The monk

A man knocked  on the front door  of the monastery.  A monk answered, listened to the man’s story and graciously invited him to  spend the night. The monks fed him and led him to a tiny chamber in which to sleep. 

The man slept serenely until he was awakened by a strange  and beautiful sound. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.  The next morning, as the monks were repairing his car, he asked about the sound that had woke him. 

"We’re sorry," the monks said. "We can’t  tell you about the sound.  You’re not a monk." 

Disappointed, the man went on his way and pondered the  source of the alluring sound for several years. 

One day he again stopped at the monastery, and explained  to the monks that he had so enjoyed his previous stay that he wondered  if he might be permitted to spend another night under their peaceful  roof. Late that night, he again heard the strange, beautiful sound. It was  the most beautiful and calming sound he had ever heard. The  following morning he begged the monks to explain the sound but he monks gave  him the same answer as before. 

"We’re sorry. We can’t tell you about the sound.  You’re not a monk." 

By now the man’s curiosity had turned to obsession. He  decided to give up everything to become a monk, for that was the only way  he could learn about the sound. He informed the monks of his decision and  began the long and arduous task of becoming one of them. 

Seventeen long years later, the man was finally  established as a true member of the order. When the celebration ended, he humbly  went to the leader of the order and asked to be told the source of the  sound.  Silently, the old monk led the new monk to a huge wooden door.  He opened the door with a golden key. The door swung open to reveal a second door, this one of silver, then a third of  gold and so on until they had passed through twelve doors, each more  magnificent than the last. The new monk’s face was awash with tears of joy  as he finally beheld the wondrous source of the beautiful and mysterious  sound he had heard so many years before…   

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But I can’t tell you what it was. You’re not a monk. Now go back to work!!