A man is traveling through the country and his car breaks down. He gets out and walks for miles and miles, and the first sign of civilization he sees is an old temple.
He goes inside and asks the monks if he can use their phone. The head monk tells him "We have no phone - and it is already getting dark. If you like, you may stay the night with us, and tomorrow some of our brothers will walk you into town.
Not having many other options, the man agrees and he is given a modest room to sleep in.
During the night, just as he is about to fall asleep, he hears the strangest noise. It’s unlike anything he's ever heard before, and he cannot, for the life of him, figure out what is making it. He leaves his room and searches the monastery until he comes to a door made of pine. He can tell the sound is behind this door, but it’s locked, and he has no choice but to return to bed.
The next day, before he leaves, he asks the head monk about it. The monk replies, "Ah - I know the sound you speak of, and what makes it, but I cannot tell you - because you are not a monk."
Unsatisfied but helpless, the man walks to town with two of the monks. As he walks he talks to these younger men, trying to pry the info out of them. Like the head monk, they know what made his sound - but like the head monk, they will not share, because the man is not a monk.
He gets back to town in one piece, is taken to a repair garage, has his car towed and fixed and he drives away from this place to get back to his life.
He resumes his normal activities, but the sound haunts him. He finds himself trying to look it up on the Internet and in books, all to no avail. He tries to imitate it so others might guess, but no one can. He begins to lose sleep, and miss work, devoting too much of his time and energy to the mystery. By the time a year has passed, the man is a wreck.
He goes back to the monastery, finding the old temple as he had left it. He is welcomed in and finds the head monk. He falls to his knees, "Please, please tell me of the source of the sound! I must know!" But the old monk sadly shakes his head and days "I cannot tell you, because you're not a monk."
The man is devastated! He doesn’t know what to do with himself, but then his eyes go wide. "Then!" he says, "I'll become a monk! Let me join your monastery and become a brother." The old monk nods once.
"To become a monk, you must complete three tasks. First, you must prove patience and focus by counting every stone that this temple is made of. Second, you must achieve enlightenment by answering an unanswered question. Thirdly, you must prove your strength and virtue by existing for five days on nothing but rainwater and dewdrops."
The man gets his trainee robes and his room and goes to his tasks. He occupies himself for another year, every night haunted by the phantom sound. He returns to the monk, rail-thin and shaking. "Father! This temple is made of 3,561 stones - 3,562 if you count the granite countertop in the kitchen."
"My question is 'why is everything always in the last place I look?' I have the answer - it is because I stop looking once I've found it."
"And I have subsisted for five days and five nights on nothing but the cold rain and my own conviction."
The head monk smiles softly and nods his head once. "Welcome, you are now one of us, a monk. Come, brother, what would you like to do first? Surely you would like a warm blanket and some hot stew to replenish your body."
"No, Father" declares the man. "I want to know what makes the sound in the night!"
The head monk nods once and leads the man away. He takes him to the pine door, and hands him a pine key. The man takes the pine key, and opens the pine door. Behind it is an oak door.
The man looks back to the head monk, who hands him an oak key. He takes the oak key and opens the oak door. Behind the oak door is a mahogany door.
Beginning to lose his patience, the man looks to the Father, only to receive a mahogany key. The mahogany key opens the mahogany door to reveal a tin door.
The man looks to the head monk, who hands him a tin key. He uses the tin key to open the tin door, to find a bronze door.
Not looking this time, the man puts out a hand and receives a bronze key. The bronze key opens the bronze door.
Behind it is a silver door.
The man snatches a silver key from the head monk's rising hand. He jams the silver key into the silver door and wrenches it open, revealing a door of solid gold.
He gets a golden key from the head monk. He puts the golden key into the golden door. The golden key opens the golden door to reveal a platinum door.
A priceless platinum key is handed over and the man puts it in the platinum door. The platinum key opens the platinum door to reveal a door studded with rubies.
The man hears the sound and quickly turns to the Father, taking a ruby-studded key. He puts the ruby-studded key in the ruby-studded door and opens it. Behind it is a sapphire-studded door.
The head monk hands him a sapphire-studded key. He puts the sapphire-studded key into the sapphire-studded door and opens it to reveal a door studded with emeralds.
A beautiful emerald-studded key is received. He puts the emerald-studded key into the emerald-studded door and the emerald-studded key opens the emerald-studded door. Behind it is a door encrusted with flawless diamonds.
Almost out of willpower, the man turns to the head monk, who nods once and hands him a diamond-encrusted key. He puts the diamond-encrusted key in the diamond-encrusted door. The diamond-encrusted key opens the diamond-encrusted door, revealing a room.
As light spills into the room, he hears the sound again. He looks up, and now he can clearly see what had been making the sound all along!
But, I can't tell you what it was, because you're not a monk.
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