nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp, Environmental Newsletter; In the dead of night, in the temple, there was one person and one Buddha. The Buddha sat while the person stood.
Person: Enlightened Buddha, I am a married man, but now I have fallen in love with another woman. I really don't know what to do.
Buddha: Can you be sure that this woman you love now is the only and last woman in your life?
Person: Yes.
Buddha: Then get divorced and marry her.
Person: But my current lover is gentle, kind, and virtuous. Is it not somewhat cruel and immoral for me to do this?
Buddha: It is the absence of love in marriage that is cruel and immoral. You have fallen in love with someone else, which means you no longer love her. What you are doing is right.
Person: But my lover loves me very much, she really does.
Buddha: Then she is happy.
Person: If I divorce her and marry another, she should be very sad.
Buddha: In the marriage, she still has her love for you, whereas in your marriage, you have lost your love for her because you have fallen in love with someone else. One could say that possession is happiness, and loss is pain. So the one who suffers is you.
Person: But if I divorce her and marry another, shouldn't she be the one who loses me and thus be the one in pain?
Buddha: You are wrong. You are merely a specific instance of her true love in her marriage. When this specific instance (you) ceases to exist, her true love will continue onto another specific instance. Since her true love in marriage has never been lost, she is the happy one, and you are the one in pain.
Person: She said she would only love me in this life and would never love anyone else.
Buddha: Did you also say such words?
Person: I...
Buddha: Now look at the three candles in the incense burner in front of you. Which one is the brightest?
Person: I really don't know. They all seem equally bright.
Buddha: These three candles represent three women. One of them is the woman you love now. There are millions of women in the world. You can't even tell which candle is the brightest among these three, let alone determine whether the woman you love now is the only and last woman in your life.
Person: I...
Buddha: Now take one candle and put it in front of your eyes, and carefully observe which one is the brightest.
Person: Of course, the one in front of my eyes is the brightest.
Buddha: Now put it back in its original place and see which one is the brightest.
Person: I still cannot tell which one is the brightest.
Buddha: Actually, the candle you just held represents the woman you currently love. Love arises from the heart. When you feel you love her, you focus on her and feel she is the brightest. But when you put the candle back, you lose that sense of brightness. This so-called final and only love is like flowers in a mirror or moonlight in water, ultimately turning out to be an illusion.
Person: Oh, I understand. You're not asking me to divorce my lover, you're enlightening me.
Buddha: Seeing through without saying it outright, go ahead.
Person: Now I truly know who I love. It's my current lover!
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