The 4 Wives

2012-03-24, 9:30 am

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 too, loved his
2nd wife. 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 although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the
merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon.
He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I have 4 wives
with me. But when I die, I'll be 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 cut
like a sharp knife right into the merchant's heart. The sad merchant
then asked the 3rd wife, "I have 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!" The merchant's heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the
2nd wife, "I always turned to you for help and you've always helped 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 your grave." The
answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated.

Then a voice
called out : "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you
go." The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so
skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the
merchant said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I
could have !"

Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives

a. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

b. Our 3rd wife ? Our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.

c. The 2nd wife
is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for
us when we're alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the
grave.

d. The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material, wealth and sensual pleasure.

Guess what? It is
actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it's a
good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until
we're on our deathbed to lament