A king was once bothered by three important questions. What is the best time to do a thing? Who is the most important person to work with? What is the most important thing to do at all times? He decided to find an answer. Many wise men came forward, but none of the answers satisfied the king.
Disguising himself as a common man, he went to the mountaintop, where an old wise hermit lived alone. When he reached the top, the old hermit was digging in his garden. When the king asked the answer to the three questions, the old man kept digging without answering. The king offered to help the hermit. He picked up the spade and worked till sunset.
He again put his three questions. The hermit asked him to listen. They heard the footsteps of an approaching stranger, who collapsed in front of them, as he had been wounded. The king dressed the man’s wound, carried him to the hermit’s hut and laid him to sleep. After the long hard day, the king felt tired and went to sleep soundly in the hermit’s hut.
In the morning, the king woke up and found the wounded stranger by his side. He thanked the king for the help and asked his forgiveness.
The king was happy to be reconciled with an old enemy. The king accompanied the (now forgiven) enemy down the mountain and asked his attendants to send the man safely to his native place. Returning to the hermit’s hut, he once again asked the hermit the answer to the three questions. The hermit replied that the king already had been answered. The king asked him how this was so?
The hermit replied that because the king had empathized with the hermit and helped him the whole day in the digging of the garden (instead of going back), he had escaped from being killed by his old enemy was who waiting below. Therefore the most important time was digging the garden, the most important person was the hermit and the most important task was helping him.
The hermit added that next, when the king had attended to the wounded man and saved his life, that time was the most important time; because if he had not saved the man’s life, the man would have died and he would have lost the chance to be reconciled with his old enemy. In this situation, the wounded man was the most important person and taking care of the wound was the most important task on hand.
The hermit summed up his answer to the three questions by saying:
“ There is only one important time and that is NOW. The present moment is the only time over which we have control.
The most important person is the person who is right in front of you, for who knows if you will have any more dealings with him in future?
The most important pursuit is making the person standing by your side happy, for that alone is the pursuit of life.”
The king thanked the hermit and climbed down the mountain, overjoyed that he had found the answers for his three questions.