On Helping Our Fellowmen

Once upon a time there was a priest who went to China to spread his faith. He found difficulty in obtaining a venue to start and approached one of his newly made friends with his problem. The friend took him to see the local village official to see what can be done. Upon gaining an audience, the priest related his plight and the official without much ado granted him without charge, a small piece of land at the edge of a forest to start off. The priest built a small hut and started to preach. In a short time, his congregation grew and the hut could no longer accommodate the increasing number. The priest reverted to his friend on his dilemma, and both of set out to meet the village official. This time the official granted him a larger piece of land also free-of-charge, by extending the boundaries of his current piece. The priest then, built a chapel and continued his sermons, but soon it was too small for the swelling number of followers. Again, he had to enlist the courtesy of his friend who was by now a convert, to meet the official. This time, the official accorded him without charge, a piece of land large enough to build a reasonably sized church. The priest however, became skeptical of the offer and could not figure out the logic behind the granting of his requests each time he asked. So, through his friend, he inquired of the official whether there was the catch. The official casually replied, “In our short life span, the route each of us takes in search of God, Enlightenment, the Ultimate Truth and or Happiness may differ. If our path crosses, shouldn't we help each other since our final destination is similar?”