A young monk had come to the cave of the old blind hermit, to learn something of his wisdom. 
"When I was young," the hermit told him, "I had many painful experiences. I left our great city of Lhasa and wandered blind in the wilderness. Starving, ill, and unconscious, I was taken to a place - I know not where - and instructed in preparation for this day. When my knowledge has passed to you, my life's work is ended, and I can go in peace to the heavenly fields." 
An hour later, the young man was sitting before the elder, listening to a story that was enthralling as it was strange: the story of "The Hermit."