As Prophet - Chapter 110



Only Krnovel

Episode 110. Evening Offering

“You can’t judge history like this, but I think that Gaesomun’s military power ultimately led to the fall of Goguryeo. I’m not trying to judge who is right or wrong. It could be that he was too strong and couldn’t take care of other things, or that many cities had already been invaded, increasing the amount of empty land without people, but that’s the result.”

“The examples are poor.”

“That’s right. It’s so obvious to us, but it’s very hard to explain. I know it’s not convincing, but that’s how it is. The reason I chose the method of education through the academy was because I wanted to have someone who had crossed the bridge do something important. I thought that level of intervention in worldly affairs was okay.”

“What about the Japanese invasion? Wasn’t it truly your fault that you ended the Japanese invasion?”

“That’s why I didn’t seek credit, and I didn’t put my name on the list of meritorious subjects. I thought that if I kept quiet, there wouldn’t be any problems. That’s not being humble.”

“Ah! So that’s why you asked to be removed from the list of public officials on purpose. Oh no. We didn’t even know that.”

“The wind blows and sweeps across the smooth ground. It is a disaster.”

The subject is missing, but the general now knows the meaning. Isn’t he the unmanned man from the sky who slaughtered a hundred people alone? And he didn’t fight desperately, but rather caught the scary assassins like swatting flies.

“I guess I’ll have to do it in the end.”

“Yes, but… … .”

“Just what?”

The general asked urgently.

“However, when doing something like this, it is good to have a sense of mission. I hope it is not for personal gain or selfish desire. I hope it is not for coveting the throne. That way, it is good for both the person involved and everyone else.”

“It’s getting more and more difficult.”

The two men walked along the pine forest path and went up to the mountain temple, talking as if they were having a serious conversation. Dalcheon spread out his palm as if he was talking to someone else and pointed to the main hall beyond the lecture hall.

“This is a sacred place of prayer. Well, it was a long time ago, but it is believed that the Buddha’s real relics are enshrined here. While you are here, please pray.”

“this.”

Dalcheon looked back at Wonju without listening to the prince’s answer. Monk Wonju, who had been following him silently until now and had come close enough to eavesdrop on many conversations, nodded with a serious face and moved forward.

“This way, Your Majesty.”

“Ugh.”

I went up the stairs that passed under the lecture hall and headed towards the main hall. When the two guards ran in and looked inside and out and the rest surrounded the main hall, the prince and the monk Wonju disappeared into the main hall.

Dalcheon sighed and headed towards the temple.

“Is it time to eat?”

I looked toward the restaurant*.

* Restaurant: Now the word gongyanggan is used, but in the past it was a restaurant. Geumdang (金堂), gyeongdang (經堂), seungdang (僧堂), jongdang (鐘堂), pagoda (塔), lecture hall (講堂), and sikdang (食堂). A temple with these seven was also called Childangaram (七堂伽藍).

Instead of going into the long room of the restaurant, I sat at the back of the front yard of the restaurant and enjoyed the leisurely evening. The sky, which was already hazy and excited by the sunlight disappearing into the warm evening air before the summer heat really set in, was dyed red.

* * *

As he sat quietly in meditation, Mukhyeong came up to him silently and stood in front of him three times. Dalcheon took a deep breath and raised his head.

“Did I bother you?”

“yes.”

“I’m sorry. And first of all, thank you. I wanted to say something nice, but when I see your face, I can’t think of anything to say. Just thank you. Thanks to you, I survived.”

“Don’t overdo it. I told you not to move like that. Sword wounds don’t heal easily. Above all, the pain lasts a lifetime.”

“I know. I should have studied harder when I was learning, but I was arrogant. I truly realized this after seeing the master’s martial arts.”

“What the… the child was lying face down with his head down.”

“But I saw it all. The airflow, their screams, the eerie sound of cutting. And even in the midst of the pain, I turned over and saw a little bit. It’s not like I didn’t see it at all.”

“Thanks for buying me some time. Those guys had another head. They lured me out and attacked me. I was foolish to fall for that. I thought the first guys who came were all there were. They were just sentries. Anyway, I’m glad I’m alive. It’s a life I’ve been given again. Please cherish it and watch over it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. And thank you.”

Dalcheon lifted his chin and pointed to the yard.

“Try doing your taxes. I’ll take a look.”

“Here?”

“No, are you going to choose a place? A person who is learning.”

“no.”

Mukhyeong realized later that he had been arrogant about studying. He thought that there was not much difference between him and the masters. He thought that he was just good at formulas and had little internal energy. After seeing Dalcheon’s martial arts, he truly reflected on it.

“All right.”

Mukhyeong took out a long sword and went through the entire process from beginning to end.

“The movements are accurate. But where is the momentum?”

“Are you there?”

I feel like an idiot when I stand in front of this person.

“Flow is important. You have to realize the sword intent to see the flow. You have to connect with the flow to realize the sword intent. It is not important to be fast or slow, but to be overwhelmed by the flow. You have to control the entire space.”

“ah!”

Mukhyeong seemed to understand the word “mastery” at first glance. He did it again. Instead of continuing to dance, he took over the space while inhaling and exhaling. After completing another round of washing, he closed his eyes and asked.

“Is it done?”

“Just a little! Just a little. Do it ten more times. You have to move like that, pushing away space, and then cut through all of space-time at once.”

It’s a difficult word. It’s easy to say, but I can’t even imagine how to implement such a system.

“how…….”

Dalcheon got up and jumped out, grabbed a tree branch and waved around a few formulas of the law. The entire space where the sword was set up moved. The energy moved forward as if it was a wave, and the sword energy that filled the space caused the surroundings to sparkle with silver.

“oh!”

“Like this. Again!”

“My arms are a little… … .”

“Who told you to swing your sword with your arm?”

Gwanju Dalcheon was there.

“Yes, I understand.”

While Mukhyeong was doing this ten times, Dalcheon looked at the darkening western sky and swallowed hard.

“No, it’s meal time, so why are you still praying?”

I went to the end of the long building and craned my neck to look. I went to the front of the restaurant and signaled to the Bodhisattva who was offering food.

“Oh, Bodhisattva, aren’t you going to ring the bell?”

“The high priest is in the temple.”

“Oh, it’s time. You should ring the bell so I can eat.”

“Hey, young man! Even if you’re hungry, just hold on for a little longer.”

Dalcheon, who had suddenly become a bachelor, sighed while rubbing his cheek with his hand.

“It’s no use when a young person sighs like that.”

“Oh, yes.”

Mukhyeong, who was practicing tax law, held back a laugh and took the exam.

“I will go and come back.”

“No, isn’t it because it seems easier to ask him to come back than to study swordsmanship?”

“Of course I am still a student, but now I am also the Grand Princess’s bodyguard. The job of an escort is not just to protect, but, um, well, um… … I will tell you to go and come now.”

“You can pray while eating, so come first and have dinner. The monks haven’t eaten yet.”

“Are there any seats?”

Dalcheon looked at the group of young monks who were watching from beyond the pine forest. It seemed that he didn’t even realize how much the silent form had been ruined. He felt sorry and turned his head away.

“All right.”

The wish of many people was interrupted when the silent one went up and made a sound of ‘Keumheum, keumheum’ and said that they should continue after the evening offering.

* * *

I didn’t wonder what kind of prayer it was. I just assumed that if I did as I was told, things would work out. When the general entered the dining hall, the monks rushed in.

I told the donor Bodhisattva to pay attention to the food, but it was a poor temple meal. There was nothing to eat. They mixed black mixed grain rice with some unknown vegetables and mixed it with salt.

Dalcheon, sitting in front of the prince, mixed the food and ate it deliciously. Then, when the offering-giver Bodhisattva was not there, he went into the kitchen, brought a bottle of sesame oil, and sprinkled it on the prince’s bowl and his bowl.

“Ahem. This will make things a little better. Hahaha!”

Is it a symbol of doing something and seeing? It looks like he is looking around furtively to see if anyone is watching. He rubs it again and puts it in his mouth, feeling free as if he were at home.

“Eat plenty. Food with lots of vegetables is good for your health.”

“Yes.”

He tempted Wonju, who was ogling the bottle of sesame oil.

“Would you like some for the monk Wonju?”

“no.”

I cannot participate in Dalcheon’s atrocity of sprinkling a drop of vegetable seasoning on my feet when I was preparing vegetables for dozens of people to eat.

Dalcheon looked behind him and secretly put it back in its original position when the Bodhisattva who was going back and forth was not there.

“lol.”

No one speaks. This is because there are those who practice silence. This is because the words I speak can come back to me and affect my studies. Dalcheon, who felt anew that this was a small temple where he could study, laughed silently once more and ate diligently. The time of silence continued for a long time.

Perhaps because of the dreary atmosphere, the people who had eaten in a hurry left the restaurant without making a sound. The old man, who had arrived late, came over and grabbed my shoulder, and laughed quietly, saying, “Heh.”

“Eat my!”

“Yes, Grandpa, eat a lot too.”

“I need to eat to gain strength.”

He doesn’t care about the army or the soldiers at all. He only watches the mood of one person, Wonju, and is careful not to let the chiefs hear him. He brings twice as much as a person would eat in a bowl and makes vegetable rice, and starts eating at a seat across the river.

After all the monks left, Dalcheon breathed a sigh of relief.

“The number of monks studying has increased.”

“A temple far downstream was destroyed. The monks there were scattered, and the chief monks came here. They must have thought it would be better because it was deep in the mountains, but the situation is not good here or there.”

We live in a world where the gap between the two is disappearing. We know that their studies will not be recognized by the world and will disappear as meaningless due to this causal relationship, but what about the suffering of those who are suffering now? Is it true that their suffering is also the result of causality without precedence?

After Dalcheon finished eating, he sat down next to Bulmokhani, who was eating diligently.

“Hehehe.”

“Hehehe.”

We face each other for a moment and smile. We sit close enough that our shoulders touch.

“Do you study at night too, Grandpa?”

“Well, I’ll do the Hokuto Shinkong.”

“You have to sleep.”

“I sleep well. I sleep when I lie down.”

It was the time when all the other monks left. They were all left behind because of the great prince who forced them to eat food that did not suit them. Wonju monk’s eyes sparkled. He knew that Wuheo Jinin was close to Bulmokhani, but this was the first time he learned what he was teaching. Because of the great prince, he couldn’t ask and just swallowed his saliva. Dalcheon’s teachings were very uncomfortable because they were not of the same kind as us.

“The Big Dipper must be performed when the star energy is strong.”

“It’s always holy here. We do it every day.”

“What about the medicine?”

“I ate everything you gave me the other day. The medicine doesn’t taste good. It’s bitter.”

“Okay. I’ll make it again.”