Three Questions

• The King's Goal

  • Wants to be successful in life
  • Believes knowing answers to three questions will prevent failure
  • Promises a large reward to anyone who can answer them

• The Three Questions

  • Question 1: What is the right time to begin something?
  • Question 2: Which people should he listen to?
  • Question 3: What is the most important thing for him to do?

• The Wise Men's Answers (Unsatisfying)

  • Regarding Time:
    • Some suggested making a timetable
    • Others suggested a Council of Wise Men
    • Some suggested consulting magicians
  • Regarding People:
    • Suggestions included councillors, priests, doctors, or soldiers
  • Regarding Action:
    • Suggestions included science, fighting, or religious worship
  • Result: King was dissatisfied and gave no reward

• The Visit to the Hermit

  • King decides to consult a wise hermit living in a wood
  • Hermit only meets common people
  • King disguises himself in simple clothes and leaves his bodyguard behind
  • King finds the hermit digging the ground and helps him out of pity

• The Turning Point: The Wounded Man

  • A bearded man runs out of the wood, bleeding from his stomach
  • King washes and bandages the wound until the bleeding stops
  • The man falls asleep in the hermit's hut
  • The Revelation:
    • The man was the King's enemy who came to kill him
    • King's bodyguards had recognized and wounded him
    • Grateful for saving his life, the enemy asks for forgiveness and promises loyalty

• The Answers Revealed (By the Hermit)

  • The Most Important Time: "Now" (The Present)
    • Reason: It is the only time we have any power to act
  • The Most Important Person: The one you are with at the moment
    • Reason: No one knows what will happen in the future
  • The Most Important Business: To do good to that person
    • Reason: We were sent into this life for that purpose alone

• Key Themes & Moral

  • Live in the present moment
  • Helping others is the ultimate purpose of life
  • Forgiveness can turn enemies into friends