The Bodhisatta was once born as a farmer and, while ploughing his field, came upon a nugget of gold, four cubits long and as thick as a man's thigh, which had been buried by a merchant in bygone days. Finding it impossible to remove the gold as a whole, he cut it into four and carried it home easily.
The story was related in reference to a monk who wished to leave the Order because he was frightened by all the rules his teachers asked him to learn and obey. The Buddha gave him three rules - to guard voice, body and mind - and the monk won arahantship. Even a heavy burden becomes light if carried piece by piece. J.i.276-8.