*The Monk's Secret* *( recd. on 1 st april )*
*A** man is driving down the road and 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, and even fix his car. As the** **man tries to fall asleep, he hears** **a strange sound; a sound like no other that he has ever heard**. **The next morning, he asks the monks what** **the sound was, but they say, We can't tell you because 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 **m **onastery*. * **>* * **>* *The monks again accept him, feed him, and even fix his car.** **That night, he hears the same strange mesmerizing sound that he had heard years earlier.* * **>* * **The next morning, he asks what the sound was, but the monks reply,** **We can't tell you because 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 extremely learned and a monk.** ** >* * **The man sets about his task. Some forty-five years later, he returns and knocks on the door of** **the monastery. He says, I have travelled the earth and devoted my life to the task demanded and have found what you had asked for. There are 371,145,236,284,232 blades of** **grass and 231,281,219,999,129,382 sand pebbles on the earth.* * * * >* * **The monks reply, "congratulations, you are correct, and you are now considered 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 behind that door.** ** >* * **The man reaches for the knob, but the door is locked. He asks, 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** ** requests** **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 asks for another key from the** **monks, who provide it. Behind** * *that door is another door, this one made of sapphire**. * *A**nd so** **it** **went on until the man** **had gone** **through doors of emerald, silver, topaz, and amethyst.*** *Finally, the** **monks say,** **This is the key to the last door .** * * >* * >* * >* * >* * **The man ( who is now a monk ) is relieved to be at the end. He unlocks the door, * *turns the knob, and behind that door** **he is astonished to find the source of that * *strange sound. It is truly an amazing and** ** > >* * > >* *>* *>* *>* *>* *>* *>* *But I can't tell you what it is because you're not a monk !. * * * -- Service Above Self cnu.pne
