Once upon a time long ago, an old man lived alone upon a hillside. He was a sannyasi; that is, he had dedicated his whole life towards spirituality. He had given up all worldly possessions. Each morning he woke facing the east. As he watched the sun rise, he said his prayers. He lived a simple life, a quiet life, far from others.
But in the village below the mountaintop, some people whispered about the old man. Gossip spread, the way gossip will, and as the years passed, the rumors spread far and wide. People said the old man was not devout. Rather, they said, he was a wealthy man who had moved to the top of the hillside to hide his wealth from those who might wish to steal it.
"But he does not spend any money," some argued.
"No, but one day he will," others countered.
"Why live such a simple life if he is so rich?" others asked.
Those who gossiped would shrug when anyone asked this question. "That is for the old man to know, and one day we shall discover his secret."
One night a poor peasant fell asleep, and he dreamed. In his dream he saw a magnificent ruby -- a ruby as bright as the sunrise, nearly as large as his own head. And in his dream he saw that this ruby belonged to the old man on the hilltop.
When the peasant woke, he decided he must have that ruby. It was so beautiful, and perhaps if he asked the old man to give it to him, he would agree.
The very next morning before anyone in the village was awake, the peasant began the long hike to the top of the mountain.
That morning when the old man woke, he began to say his prayers when suddenly he heard footsteps behind him.
He turned and saw the peasant just coming over the rise of the hill, and so the old man greeted him. "Good day. Welcome to the hilltop. Perhaps you would like to pray with me?"
The peasant was terribly nervous, but he did not wish to pray. He could not take his mind off the beautiful ruby of his dream, and so without thinking, he simply blurted, "No, I have come for a ruby. I saw it in my dreams. Do you have a ruby that you will give to me?"
Without a word the old man reached out into a clump of tall grass, and he plucked a ruby from its center. He handed the jewel to the peasant. "Here it is. Take it with my blessings."
The peasant could not believe his eyes. The ruby was truly as bright as the sun that now rose in the eastern sky, and it was nearly as big as his head. He held it in his hands, staring, and then he stared at the old man. "You are too kind," he said, and before the old man could change his mind, he hurried back down the hillside.
Hiding the ruby beneath his tattered clothes, he hurried to his hut, and there he placed the magnificent gem upon his little table. He stared in wonder. He turned it this way and that. He touched it, caressed it, kissed its cold surface.
"I am the luckiest man in the world," he said, and all day long he sat that way.
He did not eat. He paced and stared and imagined what would happen now. His life had completely changed. Tomorrow he would carry the ruby to the nearest city; there he would sell it for the highest price. Or no, he thought. Perhaps he ought to keep the ruby, hide it somewhere safe until a day he truly needed it to keep himself from starving. Or no, he thought again, he would take it to the city and give it to a gem cutter who could cut it into many pieces. He could sell a ruby or two, or even 10, and save the rest for another day. But what if the stonecutter told others of his ruby? Then he would never be safe. And perhaps, after all, he should share his wealth, but once he told anyone about the jewel, thieves might break into his hut.
All night long the peasant stared at the ruby, and as he stared, he began to think of the old man upon the hillside, of the moment he reached into the grass and picked up the ruby. He thought of the man's simple life -- his robes, his devotion, his quiet smile.
And so once again, before dawn, he began to climb the mountain. This time he carried the ruby.
And as the sun began to rise, the old man woke, and he turned to the east to begin his prayers, but once again he heard footsteps behind him, and he turned to find the peasant standing there.
"Good morning," the old man said, bowing slightly.
The peasant handed the old man the ruby. "I do not wish to keep this," he said. "But I do have a request."
The old man nodded.
"I wish for you to become my teacher. I want to learn what you know. I wish to know how you gave this ruby away with such ease."
The old man smiled. "You have already begun to learn," he said.
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