Today's chapter from the Way of the Initiate is about being honourable. I hope you enjoy. The book has been written as a parable to be read but also more importantly the parable can be read to children with the parent or reader creating their own magic when telling the story. I would love parents to engage their children in the story telling by either asking the kids what they see or experience when listening to the story. Or even better they could have their kids draw, paint or do anything that allows them to express their own creativity.
I thought long and hard about whether to give more descriptions but then I realized that what was important was not my journey but the journey of everyone who reads this parable and takes their on journey down the path of the Initiate.
Be Honourable
"Honour is the nobility of the soul. It is about being consistent in your every thought, word, and action," were the words that broke Huo free from his sleep. He opened his eyes to see the old man standing above him. "Today we will begin a new exercise. Meet me outside the pagoda in ten minutes, and we will begin."
Huo splashed water on his face to wake himself up. He was tired; surely, it was not time to get out of bed. There were times when the disciplines of the old sage seemed downright ridiculous. He hoped that whatever the old man had planned, it would have some value. Huo's thoughts and motivations were not quite right this morning; he had travelled with the sage for nearly ten years, his life had been full of experiences, and along the way he had helped many people - but what of him? What was he getting out of it? Where would it lead him? Even Sages have their bad days, and for some reason that Huo was not able to understand, this was starting out as one of his. It was what it was. He had learnt by now neither to suppress any of the feelings that came up nor react to them, but instead to observe them, as they would be his teacher. That was all well and good, but this morning he could have just as easily walked away from his apprenticeship. What of having fun with friends his own age or finding a woman to fall in love with and marry? Since they had been staying in the Pagoda in the city, he had seen others his own age enjoying their lives and having fun. Sometimes a normal life had its advantages.
Out in front of the Pagoda, all was quiet. There was no noise in the city, as everyone except he and the old sage were asleep; even the shopkeepers, who woke early to prepare for the daily market, were still asleep. What madness did the old man have planned for this day?
Huo found the old sage at the side of the Pagoda, where he was carrying rocks from the front of the Pagoda to the garden on the left side. The old man simply looked up, and with a wave of his hand expected Huo to follow his example. So for the next two hours, they shifted hundreds of rocks from the front of the Pagoda to the garden. By the time the sun had risen, hundreds of people had walked past the Pagoda, many laughing at the old sage and his apprentice moving the rocks to the garden. Huo was becoming angry at the passers by, but the old man's demeanor never changed; he simply greeted their laughter with a nod and a smile and continued moving the rocks. By the time they had finished moving the rocks, Huo was sweaty, tired, and exhausted. He tried on many occasions to question the sage, but each time he received no response. In the end, he gave up asking; he knew better than to waste his time trying to get the old man to talk when he was in one of his focused, silent moments.
Once they were finished, the old man suggested that they clean up and meet again in the garden after they had meditated and broken their fast. Without another word or explanation, the old sage walked back towards the entrance to the Pagoda, where he bowed three times, removed his shoes, then entered the sacred space.
All the way through the meditation and breakfast, Huo could not help thinking about why they had moved all the rocks during the middle of the night. Maybe it was to be a surprise for the monks in the Pagoda, or maybe the old sage wanted to do it because he had something special planned for the day. Millions of thoughts ran through the young man's mind, so many that he had not even noticed that the old man did not meditate with him or that his breakfast had been improved by extra helpings of many local delicacies, thanks to a young girl in the kitchen who had taken a shine to him. If he had been in the moment, rather than worrying about the future or the past, he would have noticed these things, especially the young girl who served him his breakfast - for if I do say so myself, she was very beautiful with her jade green eyes and blue black hair that she wore back in a long ponytail. But then I may be biased, as she was also to become the apprentice of an old sage, a fact that Huo was totally unaware of.
When he had had his fill of an excellent breakfast – which, to be honest, was wasted on him - Huo wandered out to the garden. There, waiting him for him in the garden, was the old sage. The moment Huo arrived was the moment the old sage began to work. Huo watched in a measure of horror and mirth as the old man picked up a rock from the garden and carried it back to the front of the Pagoda. Shaking his head, Huo joined in, and over the next few hours - amongst swearing and other unkind words - the two of them moved every rock from the garden back to the front of the Pagoda.
It was while carrying the last rock that Huo totally lost it. It was not in the way you would think (for two hours he had ranted and raved), but now while carrying the last rock he began to laugh, finally understanding why the old sage had them doing what to anybody else would have seemed ridiculous. After he placed down the last rock, he went over to the old man and gave him a hug; it was the first time he had really shown this type of affection to the old man. In that moment, the future and past drifted away and he was totally in the now. The old man smiled, and a tear escaped from his left eye. It had taken ten years, but now the young man's heart was fully beginning to open. At last, he was honoring who he was and what he had become; he was honoring the process of life.
Blessings and Peace and may you open up to your own innate creativity and honour every person or animal you meet along the way.
Blessings and Peace
Geof
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The 33rd Sage and the 33rd Sage and the Initiate are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Watersons, Xlibris, a number of online book stores and on my websites.
The Way of the Initiate will be published late 2013
Twitter @GeofSpalding
Official Author Blog - the33rdsage.authorsxpress.com/
Translatable Author Blog - 33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/
Book Websites 'The 33rd Sage,' at www.33rdsage.com
'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' at www.the33rdsage.com
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