Story of Rathapala

Read this not long ago.

It happened long ago, in India.

. A king heard about a wise man named Rathapala, and went to ask him for some advice, to which Rathapala asked the king the following :

R : O king, how were you in your youth?

King : O, I was the strongest man then, able to carry a bull elephant about !

R : how are you now, O king?

K : Now I can barely stand, and sometimes I put my left foot forward when I intend to put my right.

R : Are you well now, o king?

K : I suffer from the wind ailment, and my attendants have to stand far away from me whn I’m ill, thinking “the king is ill, the king is going to die soon!”.

R : Is anyone able to share your suffering?

K : There is no one to share my pain in my body.

R : Are you endowed with riches?

K : My treasury is filled with the most beautiful gems, and people will spend a year looking at them and not get bored !

R : Are you able to take them along when you passed away from this world?

K : I won’t be able to take away a single gem…

R : If I were to tell you that there is a country to the west, full of riches, and slaves, will you try to conquer it?

K : I will conquer any country in the west, east, north or south as long as there is riches to be gained !

After which Rathapala sum up the following :

R : O king, there are this 4 things in life you should know :

1. All things are impermanent, subject to change. Youth and beauty and all that is around.
2. All things are helpless, swept in the current of change and decay, with no chance of turning against the tide, nothing to help them.
3. All things doesn’t belong to us. All the riches, slaves and land, none can be carried away when life passes from this world.
4. Desire is limitless. There can never be enough. The hole of greed is never filled up.

Therefore, O king, lead a life of virtue, doing good, with a mind with compassion, stifling all evil thoughts, and this will lead to your happiness for a long time to come.

I am so absorbed in the story that I always recite the 4 points every morning and before every meal, just to remind myself :)

Hope you all enjoy it. Cheers !