[philist] Spiritual thots

[Guest guest]

In Buddha's time, there was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved

the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to

delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He's very proud of her and always

wanted to show off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in

great fear that she might run away with some other men. He loved his 2nd

wife, too. She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact

is the merchant's confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems,

he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and

tide him through difficult times. Now, the merchant's 1st wife is a

very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his

wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the

merchant did not love the first wife and in fact hardly noticed of her.

 

One day, the merchant fell ill and before long, he knew that he was going

to die soon. He thought of the luxurious life he had told himself,

" Here I have 4 wives who loved me and whom I had doted, but when I

die, I'll alone. How lonely I'll be! " Thus, he asked the 4th wife,

" I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered

great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep

me company? " No way! " replied the 4th wife and she walked away without

another word. The answer was like a sharp knife that struck right

into the merchant's heart. The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife,

" I loved you so much for all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you

follow me and keep me company? " " No! " replied the 3rd wife. " Life is

so good over here! I'm going to remarry when you die! " Hearing this,

the merchant's heart sank and turned cold. He then asked the 2nd wife,

" I always turned to you for help and you always help me out. Now

I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me

company? " " I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time! " replied the

2nd wife. " At the very most, I can only send you to the crematorium. "

The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was stunned.

" I will leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go. " The

merchant looked up and in front of him was his first wife. She was so

skinny and looked almost she suffered from malnutrition. Great grieved,

the merchant said, " I should have taken care of you while I can! "

 

Hence, the Buddha said, the 4th wife is like our body. No matter how much

time and effort spent in making it look good, it'll never leave with

us when we die. The 3rd wife is our possession, status and wealth.

When we die, don't the property go to others, don't others take over

our status ? The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how

they had been there for us when we're alive, the furthest they can

stay by us is the crematorium. The first wife is in fact our mind,

which we have neglected life after life in our pursuit of material and

sensual pleasure. And our mind is actually the only thing that follows

us wherever we go. Hence, we should start to cultivate and practice now

rather than wait until we're in our deathbed to lament.

" I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF YOU WHILE I CAN!! "

 

--