not intervening', 'not acting') but this term should not be confused with apathy.

Through the introductory and concluding sentences it is made clear that the parable shows only a small part of an infinite sequence: before the loss of the horse there were other lucky/unlucky situations and after fending off the barbarians, there will be others.

A similar sentiment to the parable is expressed in chapter 58 of the Tao Te Ching by Laozi from the 6th to 4th century BC, namely, Misery is what happiness rests upon.

A variation of parable is told by the character "La Abuela" Gordillo (Alma Martinez) and is a recurring theme for several subsequent episodes.

Near the end of the film, CIA agent Gust Avrakotos shares the story as a cautionary tale while ascribing it to a "Zen master".