The Great Wealth Couple

One morning in the city of Benares, pale golden sunlight stretched across the dirt road leading into the Isipatana forest. In the distance, by the roadside, sat an old man with a hunched back, leaning on a cane, dragging each heavy step. Beside him was a woman with tangled hair and tattered clothes, her trembling hands clutching a chipped wooden bowl. They sank down at the base of a tree, their hollow eyes watching the crowds pass by, occasionally holding out the bowl to beg.

Twenty years earlier, who were they? The man had been Dai Phu, one of the wealthiest merchants in Benares. He had a son, and when the young man came of age to marry, he chose for him a family that was equally rich. With the two families joined, their combined fortune rivaled that of an entire nation. They thought, "With this much money, our descendants could live for ten lifetimes and never spend it all." So they never taught the son how to do business, never taught him self-cultivation, never taught him to do good deeds. They simply let the young couple live in luxury, without a single word of guidance.

As the old saying goes, "If you just sit idle, even a mountain of food will crumble." How true it proved to be. The young couple began gambling, playing cards, and living extravagantly. Every day they spent thousands of gold coins, an enormous sum in those days. They believed their wealth was inexhaustible, so they spared nothing. But in less than twenty years, that colossal fortune vanished like water slipping through their fingers. They sold their last house, and their old friends turned their backs, refusing even to look at them. The couple wandered off together and became beggars.

One day, the Buddha was walking on his alms round along that very road. He suddenly stopped and smiled. Venerable Ananda found this curious and asked, "World-Honored One, what has caused you to smile?"

The Buddha pointed toward the beggar couple under the tree and replied, "Ananda, do you see that couple? They are the two richest people in this city of Benares. The blessings from merit they were meant to enjoy were inexhaustible, yet in less than twenty years they have become beggars. Their blessings from merit were immense. Had they known to ordain and practice from the very beginning, they could have attained the fruit of an Arhat. Had they practiced while living as householders, they could have attained the fruit of an Anagami. Had they awakened their aspiration after some time living in the world, they could still have attained the fruit of a Sakadagami or a Sotapanna. But because they did not practice, they exhausted their blessings from merit, and now both their conditioned merit and their unconditioned merit are gone. They have become beggars."

Then the Buddha spoke this verse: "In youth, one who does not live the holy life and does not seek wealth lies slumped like an old heron by a pond, catching no fish. In youth, one who does not live the holy life and does not seek wealth lies fallen like a broken bow, sighing over the days gone by."

The couple sat there, unaware that the monk was watching them, unaware that in a past life they had once been given such a great opportunity. They only bowed their heads, held out their begging bowls, and gazed hollowly at the ground.