The Sage always decided always insisted that his devotees assemble in the courtyard for prayer at specified times of the day.

After the morning session, a new convert asked:

“Wise One, what if we all prayed individually? Is it not one and the same thing? After all, the sum of three one’s is the same as the sum of three and zero.”

The Sage did not reply to the question immediately.

Instead, he took the new convert into a field where he pointed to a boulder that was lying in-between some shrubs:

“Bring that to my room,” he said. And then he briskly walked away.

The energetic convert stepped up to the task. He attempted lifting the boulder, but let out a deep gasp:

“Goodness! This stone is impossibly heavy!”

He then called upon another devotee who tried to assist him in carrying the stone. With a lot of effort, they just managed to tilt it. A third devotee now teamed up with them, and with their joint effort the trio succeeded in carrying the stone to the Sage’s room.

The two devotees who gave a helping hand now bowed before the Sage and took their leave. Only the convert who was given the task remained behind.

The Sage sat up on his bed to speak:

“I gave you alone the task of bringing in the stone but it appears that it took three of you to accomplish the feat?”

The young man wasted no time in expressing his bewilderment:

“Wise One, it is an impossible burden for one man to bear. The stone is just too heavy and it took everything out of the three of us to get it this far!”

The Sage grinned and then asked another question:

“Why did you not divide the distance you traversed into three and have each person convey it a third of the way?”

The devotee was puzzled by the question. The facts seemed so obvious to him.

“But Wise One, I’ve already told you, the stone is just too heavy! It was a combination of our strengths that enabled us to get it here in the first place!”

The Sage grinned once again before speaking:

“You may now call upon six devotees to assist you in taking it back to the fields.”

This suggestion pleased the new convert who excitedly exclaimed:

“Aha! That should make things much easier!”

The Sage had made his point.

And as he again reclined on his bed, he called out to the young man:

“… Such is it with prayer!”