The next day at noon, the rest of the pilgrims arrived one after another. Many of them just came to visit the monastery and did not ask to stay there for ascetic practice. They wandered around for a while, left offerings, and then returned.
Of course, there was also a stubborn Nord Man who insisted on learning the Way of the Voice from the Greybeards. His name was Dilo, from Whiterun. He was an outgoing tall man with a sunburn on his face, red on both sides of his nose, and he always liked to grin, revealing his bright white front teeth, looking like a big silly rabbit.
Life in the monastery was austere and uninteresting. Jonas had no conditions to learn magic here, so he simply focused on learning Dragon Language and practicing kung fu.
Dilo got along well with Jonas but didn't interact much with Simon; he didn't like serious guys like the Troll.
When Jonas got up early to exercise every day, Dilo would also follow along, but it was obvious that the little barbarian had no foundation. Besides swinging his rusty iron sword, he had no other tricks.
"Jona, you're so amazing, teach me!"
"Didi, I'm still an apprentice myself, how can I teach others? Go find our teacher, he will be happy to teach you."
"But, your teacher looks so scary..." Dilo mumbled. He was clearly a sixteen-year-old young man, yet he was still unusually shy in social situations, lacking the generous and straightforward personality of a Nord.
"Really? But I think the teacher looks very cool! Oh! I know."
"Know what?"
"It must be because you haven't seen the teacher's physique, right? Those muscles are the ultimate romance for a man!"
"Wow! What do you mean, your teacher... Wait, what's his name?"
"I don't know, he never told me his name. We all call him by nicknames, Foodie, or White Mountain, White Stone, whatever you like. The teacher has a good temper, he won't mind whatever you call him."
"White Mountain is a good name! But is it true or false that you say he's muscular?"
"Of course it's true! If you don't believe me, I'll take you to see him next time he showers."
"Okay, okay! My mother often says that a Nord Man should have muscles as hard as mountain rocks, but I'm too thin. My father and two uncles all say I eat too little; they can eat two large steaks, half a pound of mashed potatoes, and six bottles of mead in one meal..."
"Is your family very rich?"
"We run a farm, so a lot of the food we eat is grown ourselves..."
The two always liked to huddle together and whisper. Jonas would tell Dilo about his tragic childhood, something he had never revealed to Simon. After all, some things are better said to peers, as it's easier to find comfort that way.
"My mother was a very good woman, but my father was not a good man. He always stayed out late and would hit my mother after drinking... That day, my mother said my father was on the wrong side and was going to be purged. She took me and fled Daggerfall overnight... Later, she sold me to an Imperial, who then sold me to an Argonian. I worked as a laborer in a winery in The Reach for a few months. After escaping, I went to the Jerall Mountains, where a kind fishing couple adopted me. However, two months later, a Necromancer came and killed them. I was taken away by that old man... Finally, I met our teacher in Winterhold Hold. He saved me, gave me food, strength, and knowledge."
Dilo grew up in a harmonious family with happily married parents, enjoying a good life. He never had a clear understanding of Jonas's past, and even had some crazy thoughts deep down, thinking it was a good thing that his friend could escape parental nagging and scolding early on. But this was just a rebellious and unbridled prejudice, like the countless jumbled thoughts in a young person's mind, appearing suddenly and disappearing just as quickly. "Uh, White Mountain is a good person. Hmm, the one who sold you wasn't a good person. Oh, that fishing couple were also good people."
Jonas straightened his face and said with feigned profundity, "Didi, you are too young."
"Huh?"
"There are no good people or bad people in the world, only friends and enemies. Hmm, and future friends and enemies."
Dilo's eyes widened, and he let out a long gasp, "That makes so much sense!"
"Hehe, never mind that, I'll take you to see the teacher shower."
The main building of the monastery is roughly trowel-shaped, with a large hall in the center, and a long, curved shrine corridor in the south that runs east to west. The living quarters are in the bend on the east side of the main hall, and there is also a square council hall on the northwest side.
In addition, there is a courtyard behind the main hall. The courtyard is on the edge of a dangerous cliff. Standing on the edge and looking down, a vast sea of mountain mist rolls endlessly. If the weather is clear, you can even see Whiterun from here.
And this is not the very top of High Hrothgar. The true summit is above the invisible clouds. There is another path up the mountain in the southeast corner of the courtyard, which is blocked by strong winds all year round, making it impassable for mortals. Beside this path stands a meditation tower, the top floor of which is open on three sides, with extended suspended short steps. Several masters often go there to meditate, comprehending the sky amidst the fierce winds and the fear of falling.
The monastery's architectural patterns are quite exquisite, but the lifestyle is very rough. The beds are carved from stone, only four of them. The four masters are sleepless, constantly comprehending the Way of the Voice, which is why the apprentices have a place to sleep. The food is simply boiled; dried meat and other coarse foods are blanched and served immediately, the taste primitive and terrifying. Toilets are outdoors in the wild; just find a spot and take care of business. As for bathing? There's so much snow on the ground; strip naked, grab a handful of snow, rub it on your body until you're all red, and you're done.
With Simon's arrival, the food improved tremendously, from barely edible to home-cooked meals. Sometimes, when the Troll went out to retrieve supplies from the pure land, it would be a feast of delicacies.
The Greybeards' realm has surpassed worldly desires; it's good to have food, fine not to have it, they eat unpalatable food just the same, and if there's good food, they don't indulge, eating only until full, without lingering over the taste, and then go back to meditation.
Simon felt a particular connection to the atmosphere of the monastery.
After all, in religion, he was also a master.
What is the essence of the Way of the Voice? It is faith. Reverence for Kyne, balancing the human body and soul with divinity, aligning one's spirit with faith, and thereby bearing the immense power of the Words of Power, so as not to become "unbalanced."
So this is a practice method similar to Pure Land Buddhism, seeking transcendence externally.
Simon came from Zen Buddhism, which seeks within, from oneself, and is essentially an atheist, which is quite at odds with the Way of the Voice.
Bodhisattvas can achieve such a state because they are inherently high and mighty gods, containing infinite power, and can achieve it simply by seeking within themselves. Incarnations, however, cannot do this, because the inner self is merely an idea, a spark of thought, a dream bubble, like mist and lightning.
The Greybeards pray to Kyne, but not to ask the divine for power. If one believes the Way of the Voice is a divine gift, then one is on the wrong path.
To quote Master Arngeir:
"The sky above, the Voice within."
One seeks will from the heavens, but the power is one's own.
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