The Husband Who Ate Alone

The story of a selfish man who, whenever his wife was away, would shut the door and eat delicious food alone — until his wife could bear it no longer and divorced him.

That afternoon, I was sitting in the living room when a young female devotee led a man in. She bowed her head and spoke in a soft voice:

"Master, I am thinking of marrying this man. Would you please read his face for me?"

I looked at him — tall, with bright and pleasant features, yet there was something evasive in his eyes. I sighed softly and said to the girl:

"Have you truly run out of people to choose from? This man is selfish to a degree I have never seen in this world. A man more selfish than a woman..."

The girl blushed and bowed her head low. But love had made her blind. She married him, ignoring every warning.

Two years later, I had occasion to visit her home. The house was small, the furnishings old and shabby, everything worn thin with poverty. She held her little child in her arms, her eyes red from weeping. I asked:

"Where is your husband?"

She sobbed:

"We have divorced, Master. It has been only two years."

I sat down on the tattered chair and asked gently:

"What happened, my child?"

She wiped away her tears and told me:

"It was exactly as you said, Master. We were poor, and life was hard. I accepted it, thinking that a husband and wife could overcome hardship together. One day, I asked his leave to visit my mother for three days and took our child with me. But something unexpected happened, and I came back on the second day. When I opened the door, I saw my husband sitting there eating alone. The table was covered with meat and all kinds of delicious food. He had shut the door tight, waiting until I was gone before he ate."

Her voice broke:

"I cannot live like this anymore, Master. It turns out he took a wife only because... not because of love."

I shook my head and said nothing. In my heart I knew: a heart so selfish that it closes the door to enjoy fine food alone, sharing nothing with wife and child, can never live happily with anyone.

That story has stayed with me ever since. There are people whose joy is complete only when they enjoy it alone. But let me ask you: who cooks something delicious and then wants to close the door and eat it all alone? Who plays a game of cards by themselves? Who watches a good film alone? No one. The heart of a good person always wants to share its joy. When joy is shared, when it is met with understanding, it multiplies many times over. But whoever keeps their joy only for themselves will watch it wither, never whole.

The Meaning of the Story

This story reminds us of selfishness and the importance of sharing. A person who knows only how to enjoy things for themselves, never thinking of others, will in the end lose everything — even the happiness of their own family. In the Buddha's teachings (Dharma), joy is only truly complete when it is shared with everyone.

Compiled from a dharma talk by the Venerable Thích Chân Quang.