Sitting on a Treasure

A beggar had been sitting by the side of a road for over thirty years. One day, a stranger walked by. “Spare some change?” mumbled the beggar, mechanically holding out his old baseball cap.

“I have nothing to give you,” said the stranger. Then he asked, “What’s that you are sitting on?”

“Nothing, just an old box that I have had for as long as I can remember,” replied the beggar.

“Ever looked inside?” asked the stranger.

“What’s the point? There’s nothing in there.”

“Have a look inside,” insisted the stranger.

The beggar managed to pry open the lid. With astonishment, disbelief and elation, he saw that the box was filled with gold.

None is poor, O Bhika;
  Everyone has rubies in his bundle;
But how to open the knot
  He does not know,
  And thus remains a pauper.
_{Bhika, as quoted in Divine Light}