Uniformity and Purpose (D10 MA)

[Jihen]

"I do not condemn you or your actions Agasha-sama. And yes... there will be good done."

He paused, "But there is also evil done of the name of good. And if not a monk to point out the faulty justifications we make as humans in the defense of evil? Then who?"

He replied warmly but firmly, "Make no mistake... Actions like these are motivated by petty revenge. They originate from the same Desire of humans to place themselves in the role of arbiter of cause and effect. To dictate their view on the world. To attempt to conquer it by elevating their Self. One must be cautious of those Desires... no matter how much good one thinks they are doing. The Heavens decide cause and effect... and it is not revenge or the Self that motivates the pure in heart."

[Agasha Yuna]

She nodded.

"It is wise to check our own motives continuously. This is a strange moment. I want Heaven to decide but I also don't want to do nothing while others act and there is Heaven wondering - why didn't you act? I am trying to hear the celestial chorus. Heaven's will. Heaven's tempo."

"Part of that is not reaching for control. Only listening."

“You cannot command the elements any more than you can command the stars in heaven. You must learn to hear the music of the celestial chorus. Once that is done, you must learn to dance."

"It is not our role to stand still. It is our role to dance. We are only to "wait, wair, bide, when the work is done."

"But it is good to pause. To self-inventory. I wanted only to speak for Seppun-sama at the legal debate. I wanted to emphasize that I found both he and Doji-sama admirable. But the very process of entering the debate required me, by speaking for him, to speak against her - or, to be fair, Lady Bian. Was that right? I'm not sure."

[Jihen]

"You are the judge of your conduct Agasha-sama. And of the many people I have met here at Winter Court... I would say you have good cause to believe in yourself and the purity of your actions."

He smiled, "Do your best to find your center... and act as you will without hesitation. Then evaluate the world as it changes... and repeat the same process."

[Agasha Yuna]

She smiled at his kind words.

"It is a journey of a lifetime. “Seek enlightenment, but do not be foolish enough to expect enlightenment.” and “If you cannot find enlightenment now, wait a hundred years. It shall be waiting for you.”

"But it has felt good to find purpose. To choose action rather than fear."

She looked over at Shiba-san and smiled. He'd helped her think about what was right. They'd chosen their path together.

"My papa once told me - you are responsible only for yourself, how you think and act. The consequences are always out of your hands. Make choices you can live with. Honest. In integrity. In devotion to the Tao. Kind, compassionate, gentle. And let go of what happens next. There is serenity in focusing only on what did I try and not letting myself be defined by how the world responded."

"That is part of why he is the Laughing Mountain. He is content to ... to be. To act. Yes, the only judge of himself."

If only her mother had operated from the same mindset. Fear of judgement, of people's reactions, of failure for things outside her control... it had twisted her up. And all very wrapped around one inconveniently non-shugenja first born.

[Jihen]

"A wise father. A brilliantly skilled uncle. And a beauty of inner and outward forms."

He looked to Ryusei.

"You have much to appreciate young master Shiba. I think the worries you expressed in the past have found their solution."

[Shiba Ryusei]

Ryusei, whose player had slept through a great deal, nodded, smiling at Yuna as he responded to Jihen.

"I think so too."

We will make it. Whatever else happens.

"About, the, ah... prior faction, it's... well. Its echoes are, I think, behind a great deal of the current... tensions and overreaches. The animosities in play that led to... unseemly backlash are themselves rooted in that. I..."

Ryusei sighed and bowed to Jihen.

"I feel the hand has been slapped for the mind's intentions today."

[Agasha Yuna]

She smiled again at Jihen's kind words.

A nod at Ryusei's.

"At least the trade deals were approved. And the festival for Musubi-no-Kami. That will be good."