For this puzzle, you might have to find logic in something illogical. But hey, it's fun and a healthy little break from your strenuous puzzle-solving sessions.
Can you decipher the meaning in the following cluster of letters?
A monk has a very specific ritual for climbing up the steps to the temple. First, he climbs up to the middle step and meditates for 1 minute. Then he climbs up 8 steps and faces east until he hears a bird singing. Then he walks down 12 steps and picks up a pebble. He takes one step up and tosses the pebble over his left shoulder. Now, he walks up the remaining steps three at a time which only takes him 9 paces. How many steps are there?