Barlaam and Josaphat: A Christian Tale of the Buddha (14 page)

A high feast day approached. King Avenir usually organized a great celebration, but he was lost in his own unhappiness and did not make any preparations. The clerics who served false gods gathered together to consider how they might convince the king to celebrate the feast. They could come up with only one idea, and they decided to follow it.

A sorcerer dwelt nearby. He was a treacherous necromancer called Theonas. The king loved him and trusted him more than any other man in his kingdom because he knew Theonas was very wise. By common agreement, the clerics went to visit him. They flattered him by speaking well of his character and rank. They told him the king wanted to leave their faith, and they described the disputation he had organized as a contest between their religion and Christianity. They told him about Nachor's betrayal and that he had left the disputation and converted to Christianity. They also told Theonas about Josaphat's stubborn determination, and claimed he harassed and tormented them with his Christian faith. Then they told him that the king had made no preparations for the feast day. Whereas he usually ordered great festivities, now he did not even mention the feast. He did not plan for it at all, and, more important, he did not seem to care about sacrificing to the gods. “Ah, Theonas, good and cherished lord! Save us from this tragedy! Come with us and ask the king to honor his religion. If you do not consent to come, our religion will suffer.”

Theonas was greatly distressed to hear the clerics' complaints; he agreed to go back to court with them. When he entered the palace, he went directly to the king. King Avenir rose when he saw his friend and received him with great respect and pleasure. His worries were calmed by Theonas's arrival, and he had his friend seated beside him. The king told him about the battle with his son and explained that he had lost the victory he anticipated.

“Good sire,” said Theonas, “whatever the Christians say is entirely false. They don't know anything, and their words are like a dog's bark. Sire, let your courage be as exalted as your station! If you turn against reason and persecute your gods, your kingdom will suffer great harm and misfortune.

“There is none so bold that he would dare to speak about Christianity within my hearing,” Theonas continued. “I beg you, sire, do not be sad or angry. Celebrate this great occasion with happiness and joy, and I will tell you how you can honor your son and love him again. Go to the festival with this understanding, and trust that I will not disappoint you.”

“I will gladly do so,” said the king. He became joyful and changed his mind about neglecting the feast day. He called for his messengers and sent them throughout his kingdom. King Avenir dispatched letters, charters, and seals throughout his realm, to call his noble barons and friends to the celebration. He promised that in place of incense they would imbibe the smoke of sacrificial animals. (People who cover their gods in silver deserve such base rewards.) The summons spread throughout the country, and all the people came, each bringing a sacrifice to offer. The king made a great effort to please his gods. His people made sacrifices, as he demanded, and Theonas too made an offering. The king was ashamed because Theonas had reproached him, and he rejoiced at the feast. (Was it really a feast day? No, truly, for it was a celebration based on ignorance and did not acknowledge our Lord. The joy the pagans take in their festivities has no flavor, for those who rejoice without God cannot taste true pleasure.)

When the celebration had come to an end, the king turned to Theonas. “I have done your will concerning this feast day and now you must give me my reward,” he said. “If you know a good sermon that can draw my son to our side, then go preach it to him, for it is time. If you are successful, I will make a golden statue in your likeness and will worship it as long as I live.”

“Good king, do not worry. I know how to advise you. If you wish to recover your son and deliver him from the error of his belief, have all the servants removed from his palace. Find beautiful, noble young women to serve him, and have them dwell with him night and day. Carnal flesh demands its rights, unless it is unnatural. (And the practice of unnatural carnal desire is condemned.) Once desire is freed, it will tolerate no limits, it will know no moderation, and it will follow its course, whether for shame or honor. Your son's carnal nature will counsel him to do things that will cause him to fall from his high convictions.

“If you would convert your son, send for the young women. Choose one hundred of the most attractive and most noble, and install them in his palace. He will not be able to resist them, and when they join together, the pleasure of their union will change his thoughts. Tell the beautiful young women about your son and say that whoever can seduce him will wear a rich crown—she will be queen. In this world, a woman is the thing that most draws and confounds a man and that most binds and enflames him.

“I will prove it to you with a parable,” Theonas continued. “There was once a king who possessed many cities and castles. He was very wealthy, but he had no son. He sorrowed in his heart, for he had no one to whom he could leave his wealth when he died. (He was right to be sad, for whoever has a poor and miserable heir loses his power.) While the king was still lost in his sorrow, a son of great beauty was born to him. The king rejoiced greatly and sent for all the clerics and doctors in his kingdom. When they were assembled, he asked them what they foresaw for his newborn child.

“They replied, ‘Let us see him before we speak.' They came to the child's cradle and studied him. Then they revealed their thoughts. ‘Sire, hear our counsel: if your son sees fire or sunlight before his tenth year, it is certain he will lose his sight in both eyes.'

“The king was distressed and immediately asked for counsel. Following his clerics' advice, he built a deep, wide pit that no light could enter, and then, with great sadness, the king enclosed his son and his nurses inside. I tell you, King Avenir, the son lived there for ten years and did not see a single ray of light.

“After ten years had passed, the king's son was released from the pit. My lord, the truth is that he had never seen anything and so he did not recognize anything he saw. His father commanded that he be shown everything in his kingdom: men, women, clothes, and horses; youthful men and young women; silver, gold, wood, and stone; flowers of all kinds; bulls, cows, and sheep; furs and silks. They led the boy from place to place, showing him all these things. The child cleverly asked the name of everything he saw, and they named each thing for him. When he saw women, he asked, ‘What things do I see here?' One of the men replied jokingly, ‘By your leave, I will tell you: those things you see are the devils that deceive counts and kings. When they embrace and kiss men, they harm and torment them.'

“When they had taken the child everywhere and shown him all things and taught him their names, the child returned to the king. His father asked, ‘Son, what pleased you most in all that you saw?'

“The child replied, ‘I will tell you truthfully: nothing pleased me as much as those devils that deceive men.' And when the king heard him, he marveled that his son loved women more than any other thing he saw; but nature cannot lie.

“This parable proves that the love of women is a serious thing,” Theonas said, “and it is easy to manipulate a man who is with a woman night and day. There is no stronger love in the world than the love of women, nor is there anything by which men can be so easily bound.”

When King Avenir heard this advice, he was eager to put it to use. He sent for one hundred of the most noble and beautiful young women in his lands. He had them dressed in rich silks and furs. He thought he could use them to win over the son who had converted to God, and he expected to mount a strong attack. Who would lead the attack? The beautiful women and the devil, who sows evil.
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The devil knows very well how to plant evil in women when he trains them. How does he train them? And in what? In debauchery! Malice, pride, and presumption abide comfortably in women, and so does the devil. When the devil joins forces with a woman's beauty, there is no man who cannot be turned to evil. When pride enters a woman's heart, the devil will reign over her and she will not care about a friend's admonitions or gentle words of warning. (I do not speak of all women—that would be an exaggeration—and I believe there are many good ones who would not wish to do wrong.)

King Avenir spoke to the women he had assembled. “Hear me, noble ladies: you are the most beautiful and highborn women of my country. I will tell you why I have brought you here and dressed you so richly, and if you will agree to my plan, you will receive good recompense for your beauty. Do you know what I offer you? You will serve my son's pleasure in everything. He was made a Christian against my will. I wish to crown him king, and whoever has possession of his body will become queen. I say to you openly that whoever can make him sin will be first lady of the empire. Be attentive to him and try to excite and attract him until you can draw him away from his foolish faith. This is my heart's greatest desire. I am angry and sorrowful that he is so vanquished by foolishness.”

The king commanded his son's courtiers to leave his palace, and he sent the young women to join Josaphat. The women went eagerly. They vied with each other to serve the prince, for they all hoped to win the crown. The king's son would have to be more wary than usual, for the devil had bet against him and he deceives many men. The women in Josaphat's palace were eager to seduce him. If the young man did not guard against the prick of desire's needle, he would be taken in by their attractions and fall into sin. May God save him, for he was being attacked by great forces! But I do not fear his fall, because he had a true heart.

The young man was in great torment, and he fought against nature. He needed wisdom and restraint to prevail in such a difficult contest. Each of the women came to speak sweetly to him, and if nature were not defeated, he would eventually have to sin. He fought back with fasting, vigils, and prayers. He took God as a shield and a lance to use in his defense. The women who came to besiege him did not care about his prayers. They showered him with sweet words and courtly greetings, as was appropriate to their task. They teased him and laughed.

“Young sire, what are you thinking?” they asked frequently. “You are not at all jealous and you do not care about pleasure! Should a king's son act like this? You are handsome and highborn, a prince from a distinguished lineage, but your heart is not noble. Since you will become a lord and king, you should become more courtly, and you will know nothing of courtliness if you do not learn to love.
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“It is good to take a lover as long as she is worthy,” the women encouraged the prince. “Love, good sire! Love! Love! Do not worry so much! Thoughts are only good when they serve love. You know well that valor and worth can be earned through love, and a young lord should always think about acquiring worth.”

“Yes, I do want love,” said Josaphat, “and I already have a love that I will cherish as long as I live. My love is complete, for it possesses my whole heart. I think night and day of my true love. The thought of my love is sweet and good, for now it is fresh and new to me. I would never have any pleasure if I did not think about this love more than any other. This love holds me and binds me, and no other love can take my heart. The more I think of it, the sweeter it becomes. If others knew what I know, they would envy me for having such a rich love.”

One of the women responded, “Reveal her to us, by your leave! There is no shame in revealing her identity. Is she a king's daughter or the daughter of a count?”

“She truly is a king's daughter. Her nobility is beyond compare, and it is far higher than your lineage. No one could describe it without naming wonders. My friend is brave and wise, and my love for her is well repaid. She esteems me and takes me for her friend. I give myself entirely to her in everything. I devote myself to her. I surrender myself to her.”

“Tell us her name!”

“Her name? By God, I cannot tell you her name because I do not see in you any understanding of the kind of love I describe.” At these words he rose and went to pray to God. He addressed his plea to the one who had claimed his love. But he prayed to him about a different love, one that it is not right to claim. Josaphat did not wish for this other love, and he asked God for mercy and forgiveness, and weeping, he thanked God for protecting him from such great adversity. Still weeping, he asked that he protect him even more strongly in the future.

The young women were filled with wonder. They told each other that the young man had lost his mind. One of them was more knowledgeable than the others. She was from an old and noble lineage, the daughter of a king who had lost his throne. She had been exiled from Sidon, where her father, as I understand, had been lord and king. She was a relative of King Apollonius, who fled his lands (I believe you have heard much about this King Apollonius's life, and about his victories and his defeats).
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This lady was beautiful and noble, and, aided by the devil, she devoted herself to seducing the king's son. The young woman had a dark and evil heart, and she wanted Josaphat to give into pleasure. She was not afraid to seduce him, and she went to his bedside, entering his room boldly (for women have a brash courage when they set their minds to something).

The devil came to confound Josaphat. He observed the young man and inspired the lady's words. “Sire,” she said, “I was the daughter of a rich king who ruled a great country, but now I have been disinherited. If you do not take pity on me, you will commit a great sin. I am a wretched orphan, I have neither father nor mother, and I am willing to become a Christian for your sake. If you will help me, I will leave my foolish belief.”

“Beautiful lady,” the young man responded, “if you wish to do as you say, that would be a good thing. No one who is not a good Christian will ever see God, who died on the cross. It is right and good that everyone should seek the Christian faith, for in this world there is no pleasure, joy, or happiness that does not eventually turn to sadness. Beautiful lady, think carefully on this! Because you speak so well and because you are from such a distinguished lineage, you would be very wrong to allow yourself to be lost. If you follow your good intention, you will enter the right path.”

Good Lord God! No one can appreciate the value of an honest man! An honest man does not devise tricks. Others may contemplate evil, but he thinks only of good. Eve came forward here, with deception in her heart. But she did not find Adam, for this young man's heart was strengthened by sanctity and knowledge. Josaphat believed the lady spoke the truth, but she lied from a false heart. Adam met Eve again here, but Adam acted more wisely than he did before. Eve wronged Adam, but this Adam protected himself better against the Eve who tried to trick him. This Eve was a bad wife to Adam, but this Adam did not return her enmity. If she had wished it, Adam would have been good to her, had she intended good for him. But the lady did not want to understand his intentions, she wanted to deceive him, and if the young man did not beware, he would fall into the trap set by this beautiful trickster.

“Good sweet lord and friend,” said the lady with the beautiful face, “if you want to save my soul, you should consider an exchange. If you will grant me one wish, I will not hesitate to do whatever you ask.”

“Sweet friend, tell me what you want.”

“With pleasure, my lord.” Lust transformed her heart, and then her eyes, her mouth, and her entire appearance. She spoke to Josaphat with ardor and passion, and she was never more joyful: “Upon my honor, if you will marry me and take my virginity, then I will do as you wish, and I will follow your instructions without fail.”

“Beautiful lady, this distresses me. Your offer is hard to accept. I would like to save your soul, but I must tend to my own, and it would not be good for me if I were to lose God by joining my body with yours. If I were lost for your sake, then my reward would be of little value. I will not defile my life for such a base union.”

“What do you mean?” she exclaimed. “Are Christians defiled when they take women as wives? I believe I am wiser than you in this matter. Whoever combines marriage and religion certainly will be saved as long as he holds to both in a holy way. I am not so confused that I have forgotten the book that describes your religion. I know that marriage is a good thing when the spouses are loyal.

“Marriage is a good and reasonable law,” the young woman continued. “God himself commanded it, and he joined together the very first man and woman. (But according to Christian belief, first he made them, then he joined them together.) From two he made one, and the scriptures forbid that any man should separate those whom God has joined together. Man and wife are united as companions and should not be parted. Marriage is a form of faithfulness, and any nobleman who is not married should seek to wed. A noble household is better kept when a good woman abides in it. A good wife is to be prized, and she should be exalted and loved more than any treasure. Just as a precious stone is set in gold, so a lady dwells in her household as long as she is of good repute. Saint Paul himself confirms that I do not lie when I say that it is much better for a man to marry than for his body to burn forever.”

“By God, this is true,” said Josaphat. “According to the scriptures, it is much wiser to marry than to burn in lust, but whoever wishes to remain chaste should avoid marriage. Whatever does not hinder me will help me.

“Dear sister and friend, are you so rash as to wish that for your well-being my virginity should be lost? I would have to find your idea presumptuous if I believed you so impertinent. You speak with malicious intent, not loyalty. I must refuse the marriage you propose because it is full of dishonor, and if it is dishonorable, there is no faithfulness in it.”

“Your argument is confused,” the lady answered. “You know that no man would find dishonor in this marriage. I am a pagan and the daughter of a king, and I will become a Christian for you if you will take me. You would be doubly charitable if you would make me, a pagan, into a true Christian. If you do not do it, then I am most unfortunate, for you will damn my soul. Sire, you are my damnation, but you could be my salvation if you wished to save me. You should consider this more carefully. My offer is good, and you cannot find any motivation for it that is not reasoned and right. For God's sake, I beg you, become my husband! You will redeem the inheritance I have lost if you will marry me.

“I have shown you many reasons why you should do as I ask,” she continued. “The scriptures say that Saint Peter took a wife, and he was not damned for it. The holy prophets took wives and taught us to marry. I have never heard of any prohibition against marriage. What kind of man are you? You are not a true Christian if you renounce the laws of our fathers and God's religion. I will receive baptism and be saved if you wish it. By faith! You could do nothing better than to save a soul that is damned. Let me be saved by you today!”

“Sweet lady, I wonder where you have received such advice. Can you not be baptized without lusting after me? Your heart is not moved by belief if you seek to bargain for what will please you. Receive Christianity, keep your virginity, and your pardon will be all the greater for it.

“Your beauty moves me, and I swear to you that if I ever took a wife, I would take only you. But your request is disloyal. You would receive baptism by corrupting your body and my own.”

“By faith, you delay too long and the new day is coming,” the lady replied. “I believe your thoughts are elsewhere—you play a different kind of game. Cursed be your body and your beauty! You are a liar and you choose your pleasure where you will. Good Lord, what chastity! What a splendid young man! What joy for his friends when such a fortunate man was born! I do not lie when I say that his birth brought honor to his father, but he chooses chastity because he is taken by another kind of love that shames his family. A good couple is formed only by male and female, and when the masculine companion in a couple becomes feminine, he goes against nature and denies the woman her rights. A male who becomes female is not a man.”
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“By God! Dear young lady, your words are not becoming. You wrongly accuse me of a great shame, and I know why. If I did your will, you would show your pleasure, but women always try to shame those who do not wish to do what they ask. Their slandering tongues are sharper than a razor and more pointed than a needle. There is no need for accusations or disputes. I will not take a wife and I will not spread seed to grow in any earth.

“Beautiful lady, I do not care for fighting with women. They grumble and complain, and they heap blame on the goodness of others. You have failed at this joust, and I would have made a bad showing if I had been defeated by you. Dear sister and friend, there is nothing more to say. Leave this battle and go seek what you want somewhere else. You want to challenge me with your debates and insults, but I have no desire for it—my heart looks elsewhere.”

“Noble lord, for God's sake, have mercy on me!” the young woman begged. “Do not take revenge on me in this way. Since you will not have me as wife, grant me another favor. Let my soul be saved in this way: take my body a single time—I do not ask for more. Through this one time I will gain all I want to win. The king will give me back my land, and I will become a Christian. If you sleep with me just once I will be saved.”

Josaphat responded, “Ah, dear friend, your body is unfortunate to have such a flighty heart. Your heart should save your body, but it corrupts it. You mortgage your honor to cultivate your shame! You are willing to seek your own humiliation. If I granted your desire, no crown, land, or wealth, no dominion, power, or promise of inheritance would compensate for the virginity that would be so shamefully lost. If you believed, you would become a Christian, but for as long as you are a pagan, you will not be loved by God. Since you have God in your thoughts and you promise to believe in him if I do your will, why do you put your body at risk? You should purchase your baptism, but you would sell it for pleasure!

“I have vowed my chastity to God, and I will not break my vow. Your family standard is still clean and true, and you should not stain it. If you protect it, anyone who tries to taint it with shame will waste his time. If you understand the scriptures, your standard will be dyed with the good. For God's sake, listen to what I tell you, for I chastise you for your own good! If you keep your chastity, much good could come to you from it.”

“For God's sake, good sire, listen to this,” the lady replied. “King Avenir sent me here to honor and serve you, and to give my body to you. I wagered more than he asked. He told me that if I shared my body with you, he would give me back my land, and I offered to do even more for you: I offered to become a Christian. My Christianity would be your salvation, for if I were saved by you, you would have done a good deed and the reward would belong to you alone. But you are a harsh Christian.” With these words she sighed and wept.

Josaphat looked at her and felt pity, and he also feared that he might sin. The sight of the lady was very moving, and he was torn between two choices. If he did not do as she asked, he thought he would wrong God, and if he did what she wanted, he feared angering him. The devil excited him and made him want to take the lady. He wanted to do it but he resisted. The weeping lady begged him with all her might to take her side. Pity drew him, but he did not understand that sin entwined with pity.

He rose abruptly and went into another room. He knelt in prayer to God and his Holy Name. He asked for counsel, for he had great need of it. He fell asleep while praying, and Saint Michael took his soul and carried it into paradise. The young man was comforted to see its great pleasures, but his delight was cut short when Saint Michael showed him hell and the enduring sorrow and great torments inflicted there on those disloyal to God. Saint Michael also showed him the treacherous betrayal that his father had plotted, following the advice of Theonas, and Josaphat marveled at it. Then he woke and shuddered from the fear that assailed him. He was greatly dismayed, but God calmed him. The king's son rose quickly and began to pray immediately. He begged God for forgiveness and asked that he free him from temptation. His head began to ache and hurt badly. He lay back down.