A
man is driving down the road and his car breaks
down near a monastery. He goes to the
monastery, knocks on the door, and says, “My car broke down. Do you think I could stay the
night?” the monks graciously
accept him, feed him dinner, even fix his car.
As
the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a strange sound. The next morning, he asks the monks what the sound
was, but they say, "We can't tell you.
You're not a monk." The man is
disappointed but thanks them anyway and goes about his merry way.
Some
years later, The same man breaks
down in front of the same monastery. The monks
again accept him, feed him, even fix his car. That night, he
hears the same strange noise that he had heard years earlier. The next morning, he asks what it is, but the
monks reply, "We can't tell you. You're not a monk."
The
man says, "All right, all right. I'm dying to know. If the only way I can find out what that sound was
is to become a monk, how do I become a monk?"
The
monks reply, "You must travel the earth and tell us how many blades of grass
there are and the exact number of sand pebbles When you find these numbers, you will become a monk."
The
man sets about his task.
Some
years later, he returns and knocks on the door of the monastery. He says, "I have
traveled the earth and have found what you have asked for. There are 145,236,284,232 blades of grass and 231,281,219,999,129,382 sand pebbles on the earth."
The
monks reply, “Congratulations. You
are now a monk. We shall now show you
the way to the sound.” The monks lead
the man to a wooden door where the head monk says, "The sound is right behind that door."
The
man reaches for the knob, but the door is locked. He says, “May I have the key?” The monks give him the key, and he opens the door.
Behind
the wooden door is another door made of stone. The man
demands the key to the stone door
The
monks give him the key, and he opens it, only to find a door made of ruby. He demands another key from the monks, who provide
it.
Behind
that door is another door, this one made of sapphire, So it went until the man had gone through doors of
emerald, silver, topaz, and amethyst.
“Finally,” the monks say, “This is the last key to the last door.”
The
man is relieved to know end.
He
unlocks the door, turns the knob, and behind that door he is amazed to find the
source of that strange sound
…
…
…
But
he can't tell you what it is because you're not a monk.
