Paulo Coelho

A Japanese legend tells of a certain monk who was so enraptured by the beauty of the Chinese book “Tao Te King” that he decided to raise money to have those verses translated and published into his language. It took him ten years to raise enough funds.

However, a pest swept through the country and the monk decided to use the money to relieve the suffering of the sick. But as soon as the situation became normal, once more he started to gather the amount necessary to publish the Tao.

Another ten years passed by, and when at last he was ready to print the book a seaquake left hundreds of people homeless.

Once more the monk spent all the money on rebuilding the houses of those who had lost everything. Another ten years passed by, he gathered the money again and finally the people of Japan were able to read the “Tao Te King.”

The wise men say that this monk actually made three editions of the Tao: two are invisible and one is in print.
He kept his faith in his objective without ever failing to care for his neighbour.