Late at night, one man and one Buddha in the temple. The Buddha sat while the man stood.
Man: Enlightened Buddha, I am a married person, but now I passionately love another woman. I really don't know what to do.
Buddha: Can you confirm that the woman you love now is the only and last woman in your life?
Man: Yes.
Buddha: Then get divorced and marry her.
Man: But my current wife is gentle, kind, and virtuous. Isn't this action of mine a bit brutal and immoral?
Buddha: Not loving in marriage is cruel and immoral. You already don't love her because you have fallen for someone else. What you're doing is right.
Man: But my wife loves me very much, she truly loves me.
Buddha: Then she is happy.
Man: If I divorce her and marry another, let me be free (Part 1), shouldn't she feel very sad? How can she be happy?
Buddha: In marriage, she still has her love for you, but you have lost your love for her in the marriage because you have fallen for someone else. Possession brings happiness, loss brings pain, so the one suffering is you.
Man: But if I divorce her and marry someone else, it should be her who loses me, shouldn't she be the one in pain?
Buddha: You're wrong. You are just a specific object in her marriage that she truly loves. When this specific object no longer exists, her true love will continue with another specific object, because her true love in marriage has never been lost. So she is happy while you are in pain.
Man: She said she would only love me in this lifetime, she won't fall in love with anyone else.
Buddha: Have you ever said such words?
Man: I...I...I...
Buddha: Now look at the three candles in the incense burner in front of you. Which one is the brightest?
Man: I really don't know, they seem equally bright.
Buddha: These three candles are like three women, one of them being the woman you love now. Among the countless living beings, there are millions of women. You don't even know which candle is the brightest, let alone determine that the woman you love now is the only and last woman in your life.
Man: I...I...I...
Buddha: Now take one candle and place it in front of you, and carefully observe which one is the brightest.
Man: Of course, the one in front of me is the brightest.
Buddha: Now put it back in its original place and see which one is the brightest.
Man: I still cannot tell which one is the brightest.
Buddha: Actually, the candle you just held is like the final woman you love now. 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 her back, you cannot find the brightest point anymore. This so-called final and only love of yours is like a mirage, and in the end, it is all an illusion.
Man: Oh, I understand now. You're not telling me to divorce my wife, you're enlightening me.
Buddha: Seeing through without saying through, you may go now.
Man: Now I truly know who I love, it's my current wife.
Buddha: Amitabha, Amitabha.