Page 70 - Desire to Disaster

On the other hand, the king had by now completely forgotten
that he was seated in his park with his friends in order to
eat the meat of the deer he had killed. He was completely
focused on the monk and his words of wisdom. He was full
of gratitude and listened to the monk with great interest, deep
faith and an open mind.

Now the monk felt sure of the king’s receptivity and proceeded
to reveal the story of Rupsen and Sunanda in simple but
powerful words. He told the tale with such feeling and emotion
that with each tragedy of Rupsen’s life, the hearts and souls
of his listeners were affected. Their hearts overflowed with
compassion.

Sunanda was in tears! She felt disgusted at herself for just
having eaten the flesh of the deer, which was a rebirth of
Rupsen. She confessed to the monk, “What a tragedy! I am
still living in the same body, leading the same life. But poor
Rupsen! He had to take so many painful, short lives with
calamitous circumstances. Shame on me that I trapped him
with my beauty and put him through this series of tragic
lives! Had it not been for my looks, disaster would not have
struck the poor youngster’s life!”
Sunanda’s heart and soul has been awakened by the wise
words and measured tones of the monk. She did not fear
that her darkest secret had been revealed by the monk. Nor
did she dump the blame on Rupsen, who had, after all, taken
absurd risks in order to be with her. Instead, she realised that
Rupsen’s love and attachment had been invoked by her own
beauty. Hence, her beauty had been the catalyst for Rupsen’s
downfall.

Her viveka {discriminative knowledge} had awakened. Her
compassion for Rupsen, her ability to critically see her
own role in the sad saga, led her to regret her own beauty,

70 Desire to Disaster