Repentance
of the Ugly Princess
Life is short, and its transience is often compared to that of smoke and
mist.Some people go after sensual love and pleasures, and live deluded and
troubled lives. Others abstain from sensual desires, leading lives of pure,
cool solitude. Being noble and modest hinges on the discretion of one thought. For the benefit
of our personal
progress and emotional well-being, we need to know the
importance of repentance. We must always reflect on what we have done wrong, who we have
wronged, what we have overlooked etc....If we do this daily to improve ourselves, we shall become more accomodating
and the spiritual
quality of
our lives would elevate. If, however, we wrestle daily in the grip of our
passions, living in the prison of our internal desires and the external stimuli, and unable to emancipate from
our fears and resentment, our lives will be absolute torture. People who are
willing to repent would not only transform their mind, but also their appearance.
King
Prasenajit had a daughter who was very ugly. Although she was a royal princess, nobody fancied her.In desperation,
the king found a young man from a slum area to whom he bequeathed a high rank
with a good salary, and had him marry the princess.After they were married, the
young man was too ashamed of her looks to take his wife with him to social functions. As time went by, people
began to wonder whether it was because his wife was too beautiful that he wanted to keep her all to himself. A few of
his closest friends decided to find out the truth by making him drunk one day
and taking
the keys to
his residence.
Although
she had been locked away, the princess felt sorry for her husband for being so tolerant of her looks. She knew that
her ugly appearance must have been the result of her past bad karma and devoutly prayed in repentance before the Buddha's image
everyday.Strangely enough, as she repented in earnest, her rough hands began to
get smooth and white, while her tiny eyes slowly turned beautiful and sparkling. As she further prayed to the Buddha, she became elegant and
gracious. When these friends of her husband's saw that the princess was such an exceptional beauty, they went back to
tease her husband for being so selfish in hiding his wife from them.
The
transformation of the princess soon came to the knowledge of the king and queen who were most delighted.To show their gratitude, they came together to the Jetvana Vihara
to make offerings to the
Buddha and his Bikshus. With joined palms, King Prasenajit enquired:" Buddha! Can
you kindly reveal to me my daughter's past deeds which had contributed to her
being born into the royal family and yet being so ugly?
The Buddha
said:" Everyone's appearance is a result of his or her karma accrued from
past deeds. It is no coincidence that rewards and retributions follow us like
shadows."
Then the
Buddha told the king how the princess had in the past abused and slighted an
Arahat of fruition, and how she subsequently begged for forgiveness. Although part of
her sin had been erased, she still had to suffer
an ugly face despite a royal birth.
The
Buddha's revelation had strengthened the faith of all, and they did not have any more
doubt about the law of cause and effect."