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 here for the night?"
The monks graciously accept him, feed him dinner, they even fix his car.
As the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a mesmerising sound.
The next morning, he asks the monks "What was that strange, hypnotic sound.
They answer, "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 so many years earlier. The next morning, he asks once again what it was.
But once again, 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 sandpebbles 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 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. Once again,, the door is locked.
The man requests, and receives the key to the stone door.
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, because you're not a monk.
He goes to the monastery, knocks on the door, and says,
"My car broke down. Do you think I could stay here for the night?"
The monks graciously accept him, feed him dinner, they even fix his car.
As the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a mesmerising sound.
The next morning, he asks the monks "What was that strange, hypnotic sound.
They answer, "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 so many years earlier. The next morning, he asks once again what it was.
But once again, 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 sandpebbles 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 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. Once again,, the door is locked.
The man requests, and receives the key to the stone door.
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, because you're not a monk.
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