The Legend of the 33rd Sage - Chapter 29

Chapter 29 - Philosophical Discipline 

Finding philosophers was the next part of the Journey for Huo. He had been taught in the ways of the Tao. His connection with nature had seen it become a teaching in itself. Everywhere he went he would rise before dawn and wash himself in the water of a river or lake to refresh himself with the life giving waters of the Tao. Then he would meditate for about twenty four minutes; one for each hour of the day. It was important to stay in a balance and not spend all day meditating, like some monks, which was out of a balance. It may have made the practitioner more spirit than human but also it had a way of disconnecting him from other humans and Huo understood that his life's mission was to inspire others through his stories and he could not do that meditating in a cave.

The next year of his life he dedicated to studying other philosophers and philosophies. It was not that he wanted to move away from his Taoist practices; it was that he wanted to understand what it was to be human and in each of the philosophies he came into contact with, there was an element or kernel of truth that he may not have come across in Taoism.

It was a strange and wonderful time. Strange because, he once again became the student rather than the teacher, but in reality whenever he taught or told his stories he was ever the student, learning as much from his stories, as any of the participants in his ever growing audience. But for a year he chose not to teach at all but become the student. It was wonderful because he learnt so much in a number of ways. Of course he learnt from the great philosophers, but he also learnt from those who were listening to the teachings and the questions they asked. Because he could also see their auras he understood what they were saying at a deeper level than the mere words themselves. He also learnt a great deal from his reactions to the teachers, both from an intellectual and also a feeling level. Occasionally when he did not agree with what was being said, his ego would want to speak up and show how special he was.

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