true story.
A man's car broke down as he was driving past a beautiful old
>monastery. He walked up the drive and knocked on the front door. A monk
>answered, listened to the man's story and graciously invited him to
>spend the night.
>
>The monks fed the man and led him to a tiny chamber in which to sleep.
>The man thanked the monks and slept serenely until he was awakened by a
>strange and beautiful sound.
>
>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."
>
>The man was disappointed, but eager to be gone, so he thanked the monks
>for their kindness and went on his way. During quiet moments afterward,
>the man pondered the source of the alluring sound. Several years later
>the man happened to be driving in the same area He stopped at the
>monastery on a whim and asked admittance. He explained to the monks
>that he had so enjoyed his previous stay, he wondered if he might be
>permitted to spend another night under their peaceful roof The monks
>agreed, and so the man stayed with them again.
>
>Late that night, he heard the strange beautiful sound. The following
>morning he begged the monks to explain the sound. The 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 and 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 a monk. Seventeen 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. That door swung open to reveal a second door 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 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.
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