"ALL RIGHT," THE YOUNG MAN replied. "Make me very wealthy."
The guru did.
The young man was astonished to find himself in a penthouse in the middle of New York City. He had more wealth and power than he had ever imagined possible, and he spent some months learning how much he owned and how to use it.
He was neither evil nor selfish, and he was not satisfied to use his riches in the pursuit of trivial pleasure, so he spent considerable effort trying to bring about quite laudable ends.
Unfortunately, however, neither the wealth itself, or the good he could do with it gave him the kind of centeredness and contentment he was looking for. He remained completely unenlightened, and restless about the nature and purpose of his life.
One day he sat in his penthouse, mulling all of this over, when a house servant approached and spoke.
"Riches don't do it for you?"
The young man looked up and was astonished to see that the servant was none other than the old guru.
"Not so much," he replied.
"You've accomplished great things. Done a lot of good."
"Yes, but I'm still not connected somehow. I feel separate from it all."
"Of course. Wealth, even great wealth, changes nothing. And you remember what I said about wishes. You knew nothing of wealth, so a wish for it was bound to be fruitless. It was a fantasy, and fantasies do not lead to enlightenment. Are you ready for your second wish?"
"I've been thinking about that, a lot. I do remember a time when I was happy, and content. I was a child, then. We were at an amusement park, and I honestly think I was closer to enlightenment then. It's torn down now, but if I could somehow visit it, as it was—that might help me."
"Is that what you want?"
"Yes. Make me able to visit that old amusement park."
The guru did.
