This is a story from China

"Once upon a time there was a rich man who had four wives. The first wife was extremely beautiful, and he took her everywhere with him, and proudly displayed her to everyone he met. Whatever she asked for he bought her: jewels, fine silks, rare delicacies. He always bathed with her, and would humbly wash her from head to foot. Eventually she became extremely vain and conceited, and started ordering her husband about.
The second wife had been acquired after a lot of struggle. He had worked hard, negociated, and fought to gain this bride, for marriage had consolidated his position in the community. He loved her very much, and was pleased with this second marriage since it brought him a sense of security. Although he felt less real love towards this new wife (since he had been force to work so hard to gain her), he swore he would do anything for her. He told her that he was willing to become a cheat, a murderer, or whatever was necessary to ensure that she stayed with him.
His third wife was not particularly important to him. He felt mild affection towards her, since when he had first married her, she had been young and attractive. She had accompanied him on his frequent travels, mainly so that he could continue to enjoy a sexual relationship when away from home. But as time went on, he started to see her weaknesses and faults. He remembered that in the beginning it had been different, and this led to shouting and quarrels. He called her 'stupid2, 'insensitive', 'ill-educated' and 'idiotic'. They nearly divorced, but when she suddenly presented her husband with a baby, he decided to continue with the marriage.
The fourth wife was treated like a servant. The husband ordered her about, beat her, and never gave her any type of gift or praise. Not even kind words. The poor woman was in great dispair, since her husband loved her so little. Eventually she became weak and depressed, constantly worrying about her behaviour, and desperately trying to please her husband. She scuttled around the house, flinching in fear of yet another harsh word or blow.
One day the Government asked the man to undertake a long journey beyond the frontier of the empire. Since by now he was quite old, he didn't want to travel on his own, and decided to ask one of his wives to accompany him. He loved the first wife the most, and so he went with his request. When he asked her to come on the journey, she looked coldly at him, then replied, 'No. Never, never, never.'
With those words she turned back on him. The husband was very angry, but nothing he said would move her. So he went to the second wife, and made the same request. Her expression didn't alter as she continued brushing her hair. She responded with a single word: 'No.'
He was shocked by the heartlessness, and decided to approach the third wife. She was the one who organized the day-to-day running of the household, and looked after him when he was ill, so he felt she would be well qualified to care for him on this long and arduous journey. When he asked her to accompany him, she burst into tears, saying, 'I really want to go with you, but I must stay and look after the baby. Also, I am scared of going somewhere so unfamiliar. In fact I'm terrified. I'll go with you as far as the border, but after that, please forgive me, I can't go any further.'
He agreed to this and went off in search of his fourth wife. Since he hadn't treated her at all well, he was rather doubtful about her reply. But she said her job was to stay by the side of her husband, and stated that she was ready to go anywhere with him, even into Hell itself. The man was both surprised and touched by her willingness to accompany him.
The day of departure arrived. The first wife stayed in bed, refused to speak or even alter the coldness of her expression. The second wife reacted in the same way, saying nothing, not even wishing goodbye. The third wife was busy organizing all the details of the journey. She kept her word and travelled as far as the frontier. When they arrived there, she wept, kissed her husband, then turned and returned home. The man travelled on into this strange foreign country, accompanied by only his fourth wife.

So what are these four 'wives'? The first one is the body, the second is possessions, the third is your spouse, or relationships with people. And the fourth? It is your real self. The frontier is death; your body and possessions will not travel with you. Your husband or wife can go only as far as the border. The only one that stays with you is the one you have so badly abused; yourself."

The Invisible Actor, Yoshi Oida.