Once someone approached Mullah Nasruddin and asked him, “Mullah, is it possible to teach someone illumination?”

The Mullah, always ready for an adventure, said promptly, “Yes, certainly.”

“Can you teach it to me?”

“Why not? Of course it is possible,” said Nasruddin, ” but you have to be prepared to make sacrifices.”

“What kind of sacrifices?”

“For a start,” said Nasruddin, “one hundred pieces of silver – cash in advance.”

“A hundred pieces of silver is a lot of money!”

“A high price for the highest of all goals,” said the Mullah piously.

“But why in advance?”

“Because,” said Nasruddin, “When you reach illumination, you will see that money is meaningless and refuse to pay me.”