There once lived a wise and rich man, and he had a son. One day he said to his son:
“My son, here I am giving you a precious ring.” Keep it as a sign that you are my heir and pass it on to your descendants. This is a very rare and beautiful ring, and can be used to open the door to the treasury.
A few years later this man had another son. When he grew up a little, the sage gave him another ring with the same parting words. He did the same with his third and last son.
The time came, and the elder died. His sons grew up and began to prove their superiority to each other, for each believed that the ring he received from his father undoubtedly testified to his chosenness. Neither of them, however, could explain why he considered his ring the most valuable.
The brothers had their own followers who defended the value and beauty of one of the three rings. But a strange thing, the “door to the treasury” still remained hidden to the holders of the “keys” and their associates. All of them were too absorbed in the problem of primacy, discussing the beauty and merits of their rings. Only a few tried to find the door to the elder’s treasury.
The fact is that the rings had magical properties. Although they were keys, they could not literally open the door to the treasury, but simply looking at them, forgetting strife and not being attached to any of their qualities, was enough for this to happen. Those who guessed to do this could indicate where the treasury was located, and, holding the outlines of the ring in their memory, penetrate it. And the treasures themselves also had wonderful properties - they were inexhaustible.
Meanwhile, ring aficionados, each in their own way, repeat what their common ancestor said about the merits of their ring. The first community decided that they had already found the treasure. The second community considers the story of the treasure to be an allegory. According to the third community, the door to the treasury will open in the distant future, about which they have very vague ideas.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru