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Please stop going to China.

Park Jinseong quietly gazed at Ashtosh after hearing that story.

Quietly.

Sending a gaze that held a meaning distinctly different from mere exploration earlier.

“Seeker, I know. I understand why you wish to visit China. I can vaguely imagine the reason….”

Ashtosh received Jinseong’s gaze with hollow eyes.

Eyes that seemed to hold nothing but ashes left behind after everything has burned away.

With his left eye clouded by ashes that prevented him from reading beyond the Window to the Heart.

The layers of ash were so thick.

So much so that it created a barrier against peering into the Window to the Heart…

But it wasn’t exactly easier to look through his right eye either.

Those clear and steady eyes made it difficult to read another meaning instead.

As if holding an Unmoved Heart, the unwavering gaze made it hard to grasp its intentions.

No, it wasn’t just the gaze.

His entire body.

Even without consciously controlling it, his entire body was sending signals that obstructed understanding his meaning.

Some stemmed from the failing body of old age.

Some mirrored his unmoving heart directly.

Some were a state attained after long mental cultivation.

Ashtosh could prevent Jinseong from reading him.

And the same applied to Ashtosh.

He too had attempted to discern Jinseong’s insides with his right eye, but soon realized it was difficult.

Despite shocking words, the reaction was exceedingly ambiguous.

The mirage created by the monster of the night seemed more clear than this.

Like the old tale of blind men touching an elephant to assess it, he couldn’t properly approach the essence while vaguely sensing its substance. Or perhaps it was like deliberately receiving a distorted image to contaminate information.

The attitude of the shaman named Park Jinseong seemed to reflect a different kind of Unmoved Heart.

‘Not being swayed is not to be called a diamond.’

In Buddhism, an Unmoved Heart doesn’t refer to something rigid.

It’s not something that bends like reeds, nor is it something that can embrace all like the vast sea.

It simply means not holding things in the heart for a long time.

Thus, not being governed or colored by it.

That is what is called an Unmoved Heart.

But could there really be only that one way for a person’s heart to remain unmoved?

Ashtosh, while exploring the spirit, obtained his own kind of Unmoved Heart.

From the countless minds, memories, and information, he learned how to maintain himself without being contaminated, and through that method, he continues to wander, seeking the truth.

However… even he found Jinseong’s Unmoved Heart to be quite peculiar.

Perhaps it could be said to resemble fire.

No matter how much it changes shape, no matter how its intensity fluctuates and transforms, it remains fire at its core.

No matter how much firewood is added, it cannot change its essence, and even if disturbed, it won’t extinguish; it is eternal.

Yes.

As mentioned earlier, that shaman’s flame is close to a symbol.

And that symbol must represent the author’s heart.

That flame could be a reflection of his life.

Flame.

That which burns something.

An occurrence that continuously consumes prey while emitting heat and light.

The many myths and stories that people feared and admired, flowing with light that is eternal alongside human history…

Perhaps it even shares the self-destructive quality of fire.

The tendency to burn brightly then extinguish without a thought, resembling that quality too.

If that’s the case, then this person named Park Jinseong aligns perfectly with the ability of magic.

Maybe it’s something akin to destiny.

Not a destiny given by the heavens, nor by a divine being… but a bondage and fate chosen by oneself.

“Do you know? The nature of fire.”

Thus, Ashtosh couldn’t help but bring up this topic.

“Fire burns life, but it is also a being intimately close to life.”

He turned to the window of the camper.

Then, with his left eye, now unable to see light, he captured the sun in his view.

He couldn’t feel the light that seemed blinding, but he made an effort to hold onto that warmth.

As if to convey the grace of the sun that is the ultimate flame, the star that birthed him.

“The sun made of fire is responsible for the life of this star. If you think of it like that, we living on this little star—all things, both plants and animals, even the tiny unseen creatures—might as well be children of that sun.”

“Children of the sun.”

Park Jinseong also turned to the window, following Ashtosh, and slowly spoke.

“It is said all life on Earth began in the sea. If that’s the case, since we were born from the sea, it seems correct to say we are children of the sun.”

“Hahaha.”

Ashtosh laughed at Jinseong’s words.

“That is indeed true. We are children of the sea, children of the sun, children of the universe.”

And

“We are also children of the stars.”

He smiled, revealing his scattered teeth.

“In Buddhism, it is said we are children of the universe, and we are not lesser beings than the trees of this world or the stars in the sky.”

“….”

“The universe can be the human heart, the body, or the soul. Therefore, how can life, which encompasses everything, not be a part of the universe?”

The human body resembles the universe.

The human mind is the universe itself.

The human soul coexists with the universe.

“Listen, Seeker. Hence, I have no choice but to convey this to you.”

Humans are born with the universe.

And they die with the universe.

If something exists, yet cannot be recognized, how can it truly exist?

The moment a person recognizes the universe, the universe also begins to exist from that moment.

One could say that the human mind is indeed like the universe.

And amidst this logic, we realized that we could influence the world only because we comprehended it.

Ah. So heavy yet heavy it is.

That duty, that right, is too heavy and burdensome….

Isn’t that so?

Seeker.

“If I hadn’t known, I wouldn’t have to block it; but, now that I’ve seen it, I have no choice but to speak.”

Thus, I say.

“Seeker, I have seen it. I saw the faint glow of a lantern illuminating that shadow, and this might surely be the guidance of Waheguru…”

With my feeble lantern, I couldn’t see even a fragment of the seeker.

But as a person walks, traces are left behind.

When one walks on dirt, it gets scraped.

If one walks on mud, footprints are made.

If one walks on snow, it solidly accumulates and leaves the shape of the footprints.

If one walks on a water puddle, ripples form.

If one walks on wood, the branches bend, and the leaves shake.

This indicates that a person cannot exist independently in the world; it speaks to the organic connectivity of the world.

Thus, I speak of what I discerned within that logic.

“If the Seeker goes to China, flames will rise. Very intense flames.”

And the outcome of that ripple might have been something he wished to prevent.

Perhaps he was convinced that Waheguru showed him that fragment to stop this.

Therefore, I cannot help but speak.

“Those flames could be another ember capable of burning the world. So I will say this, Seeker.”

Park Jinseong smiled broadly at Ashtosh’s words.

“Human perception is indeed short; if they see only one facet, they cannot judge beyond that.”

Some look at the universe’s dark side and see only darkness.

Others look at the light of the stars and say it’s full of light.

Some look at the astronomical distances between stars and declare the universe endlessly empty.

Some see a burning star and proclaim it’s full of flames.

And some, due to the overly tranquil visage, find it void and filled only with the coldness of decay.

But how can one judge the universe based on any single element?

All of that is simply the universe.

The universe combines all of that and exists outside our perception.

Thus, Park Jinseong speaks to Ashtosh.

“Just as a person can be a child of the sun, a child of the flame, and also perhaps a child of the sea. Viewing it from that fragment is an embodiment of futility, carrying with it the emptiness of mirages that vanish upon merely closing and opening one’s eyes. How can one be so certain about that?”

In some respects, fire and the sea are remarkably similar.

The flickering fire and the lapping waves both break and merge, maintaining themselves in that process.

So, what arises in China might not simply be flames but could very well be waves.

Not an ember but perhaps a droplet of water.

“I know. You won’t be easily swayed by my words…. I had an inkling of that.”

Ashtosh gazed at Jinseong, who displayed his determination to go to China.

Then, he uttered a word that would solidify that smile on his face.

“Seeker, I will give you the clue to immortality.”

 

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