The cherry blossoms were in full bloom when the foreigner left on a pilgrimage. He walked for a long time, through many seasons, and when he came upon an old temple he was met with the unhappy news that the beloved master there had just died. Although he was exhausted, the foreigner expressed his wish to pay his respects, and was escorted to a shrine set up in honor of the master in the main hall. All of the monks and high priests had assembled in the hall for mourning. The foreigner was now before the shrine and bowed deeply to the floor in prostration. He remained there for several hours.
"Look at the devotion of the foreigner!" whispered the others, "We bowed for but a few minutes and he remains motionless for hours. Truly, he is enlightened. Let us construct a shrine in his honor."
Soon after the foreigner slowly got up, feeling very refreshed and happy and immediately set out again to continue his pilgrimage.
1 comment:
(glad you're writing again. If only I could be so like your protagonist...)
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