Once upon a time a farmer heard that the Buddha was passing through town, so he ran to see him.

"I'm a farmer." he told the Buddha, and the Buddha smiled. Emboldened by the smile, the farmer launched into an hour-long diatribe on all the evils that plagued him: from seeds to bugs, his wife, his kids, his parents, and so on.

After he had exhausted himself, the farmer collapsed and beseeched, "What can I do?" The Buddha replied, "Well, you listed 83 problems. However, you should be more concerned with your 84th problem."

"84th problem?", the farmer trembled, and feared for the worst. "What is it?"

"That you believe you have 83 problems, when in fact you have none."

This made the farmer very angry. So angry that he wanted to hit the Buddha; he refrained though, and after some reflection saw the wisdom in what was said.

And so this encounter became known as The 84 Problems, and not as The Farmer Who Hit Buddha.