The Two Final Stories of a World-Conquering King

There was a king who was victorious in every battle, conquering many lands until all nations submitted to him. He stood at the peak of power, holding a vast realm in his hands. Yet he wondered: what is higher than all that I possess?

When he possessed all material wealth and authority, he began to feel an emptiness. The king, standing atop his throne of power, longed to conquer something invisible: the philosophy, the truth, the ultimate wisdom of the human world. He sent his decree across the land, into every remote corner, seeking out reclusive philosophers and renowned scholars. Their golden words and profound meanings were recorded on bamboo slips. This quest lasted for ten years.

After ten years of collection, three rounds of compilation, and two ultimate truths.

When the bamboo slips filled with teachings were brought together, they formed a mountain. The king was now old, weak, and ill. He sighed, "When will I ever read all these? Before I can read even a fraction, I will have died." After three rounds of condensation, only two slips remained. When the official read the first slip, "The entire world is impermanent (anicca)," the king passed away immediately. He never heard the second slip: "All things are governed by the karmic law of cause and effect."

"The entire world is impermanent... All things are governed by the karmic law of cause and effect."

We are happier than the king in this very moment.

We are children of the Buddha. From the moment we first entered a temple, we have heard these two wisdoms. Yet often we take them lightly, hearing only to forget. The Venerable Thich Chan Quang once reminded us:

"We are much happier than the king, and we do not even know it. Sometimes we disregard it and fail to apply it to our own practice."

Let us begin from the simplest place: our own body in meditation practice.

Sit in the lotus posture, the body upright yet soft. Contemplate that this body is impermanent; one day it will age, die, and turn to dust. But impermanence is not only in the body. Within this impermanent frame, we also observe the breath coming in and the breath going out, arising and ceasing with each moment.

The Buddha taught: "When the breath is long, we know the breath is long. When the breath is short, we know the breath is short." We only need to know, not to control. For when we try to control the breath, the sense of 'I' grows. When we simply know, our mind becomes pure, and wisdom gradually unfolds.

Fleeting emotions and lasting karmic force.

Then we realize that the very sensations of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain in the body, have led us through the cycle of rebirth (samsara). A small burst of anger can make us utter harsh words, creating karma we will repay for many lifetimes. A fleeting indulgence can trap us in a net of wrongdoing. The feeling itself is impermanent and transient, but the actions it drives create long-lasting karmic consequences. This is the second ultimate wisdom: all things are governed by the karmic law of cause and effect.

Thus, we do not need to spend a lifetime seeking. We already hold these two supreme wisdoms in our hands. Let us practice to see things as they truly are. Let us begin from the breath, from this body, to realize that ultimate peace lies not outside, but in that very perception of reality. Now, would you like to sit and contemplate for a moment?