justirich: There was a rich merchant who had
4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the
most and adorned her with rich
robes and treated her to delicacies.
He took great care of her and gave
her nothing but the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very
much. He’s very proud of her and
always wanted to show her off to his
friends. However, the merchant is
always in great fear that she might
run away with some other men. He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a
very considerate person, always
patient and in fact is the merchant’s
confidante. Whenever the merchant
faced some problems, he always
turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him
through difficult times.
Now, the merchant’s 1st wife is a
very loyal partner and has made
great contributions in maintaining
his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household.
However, the merchant did not love
the first wife and although she loved
him deeply, he hardly took notice of
her.
One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to
die soon. He thought of his luxurious
life and told himself, “Now I have 4
wives with me. But when I die, I’ll be
alone. How lonely I’ll be!”
Thus, he asked the 4th wife, “I loved you most, endowed you with the
finest clothing and showered great
care over you. Now that I’m dying,
will you follow me and keep me
company?” “No way!” replied the 4th
wife and she walked away without another word.
The answer cut like a sharp knife
right into the merchant’s heart. The
sad merchant then asked the 3rd
wife, “I have loved you so much for
all my life. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me
company?” “No!” replied the 3rd
wife. “Life is so good over here! I’m
going to remarry when you die!”
The merchant’s heart sank and
turned cold. He then asked the 2nd wife, “I
always turned to you for help and
you’ve always helped me out. Now I
need your help again. When I di*,
will you follow me and keep me
company?” “I’m sorry, I can’t help you out this time!” replied the 2nd
wife. “At the very most, I can only
send you to your grave.” The answer
came like a bolt of thunder and the
merchant was devastated.
Then a voice called out : “I’ll leave with you. I’ll follow you no matter
where you go.” The merchant looked
up and there was his first wife. She
was so skinny, almost like she
suffered from malnutrition. Greatly
grieved, the merchant said, “I should have taken much better care of you
while I could have !”
**************** Actually, we all have 4 wives in our
lives a. The 4th wife is our body. No
matter how much time and effort we
lavish in making it look good, it’ll
leave us when we di*.
b. Our 3rd wife ? Our possessions,
status and wealth. When we di*, they all go to others.
c. The 2nd wife is our family and
friends. 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. d. The 1st wife is in fact our soul,
often neglected in our pursuit of
material, wealth and sensual
pleasure.
Guess what? It is actually the only
thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it’s a good idea to
cultivate and strengthen it now
rather than to wait until we’re on
our deathbed to lament.
Let's talk......

justirich: There was a rich merchant who had
4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the
most and adorned her with rich
robes and treated her to delicacies.
He took great care of her and gave
her nothing but the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very
much. He’s very proud of her and
always wanted to show her off to his
friends. However, the merchant is
always in great fear that she might
run away with some other men. He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a
very considerate person, always
patient and in fact is the merchant’s
confidante. Whenever the merchant
faced some problems, he always
turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him
through difficult times.
Now, the merchant’s 1st wife is a
very loyal partner and has made
great contributions in maintaining
his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household.
However, the merchant did not love
the first wife and although she loved
him deeply, he hardly took notice of
her.
One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to
die soon. He thought of his luxurious
life and told himself, “Now I have 4
wives with me. But when I die, I’ll be
alone. How lonely I’ll be!”
Thus, he asked the 4th wife, “I loved you most, endowed you with the
finest clothing and showered great
care over you. Now that I’m dying,
will you follow me and keep me
company?” “No way!” replied the 4th
wife and she walked away without another word.
The answer cut like a sharp knife
right into the merchant’s heart. The
sad merchant then asked the 3rd
wife, “I have loved you so much for
all my life. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me
company?” “No!” replied the 3rd
wife. “Life is so good over here! I’m
going to remarry when you die!”
The merchant’s heart sank and
turned cold. He then asked the 2nd wife, “I
always turned to you for help and
you’ve always helped me out. Now I
need your help again. When I di*,
will you follow me and keep me
company?” “I’m sorry, I can’t help you out this time!” replied the 2nd
wife. “At the very most, I can only
send you to your grave.” The answer
came like a bolt of thunder and the
merchant was devastated.
Then a voice called out : “I’ll leave with you. I’ll follow you no matter
where you go.” The merchant looked
up and there was his first wife. She
was so skinny, almost like she
suffered from malnutrition. Greatly
grieved, the merchant said, “I should have taken much better care of you
while I could have !”
**************** Actually, we all have 4 wives in our
lives a. The 4th wife is our body. No
matter how much time and effort we
lavish in making it look good, it’ll
leave us when we di*.
b. Our 3rd wife ? Our possessions,
status and wealth. When we di*, they all go to others.
c. The 2nd wife is our family and
friends. 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. d. The 1st wife is in fact our soul,
often neglected in our pursuit of
material, wealth and sensual
pleasure.
Guess what? It is actually the only
thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it’s a good idea to
cultivate and strengthen it now
rather than to wait until we’re on
our deathbed to lament.
Let's talk......