The post speaks for itself. Enough said.
A King was going to
his palace after his rounds in the city when he met a beggar. He asked the
beggar, “What would you like?”
The beggar laughed
and said, “You are asking me as though you can fulfill my desire!”
The king was
offended. He said, “Of course I can fulfill your desire. What is it? Just tell
me.”
And the beggar said,
“Think twice before you promise anything.”
“I will fulfill
anything you ask. I am a powerful king, what can you possibly desire that I can
not give to you?”
The beggar said, “It
is a very simple desire. You see this begging bowl? Can you fill it with
something?”
The king said, “Of
course!” He called his vizier and told him, “Fill this man's begging bowl with
money.” The vizier went and got some money and poured it into the bowl, and it
disappeared. And he poured more and more, and the moment he would pour it, it
would disappear. And the begging bowl remained always empty.
The whole palace
gathered. By and by the rumor went throughout the city, and a huge crowd
gathered. The prestige of the king was at stake. He said to his vizier, “If the
whole kingdom is lost, I am ready to lose it, but I cannot be defeated by this
beggar.”
Diamonds and pearls
and emeralds, his treasuries were becoming empty. The begging bowl seemed to be
bottomless. Everything that was put into it immediately disappeared, went out
of existence. Finally it was the evening, and the people were standing there in
utter silence. The king dropped at the feet of the beggar and admitted his
defeat. He said, “Just tell me one thing. You are victorious – but before you
leave, just fulfill my curiosity. What is the begging bowl made of?”
The beggar laughed
and said, “There is no secret. It is simply made of human desire.”
