Sunday, April 23, 2006
YOU'RE NOT A MONK
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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 again accept him, feed
him, and 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 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 and 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.
But I can't tell you what it is.
You're not a monk.
PRAYER
"Lord, may I bear good fruit for your sake. Help me to reject whatever will produce evil fruit. And help me grow in faith, hope, love, sound judgment, justice, courage, and self control."
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