"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife.
"很抱歉,這一次我幫不了你了,"她說,
"At the very most, I can only send you to your grave."
"我最多只能讓你入土為安."
The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated.
這句話猶如晴天霹靂,商人徹底絕望了.
Then a voice called out: "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go."
這時,旁邊傳來一個聲音:"我愿意隨你一同離去.無論你到哪里,我都會跟著你."
The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost as she suffered from malnutrition.
商人抬起頭,看到了自己的大老婆.她是那么消瘦,一副營養不良的樣子.
Greatly grieved, the merchant said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I could have!"
商人悲痛萬分,他說:"我過去就應該好好地珍惜你啊!"
Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives.
其實,我們每個人的一生都有四位愛人相伴.
The 4th wife is our body.
小老婆代表我們的軀體.
No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.
無論我們花費多少時間和精力想去裝扮她,我們死后它終會棄我們而去.
Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.
第三位老婆代表財產、地位與金錢.一旦我們撒手西去,它終究會轉向他人.
The 2nd wife is our family and friends.
二老婆則代表了我們的家人與朋友.
No matter how close they had been there for us when we're alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.
我們活著的時候,無論他們與我們多么親近,他們最多也只能到墓前送我們最后一程.
The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material, wealth and sensual pleasure.
至于大老婆,她則是我們的靈魂.當我們沉迷于追求物質、金錢或感官享受的時候,她常常會被遺忘在一旁.
Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go.
結果呢?她才是唯一與我們永遠相伴的.
Perhaps it's a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we're on our deathbed to lament.
也許從現在開始,我們就應該悉心照顧好她,而不是等到臨終之際才悔恨不已.