“All existence is one!” he heard a voice say, just before he heard the clink of the pebble hitting the ground.
The Holy Man turned and looked behind him. He could see nothing, so he turned back and went on his way.
“All existence is one!”
He heard again. This time, the Holy Man turned and tried to find the pebble with his blood on it that he had tossed behind him. After ten minutes of fruitless searching, he abandoned his search and gave up to continue on his way. However, before he could take a single step, again he heard from behind him.
“All existence is one!”
Again, the Holy Man searched for the bloody pebble, and again he couldn’t find it, and again he turned to go and again,
“All existence is one!”
The cycle of events occurred three more times. It was getting dark, the road was lonely, and a storm was brewing. The Holy Man turned his back, once more, and began to walk.
“All existence is one!” he heard again.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said. “I’ve heard that somewhere before,” and he continued on his way.
“All existence is two? Three? Four?” the Holy Man heard from behind him.
“Try five,” he said and continued on his way.