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. 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 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. Forty-five 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, "Real funny. 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, amethyst...
Finally, the monks say, "This is the last key to the last door."
The
man is relieved to no end. He unlocks the door, turns the knob, and
behind that door he is amazed to find the source of that strange sound.
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But we can't tell you what it is because you're not a monk.
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
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. 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 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. Forty-five 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, "Real funny. 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, amethyst...
Finally, the monks say, "This is the last key to the last door."
The
man is relieved to no end. He unlocks the door, turns the knob, and
behind that door he is amazed to find the source of that strange sound.
*
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*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
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But we can't tell you what it is because you're not a monk.
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!