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Chapter 8

Senior Mage Chank'-Jack's 5-Year-Old Majestic Silk Cloak & Dream-Body of Novice Mage Xend’-zeon

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From far, The Young Novice Monk appeared from beneath the tall and thick hazy woods that were surrounded by thick fog, and the damp miasma had rushed into the tips of his nose.

That wasn’t the reason he felt anxious plodding on the woods.

It was because he found his mind drift away numerous times when he was trying to focus on his walking-chanting.

He couldn’t concentrate and he felt that his mental and physical strength had gotten weak by each mile he traveled.

He had some thoughts flashed back while walking out, spiraling down the dragon-spine-like staircases made of mountin stones from The Temple of Adornment. Now that some similar thoughts crept up again, in the gaps of the mumbling noises he had made for the chanting.

It was important for him to sustain focus on mental training.

He had to face a new life, alone, that he had decided overnight and he still needed to tackle that urge up to the present path.

But he realized that he was insufficiently packed for a long journey. He was confident though that he could face and tackle any elements because he was rather trained for it when he travelled long journeys with The Second Brother and that his health and stamina had improved after all those years.

At least that was how he thought. So, he kept on striding on.

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“Water!”

He heard sounds of a purling brook or a bubbling spring and walked towards the direction. He had to slide down a slope that was covered with dry leaves and branches.

Insects crawled and he saw a large green snake disgorging away, startled, sweats popped out onto the wet air that shone cold light.

He saw a stream of water running amidst the end of the thick forest. He bent down and took a sip.

“Namo Amita Buddha! Thank you, thank you, it’s been ten hours since I went without water…”

He found that he wanted to talk to someone or something, and he almost whispered, not merely to express his blessed discovery.

It was quiet everywhere. No one was around. No human sound whatsoever. Only birds and insects chirping, and water murmuring were heard; as if that they had responded to the Young Monk who had started a conversation.

The straps of the bamboo rucksack had pressed on his shoulders and he felt the weight had gradually increased.

“Where’s my filter cloth?”

He realized that he forgot to pack the cloth that will be used to filter water.

The shadows of the tree whirling, and he wondered what he had felt as the scarce lights on the surface of the water had turned gloomier without any apparent reason.

There was a slight cramp on his stomach, and he seemed to hear the sound of someone walking behind.

Goosebumps crawled up and he turned back to inspect. He saw a piece of muddy slide, dry branches and putrefaction decay, and the deep forests in the distance. There was no one. And he held up his ears because he thought he heard his Second Brother Chank’-Jack Monk calling for him. He sounded regretful but some encouraging energy was felt. He sounded like what their Mother would call them as well.

Suddenly, he felt dizzy. Immediately he had to bend down so that vomits could pour out from his throat. Although that constituted only of a pile bile secretion for not consuming much solid food for days, he felt rather weak.

Immediately, he remembered he was told at a previous occasion.

“Although you only took the ten precepts of the novice monk, you could learn to sustain the precept of drinking only filtered water; as if you had already taken the full precepts of an official monk…”

He felt a flush of blood stream run over his veins of chakras and lights and skies twirled above his head.

It took him some effort to lift the bamboo rucksack from his backs. He then sat down by some trunks he had spotted.

He lost focus when his eye sights were swamped with films of flowery dots in grey images and swampy smells crawled up his brain through his nose.

Instantly, he passed out.

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“Young Brother! Young Brother!” His Blood Second Brother, Chank’-Jack Monk shook him awake.

”You okay? Come…: He helped him with some ointment made of turmeric and cardamom oil rub on his nose. And he felt some bitter, claylike medicine melted in his mouth and was asked to swallow carefully.

He then took out a bamboo structure with four slender planks forming a squre, with a linen cloth that he poured some spring water in so the filtered water will drip and catch a container beneath.

“My Brother, I thought that water from the running stream was excepted from the precepts…well...at least…they are and should be, right? That why I drank…”

“I know. It was a hard path you chose to pass the forests instead of the mountains. Just that the waters ran by the swamp that you didn’t notice carefully, My Younger Brother. Don’t worry; you are in good hands now…”

He glanced at his brother and said weakly, “Well, I wasn’t only thirsty; I was too tired with the bamboo rucksack. I did not think that running water could carry the same risks; I thought only stagnant and unfiltered water carried risks …And did I tell you, when my stomach cramped up, I heard the bamboo rucksack sent out grinding noise on my shoulder bones, as if a Wooden Donkey grinded on the fragile grinding-stones…I have failed you, My Brother…”

“Forget about it, here, eat some bread. I know it had passed noon, you would think that you breached the One-Meal-Before-Noon Precept. And I know that you would want to save the bread for me. Don’t worry about me, My Young Brother, take care of yourself, now come, just eat it, we would think of ways to walk out of here to beg for food the next morning.”

“It was harsh to climb the mountains, we took that pathway when we travelled to The Temple on the mountains, I remember I was too weak for the climbing, that’s why I chose the forests this time, you might understand, right?”

“Of course, don’t beat yourself up, My Brother; you were just an adolescent then. You’ve been rather fragile since you were little.”

He looked at his Second Brother, accepted the food and tried to eat slowly while tears rolled down on his cheeks .

“Yeah, as you have said, I have been a little flower in the greenhouse…” with gratitude, eyes muddy; he.

“But we don’t have any more water; you’d better eat slowly, alright?”

“I have been doing independent reading of the scriptures and commentaries. But, I have never carried out long journey on foot by myself, and in that sense I might still be in your greenhouse…”He clinged on his own subject matter to have ignored The Second Brother’s consolation.

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Suddenly, two other monks from The Temple appeared approaching from the back of the giant trees. One tall, thin, with long, pale face, looked like the pick-up-angle of white-death from the hell. The other one blury, short, with dark round face, wearing grey-clouds as clothes.

“You see, you are just a bookish monk, you are not fit to travel on foot.”

The Young Monk heard it. And he did not respond.

The tall monk, who was wearing all green now had started to twirl his spine started chuckled, “You are good at fishing for relationship with the imperial family, though.”

The Young Monk lifted his chin and looked at him in surprise.

He turned his head to discern the reaction of his Second Brother.

Shouldn’t it be an injustice to judge me in this manner? I don’t believe that you would have judged my intention in this manner. Everybody knows that I was approached by the Emperor Cousin for scripture discussion. And my intention was just to clarify his doubts. And nothing else. Why couldn’t monks of your sorts understand.

He recognized that there were too many types of practitioners in the Temple.

They came from different backgrounds and education backgrounds all over the country. Traits and mannerism were hard for people to contemplate and transform.

“My Young Brother, don’t you think that I was jealous of you.”

“Definitely not, how could you have thought that way?”

Then he heard the other monk wearing all grey-clouds as clothes in a stern voice, “You do not have sufficient seniority to discuss questions raised by the Emperor Cousin. Why didn’t you refer him to the Abbot Master? You were arrogant, thinking that you were good at memorizing and you must be good at preaching.”

The Young Monk did not even look at him and decided to continue the conversation with his Elder Brother, the senior monk Chank’-jack.

“My Second Brother, will I die if you don't show up?”

“Do not think like that, My Young Brother. Why do you even say that at your age?”

“I know as a matter of fact the cloud-angle and the white-angle are here to pick up soul, and it must the one that they are looking for, you know, they reside in my consciousness and they always wanted me to die and reincarnate in the fragile and suffering worlds, and, “ He paused and pointed to his Pineal gland between the cerebri eyebrows that the senior mage could see that it had dimmed to a worriedsome extent since he appeared,and the novice mage continued from his vast knowledge recollection, “you know that my Original Soul instead resides here and they always wanted me to emanate lights of living enlightenment.”

“Do not worry, you have me, you will be safe and we could make it to whatever goals we have.”

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“O? What is your goal then?”

At that junctunre, Chank’-jack senior mage flashed like a thin shadow under some sun rays penetrating the gaps of leaves and branches of trees. And he did not answer, but The Young Monk heard Chank’-jack saying, “What is yours then, Xend'-zeon? Are you lost now?”

“Do you mean I have lost my soul, Brother?”

And The Brother’s shadow grew shakier.

“What’s happening? What’s happened? Are you going, My Brother? “He almost yelled, “You do not have to follow those monks; you don’t have to be so submissive…”

Chank’-jack silently turned into the Lotus Position. Then, paying no need to Xend'-zeon, he stood up and The Young Monk saw that his monk clothes had changed.

He was wearing a loose wide-necked silky tunic-garment and the adorned reflection extended to his hip or knee.

He looked like their Father; who was six foot tall and always had tried to maintain a calm composure on his rather pale face from depression inflicted by the imperial officials and family, and the handsome County Magistrate’s adorn silk garment usually worn with a belt or gathered at the waist.

“Why did you dress like that?” He remembered he only wore like that when he was five years old.

Those monks asked the question that had also previously popped up in the Young Brother’s mind.

He saw that the senior mage had now strangely worn a combination of fabric made of silk, satin, velvet and brocade as a promising and talented student of the Emperor would and should have looked like.

He looked comfortable and he was majestically good-looking in those cloak and accessories.

But it must have been hard for him to have decided to have robed himsinto the Kāṣāya monk clothes in an ordained-dyed colors of brown and saffron. They called them the colors of the broken. Fabrics were coarse for simplicity and detachment of materialism. Head shaved.

The next second, he tore all of them up and put on his Kāṣāya.

He then kow-towed to the monks who at the same juncture, jumped to Xend'-zeon front and threw some branches at Xend'-zeon.

And he woke up yelling “Amitabha! Amitabha!...”

And he saw that a small wooden fish and a bunch of rosary made of Bodhi-beads jumped out from his rucksack that fell lying on the side of the trunks. He grabbed them and senior mage was furious and a phoenix in flames flew out from his silky body and his eyes turned Nephrite Tara-pearl of an Avatar emanating some sounds unfamiliar to Xend’-zeon. He was confused before the senior mage held his hands and said, “Come, let’s go to Phoenix Valley and your present living in the past and future will save you.”

“Yeah? It will be too profound for me to understand, Brother, do you mean I am in danger now?”