Let the training begin - Pagoda of Harmony - Chyril 28 MT

[Phuong Quang Huu]

The Pagoda of Harmony was a large square tower that stood out in the middle of the monastery with its multiple red roofs, each floor a little smaller than the next until finally a thin pillar reached up to the skies, supporting a large bell. It was this bell that called the Sojen to attention during important ceremonies or festivals.

Inside in the lower hall the four elements Fire, Earth, Air and Water each had their own shrine, each its own wall, forming the perfect square, while in the middle the four were symbolically combined to form harmony. In front of the shrines were countless little statues that visitors had left, representations of Kami. Some burned candles or incense, giving the air a heady scent.

After the ceremony greeting the sun, Huu walked slowly towards the Pagoda. His natural inclination was to hurry from place to place so today he forced himself to walk slowly and take in the sights and sounds of the early morning.

His instructions were simple enough. Go to the Pagoda when he was ready for training. Huu sniffed. If he waited until he felt ready, the moment may never come. So he came this morning and hoped that readiness would come when it was needed.

[Gaelena]

As Huu approached the pagoda, a familiar figure was easily seen, his yellow robes calling the eye to him. It was Nguyen Dranh Phu, his bald head catching the morningtide light. He bowed slightly as the student neared. "May Harmony be your path, Phoung Quang Huu. Have you come ready to start your training?," he asked

[Phuong Quang Huu]

Huu bowed low in greetings. "I have Phu Oang." Huu answered simply. "I spent the time since we last met in meditation and have learned only that I am not yet ready to see enlightenment in my own troubled thoughts." Huu admitted. "It is time for me to take the first step on the path and not simply contemplate the journey I might take."

[Gaelena]

The monk nodded at Huu's words, taking several flickers before answering. "If you believe this is the correct path for you to journey now, then you are most welcome," he said. "Follow me."

He turned then and headed into the sanctuary, speaking as he walked. "You understand that the training is not easy and not for everyone. There will be times when you are asked to do something that you may think is beneath you or too far above you. Know that your tasks are chosen on purpose," he said as they made their way towards an open courtyard. "Do you accept to do as asked?"

[Phuong Quang Huu]

"I do." Huu answered simply. "I will trust in my teacher's wisdom and seek to cultivate my own humility." The words came out easily enough. Time will tell if he truly meant them. "Though I do hope that in time through revelation or explanation, that I shall come to know these reasons." He added.

[Gaelena]

The expression on the monk's face didn't change, but there was a pause before he answered, as though weighing the words. "No task is given without meaning. Each task you undertake will be a lesson you must learn. Some tasks will be harder than others, but that does not mean one is less valuable. Everything has a meaning," he said. "Not every lesson will be explained, for in doing so, you lose the lesson. There is much self-discovery on this path."

[Phuong Quang Huu]

Huu took a moment to digest that. Lessons in the past had been concrete things. The notion that a lesson might be given with the answers unknown even to the teacher was an odd thought. In the end, Huu simply nodded. "Then I shall trust that in time I will become a fine teacher of myself." Huu bowed to the wise monk and awaited his instructions.

[Gaelena]

Phu almost smiled at Huu's words. "I believe you have the power to be such," he said with a small nod. He moved them into the middle of the courtyard. "Here is where you will leave all your worries, all your cares, all your preconcieved notions. From this point, your mind and heart must be clear, to accept all the teachings we offer you. I will leave you here for a bit, to allow you time to unburden yourself in privacy. Then, the lessons will begin."

Phu then bowed slightly and left Huu. The courtyard around him was broken into 4 equal sections, each corner to a different direction. At each corner sat a bonsai tree, each one different from the others. One was shaped like a rolling wave on the sea. Another looked like a green flame. The next looked bent to the wind. Finally, the last was allowed free growth, its limbs unclipped. The walkway that separated each corner had a symbol pressed into the clay midway down. They represented four of the five elements. Earth, Wind, Water and Fire. It was quiet in the courtyard, only the sound of a lone dove could be heard.

[Maeve]

OOC: We are going to summarize this. I would like you to post to this, and then after Galeana's set up which will be a summary of what the lesson consists of, write a summary in return what your understanding is and how you would personally approach this since using magick is different for everybody. On the basis of this I will skill and you can use this as a basis for your Recess write up.

[Phuong Quang Huu]

"Leave behind all my worries, cares, and preconceived notions." Huu murmured as Phu withdrew. "As if it were that simple." Huu looked around at the silence of the garden. "Or is he telling me that it really is that simple? Are all the difficulties my own?"

Huu meditated first before the bonsai of flame. Here he took his ambition and his pride and his fear and fed them one by one to the flame until nought remained. He meditated then upon the beat tree of Air. First he pictured the smoke of his burned emotions wafted away far from him. He breathed in the cleansing air of the monastery and breathed out the toxic clouds of nobility than poisoned him still. Before the tree of water, he let himself drift on the currents of his mind and wherever he found doubt or concern he let the sea wash him clean of it. Lastly, Huu knelt before the wild tree of Earth and envisioned himself as fertile soil with no seeds within, a new plot within which he knew not what would grow.

The four elements surrounded him lacking only harmony to bind them in peaceful order. That was what he must become. It feel to him to become the fifth element, to complete this garden. "I am ready." He spoke to whoever might be listening.

[Gaelena]

It really was that simple and yet one of the more difficult requests that could be placed on a person. From early childhood, it is taught to focus on getting ahead, getting promoted, focus on past failures and successes. So to release those worries and thoughts, it was true work. Time flew by as Huu worked at his task.

By the time he called out, the sun had moved halfway across the sky and shadows were starting to fill the courtyard. "I am here," said Phu, his voice close by. "Let us begin." He motioned for Huu to follow him, moving him into an inner temple. Once inside, he motioned for Huu to sit in front of a intricately tied knot of red silk. "Your first lesson is focus. You must block out all noise, all though, of anything but the knot. Focus on the knot. Imagine slowly untying the knot. Follow the twists and turns. Do not simply cut through it," he said, knowing how some first time students tried to get through the task. "See the knot in your mind. Close your eyes. And...begin."

[Phuong Quang Huu]

Huu sat as instructed before the elaborate tangle of silk. The color pleased him as red was the color of his family. Your family, no longer. He reminded himself sternly. At the instruction to close his eyes, Huu felt a stab of disbelief and his eyes scanned the knot quickly as though desperation could aid memory.

Huu tried to summon that image of the knot back before his eyes. For long burns, his brow furrowed in concentration and his hands gripped his knees tightly. Finally he gave up that tactic with a sigh. Even if I could succeed, that would be remembering the knot not seeing it. No, the master clearly meant something else. Focus he said. Focus on the knot.

Huu swung his legs up onto the chair and rested his feet on his hands. He templed his hands before him and once again gave his fears and frustrations to the four elements. Only then did he focus on the knot. Huu wished that he had never the knot with his waking eyes. It was all too easy to find himself focusing on the memory instead of the thing itself.

Unbidden, a memory came to him from his martial arts training. It was a moment of revelation: the first time when all the talk of energy flows through his body became reality instead of words. He was one with his moving limbs and through that flow at one with the world, with the universe. His meditation now focused on that feeling of being connected and on the flows of energy in all things but most importantly in the knot itself.

It came slowly like the world coming into focus after a long sleep one was loathe to wake from. All about him were colors. They reminded Huu of the banners hung for the festivals only they flowed like streams of cloth. Surrounding him were flows of palest blue while before him in verdant green were the flows that made up the knot. Where the flows of air were energetic and dashing about urgently, those of the silk moved little. They were content to be as they were.

How long Huu studied the knot he could not say so absorbed was he by its many loops and crossings. Still, the pattern was clear to Huu's eyes. The method of its unraveling was learned. Yet, Huu also knew that it could not be undone by mortal fingers. The bindings were too tight to be worked and though he could see the flows, Huu was unable to shift them. He needed help.

That is the true lesson here. For while he had toiled here, Huu forgot the simple truth. The power to work the energies of the world was given to the Kami not to mortal man. In focusing on himself, he had been neglecting the very land he was supposed to serve and protect.

His body did not move at all but in his mind he bowed low and spoke to the knot. Most honorable spirits of silk, born of the land and shaped by the hands of men, this unworthy man would ask a boon of you. I know that you are comfortable as you are. I know that I have only begun to venerate the Kami as I should. Yet, the task has been given to me to unravel the knot in which you now rest and only with your aid might I achieve this. I pray that you take pity on your humble servant and show me what must be done.

For long burns nothing happened and then Huu felt the energies from the silk flow into him. He was one with its looping folds and at the direction of his thoughts the bindings relaxed and the silk fell to the floor. Huu opened his eyes and smiled as the same vision was beheld by his waking eyes. "Thank you, spirits of silk and earth. I shall venerate you always and never forget the lessons you have taught me." Huu bowed towards the silk on the floor and sank back in the chair exhausted.

[Gaelena]

Huu had been sitting for a long time. The sun had passed all the way across the sky, leaving him to see only with the aid of several dozen candles that had been lit while he was concentrating on his lesson. The smell of beeswax and incense filled the air. On the ground before him lay the silk, inside of which had rested a single jade bead, the silk strung through it. Around the bead was an inscription, "Help is available to all those who are humble enough to ask."

Phu stepped forward on silent feet. "You have done well, today. Now, you must rest." He made a slight bow as two more monks came forward and gathered up the silk, slipping it from the bead, which was placed in Phu's hand. He held it out to Huu. "Your first lesson."

[Phuong Quang Huu]

Huu smiled and unfolded his cramped legs slowly. Now that he was no longer focusing on the knot, he could feel the aches of his body. He reached out for the bead but did not take it. Instead he placed the tip of one finger upon it and felt its smooth surface.

"Let it remain here to instruct another." Huu said softly. "Its words are already written on my heart. I need no reminders." He bowed low to Phu. "Thank you for the lesson. I shall return tomorrow to ask for more help."

OOC: Thank you for a fun little thread.

[Maeve]

Skilled!