Chapter 127 — Rebirth
Among those who cultivate, the moment of awakening again is called rebirth.
At the brink of death, consciousness returns, and in that moment the inner world opens.
One discovers a self different from before and becomes aware of an elevated state.
How should this be expressed.
The body remains the same, yet the existence 存在 changes.
Thus it is called rebirth.
In a philosophical sense, the renewal of the self accompanies a death.
When the former self collapses and a new self is formed, that is rebirth.
One who has passed through war and found his thoughts changed calls it rebirth, and one who begins a second life after great enlightenment calls it rebirth again.
Through inner observation, he returned from the threshold of death.
The body stood on the edge of death, and the consciousness sank inward, discovering a center as small as a mustard seed, reconnecting through breath.
The one who returned differed from the one before.
He returned beyond his former state.
Rebirth is not the act of being born again, but the act of surpassing one's former self.
He did not simply return from death.
From within death, he emerged as another being.
That man was Yeongu.
The spring sunlight lay long across the wooden floor.
The light was still, and the air was warm.
A small head moved up and down within it.
It dipped, rose again, and dipped once more.
He was dozing.
He looked like a novice monk.
The moment his eyes opened, light entered first.
The inside of his eyelids was dyed red.
Within it, the sunlight shattered.
Fine particles scattered and drifted.
His eyes opened a little more.
The light grew clearer.
The grain of the wooden floor came into view.
The texture of the wood was alive.
Breath entered.
It was not deep.
Short and shallow.
Yet it came, certain and real.
His chest moved ever so slightly.
That faint motion spread through his whole body.
Pain rose after it.
It was not light.
A weight pressed from deep within.
The bones ached before the flesh.
His breath wavered once.
Then it stilled.
His awareness turned inward.
It was there.
The thing as small as a mustard seed remained.
It gave off light.
Small, yet unwavering.
Breath resumed.
It drew in, lingered, and flowed out.
That flow brushed against it.
Warmth spread.
The shattered senses began to return to their places.
The tips of his fingers returned.
The tips of his toes returned.
His body gathered back into one.
His eyes opened fully.
Sunlight poured in without restraint.
Dust floated in the air.
Like silver powder, it drifted slowly.
Someone sat before him.
A small figure.
At the edge of the floor, head drooping.
It fell, then lifted again.
Their eyes met in that instant.
It was Oryang.
His eyes widened.
Sleep vanished at once.
His body leaned forward.
"Have you awakened?"
The voice was low and clear.
Yeongu did not answer.
Another breath entered.
This time it was deep.
His chest opened.
The air reached deep within.
He lived.
Oryang sprang up.
Suspended in the air, he twisted and shot outward in a flash.
For such a small body, his movement carried remarkable skill.
"Master! Master! Senior brother has awakened!"
That child, Oryang, called Yeongu his senior brother.
He called out for Master, and called him disciple.
The place of those words settled quietly in his mind.
As Yeongu gathered his thoughts, people rushed in.
"He's awake."
"Master."
"We thought he was dead."
"What happened?"
"Park Geunsu carried him here."
"How did he know?"
"He kept muttering 'Oryang Mountain.'"
"This is Oryang Mountain?"
"Yes."
"He didn't even know it was Oryang Mountain and still said it?"
"I thought of where Oryang would be. I believed I could live if I reached that place."
"He lived. That is a blessing. Park Geunsu did well."
"What of him?"
"Han Jiun went down with him. He will help."
"They said his family was being held hostage."
"Yes. Those men committed such acts. They dragged family into the affair. It is excessive. Even those who bear the weight of death, their families are left untouched."
A tear fell from Yeongu's eye.
"They say you told them to take your life and spare your family."
"I did?"
"Even in that state, you said it. They could not bring themselves to strike after hearing it. They regret everything."
"It is fine. When family is taken hostage, anyone would act the same. Our world must remain apart from family."
"Yes."
"Oryang has done well."
"Ah."
"Medicine and law are his charge. Still, he has done well."
The master gently placed a hand on Oryang's shoulder.
Yeongu offered his thanks, and the young boy smiled.
A master of over a hundred years and a disciple just past ten stood together in harmony.
Between them, Yeongu found his place.
"How is my body?"
"It is whole. Do not worry."
"I have no strength."
"You lay long. Your vitality has waned. Eat and rest, and it will return."
"Thank you."
Oryang spoke.
"I settled here and named it Oryang Mountain. The name spread by word of mouth, and General Park found it by following that name."
"And His Majesty?"
"There is no trouble."
"And those men?"
"They were all removed. Some were executed, others exiled."
A hollow feeling passed through him.
His Majesty had searched for him with urgency.
"Master, do you also move at the call of worldly power?"
"I act when it serves the nation and the people."
"Rest. Take this chance to shed your old self completely and return renewed."
"Thank you."