Once upon a time, there was a lovely and intelligent young woman born into a wealthy and high-status family. Many young men admired her. Matchmakers came one after another to propose on behalf of various suitors, but she rejected them all. She felt she had not yet found her true love.
One day, she visited a nearby Buddhist monastery during a festival. There, she saw a handsome young man dressed in white. But he was pretty far away and surrounded by a crowd. When she tried to approach him, he had already disappeared. She knew that he was her destiny, that she had been waiting for a long time.
From that moment on, his shadow was always in her mind. For the next two years, she frequently visited the monastery, hoping to meet him again. She also prayed wholeheartedly to the Buddha, asking for a chance to meet him once more.
One day, the Buddha appeared before her and asked, “Do you truly wish to meet that young man again?”
“Yes, I only want to see him just once,” the girl replied without hesitation.
The Buddha continued, “You will have to lose everything—your happy life, your family, and all the wealth you possess right now.”
The girl answered, “I can let them all go!”
“Then you must cultivate for 500 years before you can meet him again. Will you not regret this?” the Buddha asked once more.
The girl replied, “No, I will not regret it.”
In the blink of an eye, the girl transformed into a large boulder in a wild forest. The boulder endured 499 years of solitude and silence, battered daily by strong winds, rain, and scorching heat. There was no suffering greater than this. No one ever passed by. There seemed to be no hope at all. She nearly gave up.
At last, a group of stone carvers came searching for a stone. They needed a boulder to build a bridge. The boulder was brought back to the village and carved into the bridge railing.
On the first day the bridge was completed, the young man she had been waiting for appeared. He walked quickly across the bridge, not noticing the railing at all. He had no idea that a young woman had waited for him for 500 years—only for a glance. The young man vanished without a trace.
The Buddha appeared again and asked the girl, “Are you satisfied now?”
The girl replied, “I’m not. Why was I only the bridge railing? If I had been placed in the middle of the bridge, I could have touched him.”
The Buddha answered, “Then you must cultivate for another 500 years.”
The girl quickly replied, “I am ready!”
“You have endured so much hardship. Do you not regret it?” the Buddha asked.
“Not at all!” she said firmly.
In an instant, the girl became a large tree standing in the middle of a busy road. This time, she was not lonely; every day, many people passed beneath her branches. But the young man still did not come. Whenever someone walked by, she hoped it would be him. Yet again and again, she met only disappointment.
Still, the first 500 years had given her the strength to continue loving him.
Time passed, day after day. Her heart grew peaceful. On the final day of the second 500 years, the young man finally appeared—still as graceful as he had been 1000 years before.
This time, the young man in white noticed the large tree in the middle of the road. It was summertime, and exhausted from the heat, he sat down to rest beneath the tree, leaning against its trunk. Before long, he fell into a deep sleep.
The girl gazed at him with deep affection, unable to express the longing she had carried for 1000 years. She curved her branches to shield him from the harsh sunlight, doing everything she could to keep him comfortable and close for as long as possible.
Eventually, the young man awoke. Remembering he still had work to do, he gently touched the tree in gratitude before leaving.
The Buddha appeared again. “Do you wish to become his wife? If so, you will need to cultivate for another 500 years.”
The girl replied, “Yes, I wish to… but no, it’s no longer necessary.”
She asked, “Would his wife also have to suffer for 1000 years as I have?”
The Buddha nodded.
The girl continued, “I could endure another 500 years of hardship. But loving him does not mean I must marry him.”
The Buddha smiled and said, “Good. You have now let go of a young man after waiting 1000 years. But that man has spent 2000 years cultivating, waiting only to see you for a brief moment.”
A free translation of 千年等待from the novel Stone Bridge Zen (石桥禅)by Yi An (易安/ 哲蛮).
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