Chapter 17 - Purification
It was nearing the end of Autumn when Huo entered the Forest of K'an. The moment his feet touched the earth, inside the forest, he felt energized; a pulse of energy shooting through his body. He had the sense that he was home, even though he had never been here in his life. He stood in an opening and allowed his feeling self to connect with the Forest and the Lake. The feeling that returned was one of serenity and tranquility. The whole area felt wonderful but there was a spot to the west of him which had a higher energy than anywhere else. He walked off in that direction. After breaking through a row of trees he could see the Lake of Li before him. His final few steps to the lake were done in such a sacred way that anybody watching him would have though he was in a monastery or Pagoda. Each time his foot struck the earth there was a deep connection.
He thought of his parents and tears streamed from his eyes; if they could only see him now, but in his heart he knew they could and like him they were eternal, immortal and infinite. This lifetime was just a brief flash of an infinite light which burned through him.
Once he reached the waters edge, he stopped for a brief moment and sat on a large rock. He instantly felt the old sage; this was obviously the rock the old man used to teach his students from. Tears again escaped the safety of his eyes. He had lived a wonderful life and it had taught him many things. It was time for him to give back some of the beauty that had been shared with him. He was not sure how he would do it or where. The only thing he did know was that he was here to be purified by the Lake of Li; to allow its special waters to wash over and purify him; clear him of any emotion he was still storing in his body, for the next part of his journey required him to be cleansed.
Huo removed his tatty clothes and put them by the base of the rock. For the longest time he sat naked staring into the Lake of the Li, but really he was staring into himself and the journey through life which had brought him to this moment. There were wonderful times spent with his parents and of course with the old sage, but between these times there was such a lot of pain. Firstly from losing his parents and in the bullying he received from the other children and some of their parents after he was disfigured in the fire. The fire he had caused because of his love of flames. As a child he was fascinated by fire, not so much for the burning properties or it's destructive powers it was its ability to throw light which had him enthralled. He would sit for hours when the others were asleep playing with candles trying to create different shapes and effects by changing the direction of the light. Just like his name which meant Fire; he was fascinated by all aspects of the flames which licked the air and moved in the breeze, until that one fateful evening when it all went wrong.
He was still not sure exactly what happened. He had been playing with the candle when he had become overcome by sleep. The next thing he remembered was being carried out of the house through smoke and flames. He had not even realized that he had been burned because he had gone into shock and felt numb. The numbness became depression when he found out his parents had died in the fire. It was then that he suppressed the feelings; feelings which were now coming back in gigantic waves. His grief was so strong that he threw himself in the Lake of Li, not caring at that moment whether he lived or died.
His body drifted down into the depths of the lake. The love he felt for his parents mixing with the grief and pain he felt for causing their deaths. The waters of the Lake were bringing up every emotion he had ever suppressed and he was forced to feel everyone of them. It was painful and yet fascinating; he watched as some emotions were attached to experiences that seemed so insignificant and yet for some reason they had mattered greatly. It was a word here, a thought there, an off the cuff remark by a passer by; it was amazing what he had let affect him and for the most part his conscious self had not been aware of it. In the purification by the Lake of Li, Huo began to understand the power of the subconscious mind to direct our lives and create lives that we would not consciously choose, but choose we did as our subconscious minds created the world from its limited perspective.
Time seemed to stand still as Huo floated on the bottom of the lake. It was as if the bottom of the lake represented the bottom of his subconscious mind, as he cleared the last dregs of the thoughts which had trapped him under the control of the subconscious mind.
At that moment when he was given the choice between passing over to higher self or life, he chose life; he felt deep in his being that there was much he still needed and wanted to do in this lifetime.
Huo floated to the top and when he broke through the surface he felt purified; cleansed of all the emotions that were holding him back from living inside his infinite spirit. Once on the surface he swam back to the shore where he lay in the afternoon sun, replaying his life in his mind's eye. When he observed the moments when he was out of control, he noticed a recurring theme. Every time he went out of a balance it was caused by four emotions; anger at himself, judgement of others, frustration at not getting his needs met or moments when he could not control his surroundings.
As each memory came up he thanked it for its teaching and released it from his being. It was late in the afternoon when he had finally released all the unconscious hurt, pain and emotions. The Lake of Purification had done its job.
As the chill hit the air he dressed in his ragged old clothes, but they did not appear raggedy any more. It was as if by releasing the negativity he had stored stored in his body that his clothes had been renewed and even changed in colour. It was impossible but it did happen.
He sat on the rock in his new plum red robe, cinched by a plum red sash.
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