The abbot reminds Kolita of his destiny saying,

‘The road to truth is pathless my son. Do not forget that gathering medicines is the task of a spirit keeper and you are clearly one of them! And remember that medicines and sicknesses are mutually dependent. Therefore the entire universe is nothing but your medicine!’

‘When food is served at a tea ceremony it is called Kaiseki,’ Zhou explains.

‘In between the morning and evening ceremonies, there is ‘yakuseki’.

This loosely translates as a stone in the breast or medicine stone. In ancient times, practicing monks would press heated stones to their bosom in order to suppress hunger. The point of the exercise is to relieve pain and then reduce cuisine to its utmost simplicity and in so doing cultivate the art of selection and preparation.

‘I’m sure you will excel given your sensitivity and heightened awareness!’

At the tea ceremony, heated stones are passed out to each of the monks and they tuck them in the pockets of their kimonos to keep hunger at bay.

A disciple asks Zhou,

‘Just what are the most important things that must be understood and kept in mind for a tea ceremony?’

Zhou says,

‘Firstly, be sure to make a delicious bowl of tea. Then lay the charcoal so that it heats the water. Arrange the flowers as they are in the field. In summer, suggest coolness. In winter, suggest warmth. Do everything ahead of time. Be prepared for rain. And give those with whom you find yourself every consideration.’

The disciple is dissatisfied with this answer.

He says,

‘But that much I already know!’

Zhou replies,

‘Then if you can host a tea ceremony without deviating at all from any of the rules I have just outlined, I will become your disciple!’

The First and Last Goodbye

Kolita tells his father that everyone must follow his own destiny in order to fulfil soul’s purpose. It is a prelude to his immanent departure and a gesture of respect. Deep down, Kolita is ready to go. He understands he cannot live without passion and expect to be at peace with his soul. There are too many questions unanswered and too many problems left unsolved.

‘Because my consciousness is beginning-less I know that I have taken countless rebirths in samsara,’ he says to the man who once was his idol and a Brahmin well versed in the classics.

‘I have already had countless bodies… if they were all gathered together, they would fill the entire world, and all the blood and other bodily fluids that have flowed through them would form an ocean! So great has been my suffering in all these previous lives that I have shed enough tears of sorrow to form yet another ocean!

‘In every single life without exception… I have experienced the sufferings of sickness, ageing, death… being separated from those I love… and being unable to fulfill my wishes. If I do not attain permanent liberation from suffering now, I shall have to experience these sufferings again and again in countless future lives.

‘From the very depths of our hearts… can we not at least try to abandon our attachment to worldly pleasures and attain permanent liberation from contaminated rebirths?’

Question:

What would you say to your son upon hearing that?

‘The man of Tao is established only in that which generates peace.

Thus he is naturally like the metal hidden in the crust of the hills or the pearl submerged in the valleys of the deep.

And therefore he does not look on affluence either as the source of joy or upon lust as the consummation of power.

In this way, he keeps his nose to the grindstone of spiritual accountability…

and he is never tempted to mull over the past…

nor is he prone to entertaining wild imaginings about the future.’

It is more prudent to let it subside and then address the issue with a cool head.’

From ‘The Spirit of Change – I-Ching Secrets for the 21st Century’

When sitting, the body should be still as a rock.

When sleeping, it should be curved like a bow.

When standing, it should be like a tall pine.

The body should be as flexible as a willow in the wind and as relaxed as the petals of a lotus.’