Quotation of Brief Excerpt in Review of And Kyroot Said... by Jan Cox:
Typed by Fuantum - 8/2025
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... and Kyroot said:
Once there was a young man who believed that he had discovered a great treasure.
It was a strange sort of treasure, for at first, he thought it was the very treasure for which he had been searching.
But then he became less certain.
(Treasures themselves are a strange thing, and the young man had taken upon himself the study of earthly treasures men seek.)
He observed that some men seek great wealth.
He saw that others seek power and control over their fellow mortals.
And he observed that others seek fame and renown.
(And beyond these three types, he began to observe the nature of treasures on a more subtle level and he saw that many men seek less distinguishable stores.)
He observed that many men do not appear to be seeking any definable or apparently permanent treasure such as wealth or renown.  (And beyond these three types, he began to observe the nature of treasures on a more subtle level and he saw that many men seek less distinguishable stores.)
He observed that many men do not appear to be seeking any definable or apparently permanent treasure such as wealth or renown. Many seem involved in very small, fleeting searches for treasures which are for the most part unnoticed.
He saw that many men apparently just stumble about without any recognizable direction or purpose and seem to have no particular treasure in mind.  But then as his observations improved and his experience increased, he saw that even these men seek small, rather insignificant treasures that seem to satisfy whatever hunger they may harbour.
Through his interest and studies of treasures, he became acquainted with men who sought wealth, men who sought power, and men who struggled for fame.  And he learned that they looked upon others without desires for such treasures as lowly, ignorant and without significance.  And the more familiar he became with these first three types, the better he understood their attitude toward others.
(And of course, his ability to gain an understanding of these typers was because he had a little bit of them all within his own mind,)
But as he also studied and associated with those men without such desires, he understood them too, and he realized that they were not without desires for their own treasures.
In some instances he learned that these ordinary, lowly men sought treasures like fame, power and wealth, but on a scale much smaller than usually recognized as possessing same.  A king struggling and plotting the conquest of new nations to add to his empire takes little notice of the lowly farmer attempting to acquire a new acre.
So, it is by relative degrees that some men are deemed to have no aim, and the treasures they do acquire go unnoticed.
But there was still even a more subtle level to be understood, and he observed that most men are continually involved in the grasp for quite temporary treasures; treasures without even the life span of fame.
The young man had long realized that men go mad and destroy themselves unless they have a treasure to seek; so he was sure that even quite ordinary men were on a hunt of some sort of the other.
He knew full well that there were treasures being sought of a type that usually are not seen or understood by the BIG treasure seekers.  He knew that they must be all about him, right there before him; it was just a matter of learning to see them.  
And as I said, his efforts were rewarded, for he did begin to recognize these vague, ephemeral treasures that keep ordinary men sane.
These treasures he called "everyday", for they were not the sort that required a lifelong struggle to acquire, like great wealth or power; they were passing, apparently insignificant treasures that men sought, acquired and discarded on an everyday basis. 
These little everyday treasures were often dismissed and ridiculed by those not involved.  But to the seeker himself the everyday treasures were of great importance and life-sustaining significance.
The young man found it rather curious, once he had made his own discoveries, that these little everyday treasures could be thought of as just smaller versions of the Big Three of wealth, power, and fame, and the young man would ofttimes see these little everyday treasures that made life barely tolerable for most men were what the great religions and philosophies called sins and vices. 
(But as he went along, he began to understand this also.)
In a way, these everyday treasures could be thought of as just smaller versions of the Big Three of wealth, power and fame, and the young man would ofttimes see these smaller treasures as fitting into a categorical comparison with the larger ones.  Yet he tried to think and examine them separately as they existed under their own conditions.  Even though you can say that pebbles and rubies are both stones, they differ greatly in their durability and accepted worth.
So to our young observer, the everyday treasures remained a distinct area of study and consideration from the larger scaled ones of generally recognized wealth, power, and fame.
As his observations and understanding became clearer and he gleaned the nexus between his discovered "everyday treasures" and that of sin and vice, he realized that what he had grasped was not all that new or unusual in a verbal sense; what was singular to his personal perception was the position and function of these everyday sin-treasures and vice-riches to an ordinary man's very existence.
Since these everyday treasures had already been recognized, although from the negative viewpoint of their being vices, and had been named and labeled, the young man saw no need for new terminologies; he simply thought of and called them as they were.
After he had so readily seen the Big Three treasures of wealth, power, and fame for a while he became absorbed in naming and separately defining the everyday treasures.  He observed and pondered, studied and considered and compiled a list of the everyday treasures. Once the list was of half a hundred labels.  Then he realized that they could be justly condensed to eight, and perhaps less.  But by that time his own search and studies had made him aware of the ultimate folly of names and words, and he proceeded on the silent basis of his own non-mental understanding.
But to give you an idea of what the everyday treasures were that he discovered, I will tell you that one of his last lists consisted of these words: anger, fear, jealousy, insolence, envy, sorrow, shame, self-pity, and vanity. 
Do you realize now why the young man found his discovery to be rather "curious" to say the least? For what many call sins and vices, he saw as being necessary treasures that keep men alive and sane by their own definitions.
Even though the young man abandoned his list-making of these small treasures, whenever he did "think" of them he simply used the everyday reflective words (although he understood them in his own peculiar way).
He continually observed that ordinary men engage in word and deed that offer proof conclusive that they seek out such emotional-treasures.  They not only search and long for them, they insist upon having them, and ofttimes with passing passion that makes tyrants look like Samaritans and misers seem like spendthrifts.
He saw that men seek out these everyday treasures; they cherish them, they value them, and they will almost insist that others join them in their fondling of same.
Through his own impartial hearing he heard men speak ill of these treasures, and yet he saw full well that they were deluded, and in fact cherished and nurtured the treasure-vices; they could not live without them.
Then he long pondered why men and their formalized spiritual organizations spoke so badly about the treasures.  He wondered, not that men could be so deluded between their theories and their acts, for he had come to accept this as the norm; no, he pondered specifically why treasures had come to be verbally looked upon as vices.
So he undertook a long, comprehensive study of men's religions and philosophies.  As he moved in his study from the known and obvious to the occult and arcane, he discovered that before him, others had made similar inquiries and held like understanding.
He read book after book; went from scholar to scholar, and mystic to mystic until it was quite clear to him that he was walking in the shadowy footsteps of many other mortals.
He discovered men of many lands and many times pondering the same questions as himself; wondering over the same foolishness that had now caught his own attention.  He discovered little-known poems, prayers, theories, and written cries and laments, all coming from souls such as himself.
And then he realized-- they were all seeking their own treasure.  But a treasure little known or encountered by ordinary men.
So in starting out to study the strange and unrecognized nature of mortally sought treasure the young moan found himself in search for the ultimate treasure; the answer of answers, the secret of secrets.
At first, he had recognized three big treasures; then fifty everyday ones; then eight; and now another; but one beyond the previous categories.
From his own viewpoint-of-understanding, the young man now looked upon possible treasures as being of two distinct types.  He sensed the essential difference before he had any name for it.  He was simply aware that the treasure he and so many others before him had sought was of a completely different nature than wealth, fame, or power; or the everyday ones of anger, envy, shame and the like.
No, this "other" treasure was something else altogether.  Whatever it might ultimately be, it was not anything known through ordinary experience.
Let me tell you that he was soon totally involved in an almost fanatical search for this unnamed "other" treasure.
I will not now go into all of the curious details about his search; I have only told you what I have so that I may speak about what I intended in the beginning.  That is: The young man finally came to believe that he had discovered this "great treasure" the one for which he thought he had searched, but one that began to disturb him.
I should tell you that along with his believed discovery originally came such an unexpected emotional and mental experience as to be indescribable.  For awhile, from an ordinary viewpoint, he was almost incapacitated.  His experience was so extraordinary that he could not function in an ordinary manner.  But that passed and he found himself back in a rather ordinary condition, again amidst quite ordinary circumstances; and this is when he first began to have the feelings of doubt and uncertainty.
 Without his immediate notice, he would forget all about the treasure he had discovered, and he would lapse into vague, half-hearted walks toward those everyday treasures, or even fall into dreams of laying his hands on one of the big ones of wealth, power or fame.
Then when it seemed as though he would be forever and completely given unto such ordinary treasure hunts, he would in an unexplainable manner suddenly remember the secret treasure-of-treasures, and he would feel freed from ordinary concerns and pursuits and would again bathe in the miraculous glow of his secret treasure.
This process of forgetting the treasure and then remembering it again repeated itself over and over; and this was the basis of his concern and uncertainty.  When he could remember the treasure and live in its warmth, there was absolutely no doubt as to its worth and its validity, but when he lost it and could recall its reality only through ordinary mental memory, it was most unsatisfying, impotent and devoid of emotion.  And this disturbed him. 
Not being able to always remember the treasure disturbed him: 
Everything disturbed him.
But in his more undisturbed moments he clearly perceived the curious problem at hand: When he could remember the treasure everything was serene, safe, and certain.  There were no answers he required for he had no questions.  There was nothing he could not do for there was nothing to be done.  He needed no great wealth, no illusionary power and no renown; he owned himself, he controlled himself and he knew who he was.  And so long as he remembered and held close the great treasure to his own heart, he had no desire to handle the everyday treasures of ordinary men.  He felt no anger, and he feared naught in life.  He was not jealous nor envious of any other man.  He understood and was freed from feelings of sorrow, shame, or self-pity and his ordinary-life-supporting vanity was no more than a vague memory of an ignorant and churlish jester banished from an enlightened court .
It was all quite simple:  All he must do was never--not for a single breath, lose his consciousness of and hold on the secret treasure.
Now this may sound far too simple for the unexperienced in such a matter.  Any ordinary man may think, "If I discovered a most precious secret treasure, like a priceless jewel, I would certainly never forget my discovery and I would carry it with me at all times, everywhere I went.  It would never, never leave my grasp."
But our young man was faced with a problem not quite so simple.

How does one protect and hold a treasure that cannot be seen?
How does one remember something that life FORCES him to forget?

Any great deed, even of the most mundane nature, requires single-minded effort and dedication.  The banker does not become rich by spending his time in the woods; the general does not take control by chasing butterflies; and the artist does not become famous by sleeping on the job.  Even the most ordinary-of-ordinary men know that treasures are obtained only through determined, diligent and single-minded effort.  With each waking breath the miser considers how a transaction can be turned to his advantage, and with each living breath the Buddha reminds that all things work to the advantage of one who Remembers the aim.
Once he had truly discovered the great treasure,
the young man properly pondered the correct problem: How can I for every moment remember and clasp this precious treasure? What is it that I can do that will keep me from forgetting?
And one day the Treasure itself whispered to him: "Consider the small everyday treasure-vices from which you are freed when you Remember me.  Think on them, consider them, and then remember what a man would be like who sought no such ordinary treasures.
Consider:
What would fill such a man?
And the young man did ponder and consider until his true I-sight met the reflective brilliance of the sun-of-essence, and he was blinded by what he saw.
He alone knew what ordinary men dream of when they say
love.
How could I forget.