Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (Tolstoy)
Short summary
Ancient Assyria. King Esarhaddon conquered King Lailie's kingdom, destroyed towns, enslaved inhabitants, and imprisoned Lailie in a cage.
While contemplating Lailie's execution, an old man appeared to Esarhaddon.
The old man claimed Esarhaddon and Lailie were one. To prove this, he had Esarhaddon enter a water font. Once submerged, Esarhaddon became Lailie, living his life: ruling his kingdom, hunting, and receiving mutilated ambassadors from Esarhaddon. Lailie fought a losing battle, was captured, and faced execution on a stake.
This is death, destruction!... and, forgetful of his resolve to remain bravely calm to the end, he sobbed and prayed for mercy. But no one listened to him.
Then he became a she-ass whose colt was killed by hunters. Awakening, the old man revealed that all life is one. Esarhaddon freed all prisoners and abdicated, becoming a wanderer preaching unity of life.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Esarhaddons conquest and the mysterious old man
King Esarhaddon had conquered the kingdom of King Lailie, destroying and burning towns, taking inhabitants captive, slaughtering warriors, and confining Lailie himself in a cage. As he lay in bed one night contemplating how to execute Lailie, a rustling sound caught his attention.
An old man with a long gray beard and mild eyes appeared beside his bed.
The water ritual and transformation into Lailie
When Esarhaddon expressed his intention to execute Lailie, the old man made a startling claim:
You and Lailie are one... You only imagine you are not Lailie, and that Lailie is not you.
Esarhaddon protested, citing his comfortable position versus Lailie's imprisonment. The old man challenged his understanding of life and death, then led him to a large font filled with water. Following the old man's instructions, Esarhaddon stripped, entered the font, and submerged his head when water was poured over him.
Life as King Lailie
Upon submersion, Esarhaddon found himself transformed into someone else entirely. He awoke as King Lailie, lying beside his beautiful wife who informed him that princes awaited him in the Great Hall.
The princes urged war against the wicked King Esarhaddon, but Lailie chose diplomacy instead, sending ambassadors to negotiate. He then enjoyed hunting wild asses, feasting with friends, and spending time with his beloved wife. For weeks he lived this peaceful life, dividing time between royal duties and pleasures, until the ambassadors returned with their noses and ears cut off, bearing Esarhaddon's demands for tribute and submission.
Capture, imprisonment, and execution
Lailie agreed to war and led his army into battle. After seven days of campaign, they met Esarhaddon's forces in a broad valley. Despite brave fighting, Lailie's hundreds were overwhelmed by Esarhaddon's thousands. Lailie was wounded and captured, then journeyed nine days bound with other captives to Nineveh, where he was placed in a cage.
For twenty days, Lailie endured imprisonment, watching relatives and friends led to execution while maintaining his resolve to show no fear. He witnessed his beloved wife being taken as a slave to Esarhaddon. When a guard pitied his fallen state, Lailie remembered all he had lost and desperately beat his head against the cage bars, wishing to kill himself.
Finally, two executioners led him to the blood-soaked execution ground where a sharp stake awaited. They stripped his weakened body and prepared to impale him. Facing death, Lailie abandoned his resolve and sobbed for mercy, but no one listened.
Transformation into animals and the final lesson
Believing this must be a dream, Lailie tried to wake himself and found himself transformed into a she-ass grazing in a valley. A dark-gray colt frolicked nearby, searching for her teat.
He experienced a glad feeling of simultaneous life in himself and in his offspring.
Suddenly an arrow struck Esarhaddon in the side, and he galloped toward the herd with the colt. Another arrow pierced the colt's neck, and it fell. A man ran up and cut the colt's throat. Esarhaddon cried out, trying to wake from what he believed was still a dream, and lifted his head from the font.
Return to reality and the old mans teachings
The old man stood beside him, finishing pouring the water. When Esarhaddon exclaimed about his long and terrible suffering, the old man revealed the truth:
Long?... you have only dipped your head under water and lifted it again; see, the water is not yet all out of the pitcher.
The old man explained that Lailie, the slain warriors, and even the hunted animals were all manifestations of the same universal life. He taught that life is one, and harming others means harming oneself.
Life is one in them all, and yours is but a portion of this same common life... You can only improve life in yourself by destroying the barriers that divide your life from that of others.
After delivering this profound lesson, the old man vanished.
Esarhaddons redemption
The next morning, King Esarhaddon ordered the release of Lailie and all prisoners, ending the executions. On the third day, he gave his kingdom to his son Assur-bani-pal and went into the desert to contemplate his revelation.
...he himself went into the desert to think over all he had learnt. Afterwards he went about as a wanderer... preaching to the people that all life is one.