Once a king decided that if he knew the answer to three questions, he would be the master of life itself.
When is the best time?
Who is the most important person?
What is the most vital thing to do?
He resolved to visit a mountain-dwelling hermit said to be an enlightened being. Leaving his attendants some distance behind, he approached the hermit, who was digging a garden in front of his hut. The hermit listened to the king's three questions, but then simply resumed digging. The king was flustered and started to leave, but watching the hermit work so hard, he said, "You must be tired. Let me give you a hand."
The king dug for several hours until he was exhausted. He said to the hermit, "If you can't answer my questions, please tell me so that I can be on my way."
The hermit replied, "Do you hear someone running?" Just then, a man came stumbling out of the woods, clutching his stomach, and passed out. The king ripped open the man's shirt, saw a bloody wound, and bandaged it. Then he carried him into the hermit's hut, where all three spent the night.
The next morning the wounded man said to the king, "You don't know me, but for years I thought of you as my enemy. During the last war, you took my lands and I swore vengeance. When I saw you climbing this mountain, I decided to kill you on your way back, but your attendants spotted me and gave me this wound. I escaped, but if you hadn't helped me, I would have died. Please, I beg of you, forgive me."
The king was astonished. "I forgive you," he said, "and I promise to restore your lands." The two men embraced. Then the king turned to the hermit, who was sowing seeds in his garden. "I must leave," the king said. "Can you give me no answer to my questions?"
The hermit laughed. "Your questions have already been answered! If you had not delayed to dig my garden, you would have been attacked by that man. Therefore, the best time for you then was the time you were digging, the most important person was myself, and the most vital thing to do was to help me. Later, when the wounded man appeared, the best time was the time you spent tending to his wound, for otherwise you would not have gained his friendship. He was then the most important person, and the most vital thing to do was to help him. Remember: the best time is always right now, the only moment you can control. The most important person is always the one you are with. And the most vital thing to do is always to make that person happy."
[From "Essential Buddhism"]
Farkel