Once upon a time there lived a king, and three questions tormented him all his life: what is the most important time, who is the most important person, what is the most important thing?
The king thought: “If I knew the answer to these three questions, I would conquer the whole world, I would accomplish whatever I wanted, and the people would regard me as a great sage.”
A countless number of people passed before the king, a whole host of learned men, but no one answered these questions. Once rumors reached the king that a certain hermit lived in the distance and was famous for his wisdom. The king ordered his horse to be saddled and he galloped off to look for the hermit. He drives through the thicket of the forest and sees: there is a shack, and next to it a decrepit old man is hoeing the ground. He almost collapses from fatigue, but does not let go of his hoe. The king jumped down to the ground, approached and bowed to the elder.
“I came to you to get an answer to my three questions.” What is the most important time? Who is the most important person? What's the most important thing?
The hermit listened to him, did not say anything in response, just know he was digging his own ground.
“You must be tired, let me help you,” the king suggested.
He took a hoe from the hermit and began to work. Then he repeated his three questions again. And this time the hermit did not answer, he only said to return the hoe. But the king doesn’t even want to listen to him, he won’t give up his hoes, he himself decided to see the matter through to the end.
Suddenly he sees a man coming towards him, his face is all wounded and covered in blood. The king stopped him, consoled him with a kind word, went to the stream, brought water, washed his wounds, and bandaged him. The wounded man asked for a drink - the king gave him something to drink. Then he took me to the shack and put me to bed. And he himself began to get ready for bed - evening had already fallen.
In the morning I went to the hermit again. He looks and sees that he is planting seeds in the soil that he loosened yesterday.
“Wise hermit,” the king prayed, “will you really not answer my questions?”
“That’s enough for you,” he said, “you’ve already answered them yourself.”
“And I haven’t heard any answers,” the king was amazed.
“You, seeing my old age and weakness, took pity on me and volunteered to help. If you had not stayed here yesterday, the robbers on the road would have killed you, those who mutilated the traveler’s face.
The king, out of amazement, cannot utter a word, but the hermit continues speaking:
- The most important time was when you dug the ground and helped me. The most important person at that time was me, and your help was the most important thing. A wounded man came - and he became the most important thing, and the most important thing was your help to him.
Little by little the king understood the meaning of the hermit’s words.
“Remember,” said the hermit in parting, “the most important time is today, the most important person is the one who is nearby at this time.” And the most important thing is to do good for those who are nearby, because this is what we were born for.
The hermit fell silent, began to sow seeds, and the king jumped on his horse and rode to the palace. He remembered the hermit’s parting words for the rest of his life, and the fame of that king’s generosity and justice spread throughout the world.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru