Once upon a time the abbot of a certain monastery, feeling age advancing, considered that it was time to look for a successor, and therefore decided to examine the monks. Accordingly he invited them, one by one, to visit him in his cell. When they entered, they saw before them a table spread with gold and glittering jewels. To each one, the abbot asked the same question: “What do you see here?”

The answers were various. One monk said simply, “Gold and jewels, master.”

Another said, “The source of all discord in the world. I give thanks for my vow of poverty.”

A third monk said, “Master, I see the beauty of the Creator,” while another monk said, “I see dust.”

One monk replied, “Master, I see wealth enough to build a fine temple where many souls can be saved from darkness.”

Still another monk answered, “I see sufficient alms to ease the hunger of a famine.”

All of these responses interested the abbot very much but he did not feel satisfied. At last, he invited the gatekeeper, a layman who had never taken any vows but who had served at the monastery for many years. “What do you see here?” the abbot asked him.

The gatekeeper glanced briefly at the table, but then looked more keenly at the abbot. “I see a means to discern the evolution of men,” he replied.

“Thank you,” said the abbot. “We shall talk again.”