The Wisdom Under the Ring
A king asked his advisors for a small advice that contains all wisdom to keep under the diamond of his ring. He wanted to keep it with him and use it only as a last resort – when he really needed it. The advisors worked hard but couldn’t think of a sentence, which would contain all wisdom. They went to a wise man who lived in the mountains who immediately wrote down the advice and fixed it to the ring saying “Tell the king he is not to read it out of curiosity but only when he is in such despair he feels that there is no way out.”
The king was curious but remembered his promise and did not look. Not long afterwards the king’s country was invaded and he lost the battle. He was running alone on his horse to save his life in the mountains and he reached a point, which was a dead end. Below was a sheer drop and he could hear the hoofs and the sound of the enemy coming closer. Suddenly he remembered the ring and opened it and read the following message “This too will pass.” A great silence descended over him as he realised, everything passes. He waited and strange as it seems the horses started receding. They had started to follow another path. The king returned, collected his armies together, fought the enemies and took back his kingdom. There was a great day of celebration and the king was feeling very pleased and self satisfied with himself. He had defeated a great enemy with larger armies and a bigger kingdom. Suddenly he remembered, “This too will pass.” With this remembrance his ego disappeared and he became very humble.
