Love

Suki grew up in a small backwater village. She was a beautiful child. Not only was she a beautiful child, but as she grew, she grew into a beautiful woman. Her physical attributes were stunning. Young men, and even older men, fell in love, and lust, with her just from seeing her. As she approached adulthood, her parents decided, for her, that she would marry a young man from the village who came from a family which had some wealth. As a very obedient daughter, she did so. Her husband loved her, as all men did, though she may not have loved him as much, under the circumstances.

As sometimes happens, one day a farm accident occurred. A tractor overturned, pinning Suki's husband beneath it, killing him instantly. Suki was now a widow and was not yet twenty. Soon after she moved to a large city and enrolled in a university. She grew more beautiful each day and men fell in line trying to date her. However, Suki proved to be every bit as brilliant as she was beautiful and studied hard and learn well at the university.

Even her studies were complicated. Her male professors, like all men, fell in love and lust, with Suki whenever she entered a classroom. She found it difficult to be taken seriously, but eventually she earned her degree. Following her university studies, she decided to study with just one teacher and went to him and asked to work with him.

This teacher was known to be harsh and exacting. He accepted Suki and made her work hard. Day and day and week after week their studies together went forward and they enjoyed the work. For once Suki found someone who allowed her to be herself without attempting to make demands upon her physical attributes. Still, the teacher's wife was jealous. She resented the time her husband spent with the beautiful Suki. She was sure this young woman was seducing her husband. Therefore she decided to destroy Suki's reputation. She started rumors that Suki was seducing her husband and had done so with other professors in her past. She said this was the way Suki earned her grades; she never really did any work. Because of all this talk, Suki was expelled and her degree was taken away.

Suki learned how her reputation had been destroyed. She said she realized she may have erred by being too friendly and open in her relationships with certain men, but the actions of the teacher's wife must not go unpunished. Therefore, one night she took a can of gasoline and poured it on the house that the teacher and his wife lived in and set the house ablaze. The house burned to the ground. The next day the authorities questioned her about the fire and she confessed openly to her crime. She was convicted on the basis of her confession and sentenced to serve seven years in prison.

When she had served her time and was released, she was only a woman of twenty-seven years, still beautiful, but now with a horrible reputation. No school and few people trusted her. She eventually lost everything, including hope. She took to the streets, living in alleyways. One day, while wandering, she encountered a Zen master. He took her in. He taught her that the love of man is fleeting, whereas the act of love is not. In this she found her peace.