Author Topic: Four monks and a dead body walk into a bar...  (Read 1570 times)

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Offline Geo

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Four monks and a dead body walk into a bar...
« on: March 14, 2022, 10:28:09 PM »
Waves crashed against the rocks as the storm roared on. The din of thunder and the howling of the wind sounded, to Brother Kanemoto's trained ears, as though the heavens were having a competition to see which could be the loudest, like twins fresh out the womb. They hadn't had such a big storm in ages, it had seemingly bounced off the coast of Jericho, hurtled through the Alola islands and then slapped the Central Monastery with everything it had.

His white robes clung to his body as the lashing rain drenched them, and he frowned in discontent. He was meant to undergo jala vakuṭu vima (trans. "Water Crouching") this afternoon, a full two days of meditating just off the island, perched on a wooden post pressed deep into the seabed below. His only nourishment would be a pouch of water that he could drink at sunrise and sunset. Usually, when done in early Autumn like it was supposed to be, the experience would be enlightening, the gentle lap of the waves and the cries of the gulls providing a backdrop for him to peer into himself. The main challenge was not falling unconscious due to lack of food, dehydration or sleep deprivation. If he drifted off, he'd fine himself sinking into the sea. Fortunately for the practise, the amount of actual casualties was low. Compared to the practise of maṭa udav karanna mama kampa venava (trans. "Sky Leap"), where participants jump off a cliff with only a rope they made themselves from grasses to stop them smashing open like a pumpkin, the amount that perished was basically nothing. Less than 30%. Maybe a bit over it on a bad year.

It was probably why so few people attempted it if they had the choice, he mused to himself. He had had high hopes that the experience would help open his mind, and enable him to be greater in tune with the world around him. Those hopes had been quite quickly dashed.

Kanemoto sighed. He was probably going to die.