The Three Friday Sermons told at the onset to set up the mood for the week's retreat at Monte Mariposa:

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Week 1: "We Don't Know"

Nasrudin was invited to a neighboring village to deliver the Friday sermon at the grand mosque. He ascended the pulpit (minbar), looked out at the packed congregation, and asked: "O people! Do you know what I am going to talk to you about today?"

The villagers, being honest and humble, looked at each other and shouted back, "No, Mulla! We don't know!"

Nasrudin shook his head in deep disappointment, gathered his robes, and said, "If you are so ignorant that you have no idea what I am talking about, it would be a complete waste of my breath to try and teach you." He stepped down and walked right out of the village.

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Week 2: "We Know"

The villagers felt deeply ashamed. They realized they had failed a spiritual test. So, they begged him to return the following Friday. Nasrudin agreed, climbed the pulpit, and asked the exact same question: "O people! Do you know what I am going to talk to you about today?"

Having learned their lesson, the crowd enthusiastically roared in unison, "Yes, Mulla! We know!"

Nasrudin smiled broadly, folded his arms, and said, "Excellent! Since you already know what I am going to say, there is absolutely no reason for me to repeat it and waste your time." He stepped down and left the village again.

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Week 3: The Clever Plan

Now the congregation was completely bewildered and desperate. They spent the entire week strategizing for his third visit. "If he asks again, half of us will say yes, and half of us will say no! That way, we corner him!"

On the third Friday, Nasrudin took his place at the pulpit. He looked at the crowd and asked for the third time: "O people! Do you know what I am going to talk to you about today?"

The crowd executed their plan perfectly. The left side of the mosque shouted, "Yes, Mulla, we know!" while the right side shouted, "No, Mulla, we don't know!"

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Nasrudin paused, looked at the crowd with a glint of absolute genius in his eye, and said:

"Perfect. Let the half who know teach the half who don't know."

He packed up his things, bid them farewell, and left them to figure it out.