Four Wives

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