The Wisdom of Queen Tender-heart
(Desire)
Once upon a time, the Bodhisattva was born into a rich,
upper-class family in Kasi, in northern India. When he grew up and completed
his education, he left the mundane world to become a holy man who lived alone
in the Himalayan forests. After a long period of meditation, he developed
strong mental powers, and was filled with inner bliss. One day, the holy man
travelled to the city of Benares when he ran out of salt and vinegar. He spent
his first night in the royal garden of Benares. The next morning, after he had
washed himself, tied his tangled hair into a knot on top of his head and
dressed in a black antelope skin, he folded up the robe which he usually wore
made of red bark, and went to the city to collect alms food.
While the ascetic was on his way to the city, King
Brahmadatta caught a glimpse of the holy man when he passed by the palace gate.
“This man is a perfect picture of complete calmness and serenity,” thought the
king when he saw the demeanour of the holy man. He then had his servants invite
the holy man into the palace, seat him on a luxurious couch and offer him an
abundance of the very best foods around. When the holy man thanked the king,
the king said, “You are welcome to live in my royal garden permanently. I will
provide you with food, clothing, shelter and medicine. By doing this, may I
gain merit leading to a good rebirth in a heavenly world.”
The holy man accepted his kind offer. He spent the next 16
years staying in the royal garden of Benares. During that time, he taught all
in the king’s family, and received food, clothing, shelter and medicine from
the king. One day, King Brahmadatta had to leave for the borders to quell a
revolt that was arising there. Before he left, he instructed Queen Tender-Heart
to care for the needs of the holy man. Diligently, the queen prepared food for
the holy man everyday.
One day, the ascetic was late for his meal. While waiting for
the holy man, Queen Tender-Heart decided to use the time to take a perfumed
bath, refresh herself and change into fine clothes and jewellery, before
resting on a couch.
Meanwhile, the Bodhisattva had been meditating in a
particularly joyful mental state. When he
realised how late it was, he used the
powers he had acquired through meditation to transport himself back to the
palace. When Queen Tender-Heart heard the rustling sound made by his bark robe,
she rose quickly from her couch. In her haste to receive him, her blouse
accidentally slipped down for a moment — and the holy man caught a quick glance
of this from the window as he entered. He was surprised by the sight of the
queen’s great beauty. Lust, which had been subdued but not eliminated, surfaced
within him. It was just like a cobra rising and spreading its hood from the
basket in which it was kept. He lost his purity of mind completely. He was
wounded, like a crow with its wings clipped.
The holy man could not eat his food. He took it back to his
dwelling in the royal garden, and placed it under his bed. His mind was
enslaved by the fleeting sight he had caught of the queen’s loveliness. His
heart was burning with desire. He remained on his bed, without eating or
drinking, for the next seven days. Finally, the king came back from his
expedition. He circled the city and then went directly to visit the holy man.
Seeing him in bed, he thought that the holy man was sick.
So the king ordered everyone out of the room and sat down
next to him. While massaging the holy man’s feet, he asked, “Reverend sir, what
happened to you? Are you ill?”
The holy man replied, “Oh great king, I’m plagued by the
sickness of craving and lust.”
“What is it that you crave for?” asked the king.
“Queen Tender-Heart, my lord.”
“Your Reverence,” said the king, “I will give Tender-Heart to
you. Come with me.”
When they arrived at the palace, King Brahmadatta had his
queen dress in her finest clothes and jewellery. Then, he secretly told her to
help the unfortunate holy man regain his purity.
“I know what to do, my lord, I will save him,” she replied.
Then the king gave her away and she left the palace with the holy man.
When they had passed through the main gate, she turned to the
holy man and said, “We must have a house to live in. Go back and ask the king
for one.” So he returned to the king and asked the king for a house. The king
gave them a tiny run-down hut that people had been using as an outhouse. But
when the holy man took the queen to their new home, she refused to enter.
“Why, my dear?” he asked.
“Can’t you see it’s filthy! Go back to the king and get a shovel
and basket,” she said.
He obeyed and when he returned, she ordered him to do all the
cleaning. He even had to plaster the walls and floor with fresh cow dung!
When he had finished those chores, she commanded him to go to
the palace and get her a bed, then a chair, then a lamp, bedlinen, a cooking
pot and a water pot. She ordered him to get all these things one at a time, and
each time he obeyed dutifully. She sent him to get water for her bath and many
other things. He set out the water for her bath and then made up the bed.
Finally, they sat down next to each other on the bed. Suddenly, she grabbed him
by the whiskers, shook him back and forth, pulled him towards her and said,
“Don’t you remember that you are a holy man and a priest?”
Only then did he jolt out of his mad infatuation and realise
the state he was in. “Oh, what has become of me! I have been blinded by my
desire into behaving like a slave. Although it all first started with the sight
of a woman, this mad craving could lead me into the pits of hells. My body was
burning, as if I’d been shot in the heart with an arrow of desire, yet there was
no bleeding wound! Not seeing her body for what it really is, my own
foolishness caused all my suffering!”
Then he spoke out loudly, “On this very day, I will return
the wise Queen Tender-Heart to the noble King Brahmadatta. And I will fly back
to my home in the forest!” Saying that, he took her back to the king. “Great
King, I don’t want your queen anymore. Before I had her, she was my only
desire. After I got her, one desire led to another, leading only to a
bottomless hell.”
The wise Queen Tender-Heart, by using her intelligence, wits
and knowledge of life, had given a great gift to the holy man. Rather than
taking advantage of his weakness, she had restored his purity. In perfect
calmness, the holy man rose into the air, preached to the king, and then magically
flew back to the Himalayan forests. He never returned to the ordinary world again.
After meditating for years in peace and joy, he died and was reborn in one of
the higher heavenly worlds.
The moral is ✏ Desire enslaves
us, but wisdom liberates us.
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