Once upon a time, there was a great king who, after many years of intense meditation practice and reading the scriptures, ascended to the throne in the wake of his father’s passing. On the afternoon of his first day in power, the king called over his devoted assistant and said:
“Oh, beloved friend, please bring before me the most impoverished couple in the kingdom.”
In no time at all, the assistant appeared with an elderly couple. Both of them were wearing nothing but rags and carrying alms cups in their hands, and the king felt great shame in his heart for his father’s dreadful neglect of the poor. He locked eyes with the couple and said:
“Thank you for journeying all this way. How may I make my kingdom of service to you?”
The couple bowed and took two nervous steps forward in the king’s direction. The old woman spoke:
“Your majesty, we stand before you with great reverence. The truth is, we work hard, but we haven’t eaten in six days. We’d simply ask for a respite from our grinding life of poverty. “
In a display of overflowing love, the king hugged the pair and gave them a year’s worth of food, brand-new clothes and enough gold coins that they’d never have to work a day in their lives again. The couple cried tears of gratitude and went on their way.
The lepers
Later that same day, the king once again called over his devoted assistant and said:
“Oh, beloved friend, please bring before me the two most diseased people in the kingdom.”
In no time at all, the assistant appeared with one young man and one young woman. Both of them were groaning in agony. The king stared at the pair with deep compassion for their ill state of health, and said:
“Thank you for journeying all this way. How may I make my kingdom of service to you?”
The two bowed to the king as the young man spoke:
“Your majesty, it is a great honour to be here in your presence. As you can see, we’ve both been robbed of our youth by this scourge of leprosy. We’d love nothing more than to have our health restored.”
With overwhelming empathy for the pair’s suffering, the king summoned the best healers in the kingdom and set them upon the task of curing the two lepers. Within just three hours, the healers had successfully cured the pair of their disease, right there before him in the palace.
In disbelief, the two former lepers cried tears of joy and went on their way.
The oppressed
As dusk set upon the kingdom, the young but saintly king called over his devoted assistant once more and said:
“Oh, beloved friend, please bring before me the two most oppressed people in the kingdom.”
In no time at all, the assistant appeared with a middle-aged couple. They were visibly malnourished and had terrible scars from endless days of dangerous toil across their faces and arms.
Recalling his own life of luxury, the king felt not only empathy for their suffering, but disgust at the injustice they’d endured under his father’s rule. The king stared at the couple and said:
“Thank you for journeying all this way. How may I make my kingdom of service to you?”
This time, the pair of visitors fell down on their knees and began sobbing. The oppressed man spoke first:
“We’ve been beaten, starved and forced to toil in the mines. All we’ve known is great sadness and despair. “
The oppressed woman then spoke:
“After so many years of enslavement, we’re both resigned to our lot in life. All we ask is freedom for all our brothers and sisters who labour in servitude next to us. That is all we request.”
The king’s heart was so moved by the selfless words of the oppressed couple that he, too, dropped to his knees and said:
“May your wish be granted. At this moment, I hereby abandon my right of succession to the throne, and turn over the kingdom to you two wise servants of the poor and downtrodden. May it fall upon you to end the enslavement of our people and restore justice across the land. And may your first decree as king and queen be to liberate all those humble souls who produce the wealth for this kingdom.”
In response to the king’s words, the oppressed couple began chanting sacred incantations to this great king of love and compassion. The king then left his final instructions to his assistant. The assistant was to introduce the new royal couple the following morning, and show all the people proof of the king’s seal of approval, thereby anointing them as his successors.
The kingdomless king
The next morning at the first crack of dawn, the now kingdomless king packed a bag full of food and supplies and set off on foot, travelling eight miles (about 13 kilometres) into the surrounding mountains. His desired destination was a storied peak where many seekers before him had gone in search of their enlightenment.
After a challenging four-hour climb through the breathtaking pine forests, he at last arrived at the top of the majestic mountain. The king walked over to the edge of the peak and looked in awe at the glorious vistas ahead. He then sat down in the lotus position and began to meditate. But just as he began to tune into his own breath, he heard an unknown but tender female voice surround him. It spoke with the wisdom of the ages, saying:
“Thank you for journeying all this way. How can my kingdom be of service to you?”
Astounded, the king recognized the voice that repeated the question he’d once asked as belonging to the mountain. Beaming with joy, he replied to the mountain’s familiar question:
“All my life, I’ve intuitively known that power and riches aren’t the measure of a man or of a life worth living. I’ve journeyed to your rarefied abode in search of the deepest wisdom.”
After a long moment of silence, the wise mountain spoke once more:
“Great King, you’ve already discovered the deepest wisdom. When you alleviated the suffering of the poor couple, you embodied the deepest wisdom. When you gathered all the kingdom’s best healers to cure the two lepers, you embodied the deepest wisdom. And when you gave up your kingdom to the oppressed couple, so that all the commoners could at once be free, you embodied the deepest wisdom. Now that you’ve journeyed all this way, I invite you to stay with me for a period of 45 days and 45 nights. On the 45th day, a great surprise shall await you.”
And so, the king stayed on the mountain for the entire duration of 45 days and 45 nights, and learned all the secrets of enlightenment from his new guru.
Two pilgrims and a holy man
Finally, on the 45th day, two mysterious pilgrims arrived at the king’s cave that was located just below the summit of the majestic mountain. The pair appeared wearing headscarves to mask their true identities. The king silently motioned for them to sit down on the ground in front of him.
The two pilgrims obliged his request and began to remove their scarves. To the king’s great surprise, the two people seated in front of him were the oppressed couple whom he’d turned his kingdom over to six weeks before! The formerly oppressed woman spoke up:
“Noble one, we’ve journeyed here to confirm the rumours that a santo truly lives atop this mountain. “
The formerly oppressed man added:
“Now that we’ve confirmed that the rumours are true, we humbly ask that you return to the kingdom and serve as a spiritual advisor. The people have been released from their heavy bonds of servitude, and what they now desire is to pursue the path of self-realization. You, Great King, can help lead them there. “
Overwhelmed with joy, the former-king-turned-holy-man enthusiastically accepted the royal couple’s offer. Before setting back off to the kingdom the following morning, the three esteemed guests of the mystical mountain spent the 45th evening of the king’s retreat in a soulful night of prayer. As the three prayed together for the kingdom’s peace and good fortune, they each swore that they heard the voice of the mountain speak to them with these parting words:
“May your kingdom always be of service.”
«LECTURA RELACIONADA» MAGIA: El día que un mago aprendió el verdadero significado de la palabra»
imagen 1: Pixabay; imagen 2: Wikimedia Commons
