The Man of Great Merit and the Deceitful Wife

This is the story of Nandiya, a wealthy and devout man whose merit was so abundant that the heavenly realms built a palace awaiting his arrival, and his wife Revati, who pretended to be devout only to seize his fortune, and who ultimately paid a painful price.

That afternoon, pale golden sunlight filtered through the bodhi trees in the Deer Park, where the Buddha had once delivered his first sermon to the five brothers of the Kondanna clan. A man in his early thirties, with a bright and gentle face, walked into the monastery with a kind smile. His name was Nandiya, the only son of one of the wealthiest householders in Varanasi. But wealth never made him arrogant; on the contrary, he devoted most of his time and fortune to making offerings to the Sangha, helping the poor, and reciting the sutras and invoking the Buddha's name.

His mother, a clever woman but one who lacked right view, saw that her son had reached the age of marriage yet remained devoted to the spiritual path, refusing to take a wife. She chose a beautiful young woman named Revati, from a prominent family, and wholeheartedly wished for her to become a daughter-in-law. But Nandiya firmly refused. "Mother, I only wish to practice the path. I have no desire to be entangled in worldly affairs," he said, gazing into the distance. His mother sighed, and then devised a plan. She called Revati to her and whispered, "My child, Nandiya is deeply devoted to the Three Jewels. If you want him to accept you, you must appear devout just as he is. Go to the temple, make offerings, do good deeds — do everything he does. Then he will see that you are a good match for him, and he will agree to marry you."

Revati obeyed. She began visiting the monastery every day, lotus flower in hand, chanting the Buddha's name, her smile radiant. She offered fine food to the Sangha, donated money to the poor, and always appeared enthusiastic about the teachings. Seeing this, Nandiya's heart was relieved: "So she has a spiritual heart like mine. Then marrying her would do no harm." The wedding took place amid the joy of both families. In the early years, Revati maintained her gentle facade, joining her husband in doing good deeds everywhere. The family fortune, already vast, was now used even more generously for offerings and charity. The merit of the couple continued to accumulate, growing deeper by the day.

One day, Venerable Moggallana, the Buddha's foremost disciple in supernatural powers, used his divine eye to observe the heavenly realms. In the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, he saw a magnificent palace, gleaming with gold, yet without an owner. He asked the celestial maidens attending there: "Whose palace is this?" They bowed and replied, "Venerable sir, our master is a man named Nandiya in the human realm. He is still alive, but his merit is full. When he passes away, he will come here as our lord. We are awaiting him." Moggallana returned and recounted this to the Buddha. The Buddha smiled and spoke this verse: "As a traveler long away from home returns in safety, and relatives and dear friends welcome him with joy, so too do the fruits of merit welcome the doer of good, from this life to the next, wherever he may be."

Not long after, Nandiya fell gravely ill. He passed away peacefully, like a traveler long absent from home finally returning to his house. But the moment he closed his eyes, Revati immediately removed her mask. She drove the Sangha out of the house, allowing no one to come for alms. She forbade the servants from speaking of the Buddha's teachings (Dharma), and used the enormous family fortune for pleasure and indulgence. "I only pretended to be devout to marry a rich husband — who actually wants to practice?" she sneered to her friends. Her slander of the Three Jewels grew ever more brazen. Once, when a monk came by on his alms round, she ordered her servants to drive him away with sticks, cursing as they went. But karma spares no one. When Revati died, she had no blessings from merit to rely upon. No heavenly realm welcomed her, no family claimed her as their child. She fell straight into hell, where flames blazed sky-high, paying the price for her lies and her cruel heart.

Meanwhile, Nandiya — after leaving his human body — was welcomed by the celestial maidens amid the melodious sounds of heavenly music, and entered his magnificent palace. He lived in the heavenly realm for thousands of years, continuing his practice, and eventually attained noble realization. His story is a reminder: only true merit can carry us to the shore of peace, while a false and calculating spiritual heart only brings suffering.

## The Meaning of the Story

True merit, arising from a pure heart and reverence for the Three Jewels, will welcome us everywhere, even after death. Conversely, if one only pretends devotion for material gain or fame, then when circumstances change, that false spirituality will vanish, and the result will be a fall into ruin. The lesson: do good with all your heart, without calculation, without deceit — for merit or wrongdoing follows us as a shadow follows the body.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thich Chan Quang.