"In one of the Agama Sutras, the Buddha's early
sermons, there is a very interesting story:
Once there was a man who had four wives. According to the
social system and circumstances of ancient India, it was possible for a man to
have several wives. Also, during the Heian period in Japan, about a thousand
years ago, it was not unusual for a woman to have several husbands. The Indian
had become ill and was about to die. At the end of his life, he felt very
lonely and so asked the first wife to accompany him to the other world.
'My dear wife,' he said, 'I loved you day and night, I took
care of you throughout my whole life. Now I am about to die, will you please go
with me wherever I go after my death?'
He expected her to answer yes. But she answered, 'My dear
husband, I know you always loved me. And you are going to die. Now it is time
to separate from you. Goodbye, my dear.'
He called his second wife to his sickbed and begged her to
follow him in death. He said, 'My dear second wife, you know how I loved you.
Sometimes I was afraid you might leave me, but I held on to you strongly. My
dear, please come with me.'
The second wife expressed herself rather coldly. 'Dear
husband, your first wife refused to accompany you after your death. How can I
follow you? You loved me only for your own selfish sake.'
Lying in his deathbed, he called his third wife, and asked
her to follow him. The third wife replied, with tears in her eyes, 'My dear, I
pity you and I feel sad for myself. Therefore I shall accompany you to the
graveyard. This is my last duty to you.' The third wife thus also refused to
follow him to death.
Three wives had refused to follow him after his death. Now
he recalled that there was another wife, his fourth wife, for whom he didn't
care very much. He had treated her like a slave and had always showed much
displeasure with her. He now thought that if he asked her to follow him to
death, she certainly would say no.
But his loneliness and fear were so severe that he made the
effort to ask her to accompany him to the other world. The fourth wife gladly
accepted her husband's request.
'My dear husband,' she said, 'I will go with you. Whatever
happens, I am determined to be with you forever. I cannot be separated from
you."
This is the story of 'A Man and His Four Wives.'
Gautama Buddha concluded the story as follows:
'Every man and woman has four wives or husbands. What do
these wives signify?'
THE FIRST WIFE
The first 'wife' is our body. We love our body day and
night. In the morning, we wash our face, put on clothing and shoes. We give
food to our body. We take care of our body like the first wife in this story.
But unfortunately, at the end of our life, the body, the first 'wife' cannot
follow us to the next world. As it is stated in a commentary, 'When the last
breath leaves our body, the healthy color of the face is transformed, and we
lose the appearance of radiant life. Our loved ones may gather around and
lament, but to no avail. When such an event occurs, the body is sent into an
open field and cremated, leaving only the white ashes.' This is the destination
of our body.
THE SECOND WIFE
What is the meaning of the second wife? The second 'wife'
stands for our fortune, our material things, money, property, fame, position,
and job that we worked hard to attain. We are attached to these material
possessions. We are afraid to lose these material things and wish to possess
much more. There is no limit. At the end of our life these things cannot follow
us to death. Whatever fortune we have piled up, we must leave it. We came into
this world with empty hands. During our life in this world, we have the
illusion that we obtained a fortune. At death, our hands are empty. We can't
hold our fortune after our death, just as the second wife told her husband:
'You hold me with your ego-centered selfishness. Now it is time to say
goodbye.'
THE THIRD WIFE
What is meant by the third wife? Everyone has a third
'wife'. This is the relationship of our parents, sister and brother, all
relatives, friends, and society. They will go as far as the graveyard, with
tears in their eyes. They are sympathetic and saddened...
Thus, we cannot depend on our physical body, our fortune,
and our society. We are born alone and we die alone. No one will accompany us
after our death.
THE FOURTH WIFE
Sakyamuni Buddha mentioned the fourth wife, who would
accompany her husband after his death. What does that mean? The fourth 'wife'
is our mind [or Alaya consciousness]. When we deeply observe and recognize that
our minds are filled with anger, greed, and dissatisfaction, we are having a
good look at our lives. The anger, greed, and dissatisfaction are karma, the
law of causation. We cannot be separated from our own karma. As the fourth wife
told her dying husband, 'I will follow you wherever you go.'"
Via :www.ic.sunysb.edu