THE UNFAITHFUL WIFE - a Story from the
Buddhist Sutra
Once upon a time, a beautiful woman was unfaithful to her
husband and had an affair with another man. During those days, it
is not possible to divorce one's husband by simply declaring
"I don't love him any more" and remarried to someone
else. So she devised a scheme to separate from her husband
legally.
She had a friend who worked at the village funeral home. One
day, while her husband had gone for a trip elsewhere, she created
an "accident" at home and asked her friend to arrange a
dead body of another woman to put in her home. Somehow the body
was destroyed beyond recognition.
When the husband returned home, he was shocked to find that
his house had an accident so severe that the body of his
"wife" was destroyed beyond recognition. He was so
mournful that, after he had cremated her body, he carried the
ashes with him all the time.
The trick worked well and the unfaithful wife ran away with
her lover to live together. But as time went on, problems and
conflicts developed between the two. It did not have a fairy tale
ending at all.
Gradually, the unfaithful wife learnt of what her husband did
to "her ashes" and was moved by the love that he had
for her. So one day, she decided to end the relationship with her
lover and return to her husband. She found her husband on the
street of the city and called out his name, thinking that he must
be very glad to find that she was still alive after all.
"Who are you?" said the husband, when he saw her.
"I have never met you before."
She was stung by the answer. "I am your wife." She
tried to explain she was still alive.
"My wife is dead. Here are her ashes. I had been carrying
it around with me after her death." replied the husband.
The beautiful woman was devastated. How came a husband who
loved her so much that he carried her "ashes" around
with him failed to recognize her? But no matter what she said,
the husband refused to accept the fact that his wife was still
alive.
To him, his wife had died. His love for her had also died when she lied to him.