There was a young and beautiful girl, born into a wealthy family with abundant assets, versatile and talented; she lived a very good life. Matchmakers were almost wearing out the doorstep of her house, but she didn't want to get married because she felt she hadn't met the boy she truly wanted to marry.
Until one day, she went to a temple fair to relax. Among the vast and crowded crowd, she saw a young man. Words weren't necessary; the girl just felt that this man was the one she had been waiting for so long. Unfortunately, the fair was too crowded, and she couldn't get close to him. She helplessly watched the man disappear into the crowd. Over the next two years, the girl searched everywhere for him, but he seemed to have evaporated—completely vanished. Every day she prayed to Buddha, hoping to see him again. Her sincerity touched Buddha, and Buddha manifested.
Buddha said, “Do you want to see that man again?”
The girl said, “Yes! I just want to see him once more!”
Buddha said, “You must give up everything you have now, including your loving family and happy life.”
The girl said, “I can give it up!”
Buddha said, “You must also cultivate for five hundred years before you can meet him. Do you have no regrets?”
The girl said, “I have no regrets!”
The girl turned into a large stone, lying in the wilderness, enduring over four hundred years of wind and sun. It was extremely harsh, but the girl felt it was nothing. What hurt most was not seeing a single person, not seeing a glimpse of hope for over four hundred years, which almost drove her to collapse.
In the last year, a quarry team arrived. They were impressed by her size and carved her into a huge stone slab, transporting her into the city. They were constructing a stone bridge, so the girl became the railing of the bridge.
On the first day the stone bridge was completed, the girl saw him—the man she had waited for five hundred years! He was walking hurriedly, as if he had something urgent to attend to, quickly passing through the center of the bridge. Of course, he didn't notice the stone staring at him. The man disappeared once again.
Buddha appeared once more.
Buddha said, “Are you satisfied?”
The girl said, “No! Why? Why am I just the bridge railing? If I had been placed in the center of the bridge, I could have touched him, I could have felt him!”
Buddha said, “You want to touch him? Then you must cultivate for another five hundred years!”"Girl: 'I am willing!'\ Buddha: 'You have suffered so much, do you not regret it?'\ Girl: 'I do not regret it!'\ The girl transformed into a large tree, standing on a busy official road, where many people passed by every day. The girl watched closely every day, but it was even more painful, because countless times she saw someone coming with hope, and countless times her hope was shattered. Without the cultivation of the previous five hundred years, one would believe the girl would have collapsed long ago! Days passed one by one, and the girl's heart gradually became calm. She knew that until the last day, he would not appear. Another five hundred years! On the final day, the girl knew he would come, but her heart was unexpectedly no longer excited.\ He came! He came! He was still wearing his favorite white long robe, and his face was still as handsome. The girl stared at him foolishly. This time, he did not rush past because it was too hot. He noticed a large tree by the roadside; its dense shade was very inviting. 'Let's take a rest,' he thought. He walked to the base of the tree, leaned against the roots, and slightly closed his eyes. He fell asleep. The girl touched him! He was leaning beside her! But she could not tell him of the thousand years of longing. She could only try to gather the shade to shield him from the scorching sun. Such thousand-year tenderness! The man only took a short nap because he still had things to do. He stood up, patted the dust off his robe, and just before leaving, he looked back at the tree and gently touched the trunk, probably to thank it for giving him coolness. Then, he walked away without looking back!\ At the moment he disappeared from her sight, Buddha appeared again.\ Buddha: 'Do you still want to be his wife? Then you still need to cultivate.'\ The girl calmly interrupted Buddha: 'I do want to, but there is no need anymore.'\ Buddha: 'Oh?'\ Girl: 'This is already very good. Loving him does not necessarily mean becoming his wife.'\ Buddha: 'Oh!'\ Girl: 'Is his current wife also someone who has suffered like me?'\ Buddha slightly nodded.\ The girl slightly smiled: 'I could have done it too, but there is no need anymore.'\ At this moment, the girl noticed that Buddha sighed slightly, or rather, Buddha let out a gentle breath of relief.The girl was somewhat surprised: 'Even the Buddha has worries?' The Buddha's face blossomed into a smile: 'That's quite good. There is a boy who will have to wait a thousand years less. He has cultivated for two thousand years just to catch a glimpse of you.' Life is always balanced, in ways we understand or do not understand. What is love in this world? It is only that people pledge their lives to each other.
