THE STORY OF TWO LOVERS - a story from
the Buddhist Sutra.
This is a dramatic love story from the Buddhist Sutra. It is fairly lengthy and therefore sub-divided into several ACTS.
ACT I - Magic Pearl from the Dragon King of Ocean
Once upon a time, an Indian King had two sons. One of them was
very kind and compassionate, and the other was very mean and
evil. For simplicity, we will call them the Good Heart Prince and
the Evil Heart Prince respectively.
One day, the King summoned them to the Imperial Court and
said, "The welfare of my subjects is very important, and my
government had been helping the poor people of this country. But
now my treasury is almost empty and so I want you to go to see
the Dragon King (God of the Ocean) and ask for help. Once you
went to the ocean shore, you recite a mantra given to me by a
Hermit yesterday. Then the Dragon King will come out to greet you
and give you a precious pearl. Bring it home and put it in my
treasury because it will bring prosperity to my kingdom and my
people."
The two brothers accepted the mission and off they went to the
shore of the Indian Ocean. They did exactly what was told and,
after reciting the mantra, the Dragon King came out of the Indian
Ocean and asked what they want.
After listening to their request, the God of Indian Ocean
said, "since your Royal Father had such a noble cause, I
will help you out. Take this magic pearl back to your palace. It
will ensure your Kingdom's prosperity as long as you take good
care of your subjects." Happily the two brothers accepted
the gift and left for home.
ACT II - The Fight between the Two Princes
As the two brothers traveled along a road on the way home, a
greedy thought suddenly came to the mind of the Evil Heart
Prince. "Why not get the magic precious pearl all for
myself? After my father's death, I will be the King of the
richest kingdom on earth!" So, he drew his sword and tried
to kill his brother.
But, of course, the Good Heart Prince refused to give it up
without resistance, and soon it developed into a big fight.
Unfortunately, after a whole day's fight, the Good Heart Prince
suffered serious injuries and collapsed by the road side. The
Evil Heart Prince took the pearl, returned to the Palace, and
reported to his father that they had encountered some rebellious
gangs on the way. He told his father that his brother was killed
in a battle. The King was of course very mournful upon hearing
the death of his son.
ACT III - Escaped to the Neighborhood Kingdom
Back to the crime scene, some Buddhist Monks was walking by when they spotted the badly wounded Good Heart Prince laying by the road side. They took him back to their temple and tended his wounds. Several months had passed, the Good Heart Prince was getting better, except for his eye sight - his eyes were injured so badly that he was now blind.
By now, the Monks learned of his identity and decided that it
was not safe for the Prince to stay here, because the Evil Heart
Prince always wanted to kill him. So they took him to a Monastery
in the neighbourhood Kingdom to continued to take care of him.
Several years had passed and the Prince was fully recovered,
except for his eyesight. However, during the time he stayed in
the Monastery, he learned how to play various musical instruments
and was able to play very good sensational songs. During all
these year, he had hided his identity for fear of being
assassinated by his brother.
One day, the King of the neighbourhood kingdom was looking for
a gardener-musician for the garden inside the Royal Palace. The
Monk-in-Charge thought, "this is a good place for Good Heart
Prince to be in. He will be very safe inside the Royal
Palace." So, he recommended the Prince to the King for the
job. After an audition, the King immediately offered him the job,
without knowing that he was in fact the Prince was his Neighbour
Act IV - Prince and Princess Fallen in Love
The Good Heart Prince, now just an ordinary gardener, did a
very good job at the Royal Palace. He tended the plants of the
Royal Palace really well and he played good music for the Royal
family. But still, he hided his identity and everyone in the
Palace thought that he was just an orphan grown up in a Buddhist
Monastery.
One beautiful evening, the King's Daughter took a walk in the
garden and heard a very beautiful song played by somebody in the
garden. The Princess was so attracted to the music that she went
to find out who the musician was. As soon as the two young people
met, they seemed to know each other from previous lives and they
immediately fell in love with each other. The Princess went to
the Royal Garden every day to talk to the blind gardener and
listen to his music. After a while, they fell in love so madly
with each other that the young Princess went to see her father to
ask permission to get married.
"What!?" the King was shook at the proposal and
opposed to the marriage. "You are a Royal Princess and he is
just an ordinary blind gardener from a lower class!" During
ancient India, marriage across classes was unknown.
"But I love him. If you do not allow me to marry him, I
will die of heartbreaking," said the Princess, crying.
"No way." replied the stubborn King. "When you
were young, I had promised to marry you to the Good Heart Prince
of our Neighbourhood Kingdom. You should be married to another
Royal Family, not to an ordinary worker. Your proposal cannot be
accepted!"
"How can I get married to Good Heart Prince?"
protested the Princess. "The Prince had not been found for
many years. I love him, even though he is just an ordinary
blind-gardener musician. Please, father, give us permission to
get married!"
Act V - A Miracle Performed by the King of Gods
By this time, the blind gardener stepped forward to reveal his
identity and told them he was the Good Heart Prince and that he
was escaping from his brother, the Evil Heart Prince. The
Princess jumped for joy on hearing that her fiancé was right
there in front of her. The King, however, was skeptical,
"How can you prove that you are in fact Good Heart
Prince?"
"I will swear to the King of Heaven and Gods that if I am
telling the truth, my eyesight will be restored. If not, then I
will be blind forever." said the gardener.
Emperor Sakra, the King of Gods, listening to the
conservation, was so moved by the gardener that he appeared
before the young couple. He told everybody, "You are right,
young Prince. You are indeed the Good Heart Prince and you two
have the same karma in your previous lives so that you are
destined to be happily married couple." Then the King of
Heaven performed a miracle and restored the eyesight of the young
prince completely.
Act VI - A Happy Ending
The wedding ceremony was of course magnificent. The embassador
from the Neighourhood Kingdom was invited. And the whole nation
had a good time.
After the wedding, the couple returned to their home country with a fleet of servants and guards carried by a herd of elephants. The Evil Heart Prince - I do not know what happened to him - Some said that he was punished and served a jail sentence. Others said that after the Good Heart Prince pardoned his crime, he was so moved that he became a devout follower of the Lord Buddha.
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