The Monk...
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 and even fix his car.
As the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a strange sound. A sound not
likes anything he's ever heard before. The Sirens that nearly seduced
Odysseus into crashing his ship comes to mind. He doesn't sleep that night.
He tosses and turns trying to figure out what could possibly be making such
a seductive sound.
The next morning, he asks the Monks about the origin of the sound and they
reply, "We can't tell you. You're not a Monk." Distraught, the man is
forced to leave.
Years later, after never being able to forget that sound, the man goes back
to the monastery and pleads again for the answer. The Monks reply, "We
can't tell you. You're not a Monk."
The man says, "If the only way I can find out what is making that beautiful
sound is to become a Monk, then please, make me 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 grains of sand. When you find these
answers, you will have become a Monk."
The man sets about his task.
After years of searching he returns as a gray-haired old man and knocks on
the door of the monastery. A Monk answers and he is taken before a
gathering of all the Monks. "In my quest to find what makes that beautiful
sound, I traveled the earth and have found what you asked for. By design,
the world is in a state of perpetual change. Only God knows what you ask.
All a man can know is himself, and only then if he is honest and reflective
and willing to strip away self deception."
The Monks reply, "Congratulations. You have become a Monk. We shall now
show you the way to the mystery of the sacred sound." The Monks lead the
man to a wooden door, where the head monk says to the man, "The sound is
beyond that door." The Monks give him the key, and he opens the door.
Behind the wooden door is another door made of stone.
The man is given the key to the stone door and he opens it, only to find a
door made of ruby. And so it went that he needed keys to open doors of
emerald, pearl and diamond.
Finally, they come to a door made of solid gold. The sound has become very
clear and definite. The Monks say, "This is the last key to the last door."
The man is apprehensive to no end. His life's wish is behind that door!
With trembling hands, he unlocks the door, turns the knob, and slowly pushes
open the door. Falling to his knees, he is utterly amazed to discover the
source of that haunting and seductive sound.
But, I can't tell you what it is because you're not a Monk.
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 and even fix his car.
As the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a strange sound. A sound not
likes anything he's ever heard before. The Sirens that nearly seduced
Odysseus into crashing his ship comes to mind. He doesn't sleep that night.
He tosses and turns trying to figure out what could possibly be making such
a seductive sound.
The next morning, he asks the Monks about the origin of the sound and they
reply, "We can't tell you. You're not a Monk." Distraught, the man is
forced to leave.
Years later, after never being able to forget that sound, the man goes back
to the monastery and pleads again for the answer. The Monks reply, "We
can't tell you. You're not a Monk."
The man says, "If the only way I can find out what is making that beautiful
sound is to become a Monk, then please, make me 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 grains of sand. When you find these
answers, you will have become a Monk."
The man sets about his task.
After years of searching he returns as a gray-haired old man and knocks on
the door of the monastery. A Monk answers and he is taken before a
gathering of all the Monks. "In my quest to find what makes that beautiful
sound, I traveled the earth and have found what you asked for. By design,
the world is in a state of perpetual change. Only God knows what you ask.
All a man can know is himself, and only then if he is honest and reflective
and willing to strip away self deception."
The Monks reply, "Congratulations. You have become a Monk. We shall now
show you the way to the mystery of the sacred sound." The Monks lead the
man to a wooden door, where the head monk says to the man, "The sound is
beyond that door." The Monks give him the key, and he opens the door.
Behind the wooden door is another door made of stone.
The man is given the key to the stone door and he opens it, only to find a
door made of ruby. And so it went that he needed keys to open doors of
emerald, pearl and diamond.
Finally, they come to a door made of solid gold. The sound has become very
clear and definite. The Monks say, "This is the last key to the last door."
The man is apprehensive to no end. His life's wish is behind that door!
With trembling hands, he unlocks the door, turns the knob, and slowly pushes
open the door. Falling to his knees, he is utterly amazed to discover the
source of that haunting and seductive sound.
But, I can't tell you what it is because you're not a Monk.
Oh, man. Now I'll have to become a monk!! 
