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The Tale of Kieu – Through the Eyes of Mindfulness, Talk 12
Today, let us spend about twenty minutes or half an hour contemplating the death of Thúy Kiều, for her fate was truly turbulent, and she had to truly die in order to be reborn. When Kiều had not yet reached the utmost depth of suffering and had not yet died, she could not be transformed; human life is the same—learning to die is learning to live. In the Zen tradition, we call this “dying and being reborn” in order to attain enlightenment.
When Từ Hải came to her private chamber to discuss whether to surrender or not, Kiều had already resolved her deep wish to be reunited with her family and to become a noble lady. All arguments were clever and reasonable, but only served to defend that profound desire, causing Từ Hải to be defeated because his defenses had been breached by two female spies. The three conditions Kiều set for Từ Hải’s surrender were all accepted:
- to be granted the title of marquis
- not to have to return to the imperial court
-
to continue holding military command
But then Từ Hải was deceived, with three armies lying in ambush at the moment of surrender, struck by arrows like a porcupine and died standing on the battlefield.
Amidst the storm of arrows and stones, Từ Hải tossed and turned, blaming Kiều: “My lady, you have led me astray.” The phrase “Phương Hạ’s loving call” was the court’s treacherous ruse, causing Từ Hải’s army to let down their guard and be relentlessly pursued and slaughtered. Kiều came to weep beside his coffin, determined to take her own life. Five years of roaming the seas and skies, in a single moment, her flesh and bones were shattered.
Giác Duyên—Kiều’s elder nun sister—came to the Tiền Đường River, preparing a thatched hut and hiring two fishermen to cast nets in order to save her sister. At the very moment she heard the waves of the Tiền Đường, Kiều threw herself into the river, but was rescued, still in a faint golden slumber, waiting to be saved. The nun Tam Hợp pronounced:
- The “sorrowful register” has withdrawn your name, the “sorrowful poem” is repaid
- Karmic debts have been balanced, past wrongs have been washed away, light and clean
- Deep love repays deep gratitude, harming one to save thousands
- Old affinities are fulfilled, future blessings abundant
Giác Duyên brought Kiều back to the thatched hut; from then on, the two sisters lived together under one roof, sharing mornings and evenings, with cool breezes and moonlight refreshing their faces, simple meals of salt and pickled vegetables nourishing their hearts, surrounded on all sides by vast, boundless space, with tides rising morning and evening, clouds drifting before and behind. That is the simple happiness of freedom and serenity when we can take refuge in the sangha and set adrift a raft of reeds to welcome someone to the shore of peace.
