The art of Meditation
Disclaimer, I do not own any of the characters mentioned. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi.
"Houshi-sama?" A voice disturbed him, and almost instantly, his eyes opened. The young monk peered up at the woman standing above him, her beautiful eyes staring down at him, her hands on her hips. He gulped. Surely such a woman had to be sinful?
"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" She scolded. He smiled, averting his eyes from her gorgeous form.
"I told you I'd be here." He answered plainly. Sango frowned, her shoulders sagging, her hair tangling up in the light breeze.
"Well, I didn't exactly know where, here, was. You only told me you'd be training." She grumbled. He smiled to himself, and patted the grass beside him.
"Come and sit with me." He said. She reluctantly sat, and stared at him warily.
"Sorry." He finally apologised, and gazed at her with honest eyes. She turned away, furious for letting the deep blush rush to her cheeks, and shrugged.
"It's okay." She muttered. He nodded slowly, and then got back to his meditation, seeing as she had nothing more to say. A mere minute had passed, before Sango turned again.
"Houshi-sama, is this what you've been doing all day? Meditating?" She asked curiously. She watched his eyes open slowly, and she bit her lip.
"I mean, apart from training that is..."
"Oh, yes. Meditation is an important part of my training." He spoke softly. She moved to sit comfortably, before crossing her legs and lifting her head, imitating his position. He watched her, a wide smile fixed on his face.
"Am I doing it right?" She asked quizzically, opening one eye to watch him. He raised an eyebrow, taking his time to look her up and down before putting his hand to his chin.
"Your position is a little slouched, and your heads too far up, not to mention your arms and legs are a little too tense." He spoke, watching her face drop, and her legs unfold in irritation. He laughed.
"But I must say, it was a particularly good attempt!" He teased. She pulled a face before turning back again.
"Show me Houshi-sama." She ordered. He sighed at the formality, yet eased his face into a determined look.
"Miroku. Say it." Sango arched an eyebrow and looked at him.
"Say...what?-"
"Say my name, Sango. Not my title." He urged. She was a little taken back by his order and nodded.
"Miroku. Of course." She mumbled, and looked away in embarrassment at how his name sounded on her lips. She felt him shift next to her.
"Firstly, you should remember to always meditate in a airy, quiet place. Here for example, is perfect." He said, gesturing out towards the sunny, grassy verge he'd placed himself in. Sango looked up at him, and nodded. He continued.
"Cut all ties, give up everything, think of neither good, nor evil. Consider neither wrong, nor right." He told her, watching her eyes close slowly, her eyebrows creased in concentration. She almost felt stupid, but being as bored as she was, she decided to co-operate with him.
"Control mind function, will, consciousness, memory, perception and understanding; you must strive thus to become calm and at peace." He explained, wondering whether she had understood him so far. She sucked in one cheek. She could tell he'd done this many times before, by the way he spoke to her, as if he were reading from a scroll. Perhaps it was just his intelligence, she reminded herself fondly. Miroku watched her. He saw her creased brow tighten more, and realised he must had confused her.
"Rest the left hand in the palm of the right hand with the thumbs touching lightly; sit upright, not left nor right, backwards nor forwards." She leaned forward slightly, her head tilting and her shoulders dropping. He noticed her position was wrong, but admired her even so.
"Your ears must be in line with your shoulders and your nose in line with your navel. Your tongue must be held lightly against the back of your top teeth with your lips and teeth closed." She then leaned her head back again, her head straightening, surprising him by her ability to judge herself.
"Settle the body comfortably and breathe out sharply." He said, watching as her chest heaved in and then out. She looked tired.
"Not too sharply. Don't make any suddenly movements-"
"-Houshi-sama. Will this help you defeat Naraku?" She asked suddenly, the calmed atmosphere vanishing. He looked momentarily suprised, before looking away in sadness.
"I don't know Sango. But it's my duty to know how to perform my rituals as a monk." He answered, suddenly finding the situation very awkward.
"How so? Why cant you practise your fighting, or train with your sutra's? I don't understand how meditation can help you." She asked, almost irritably. He looked her straight in the eye.
"It is important to have a level head, you know that." She shook her head, and he sensed the determination in her eyes.
"You don't understand, if we all used our training to sharpen our skills, we can take Naraku easilly. Level head, or not. Our skills should suppress his own." Miroku shook his head.
"InuYasha, is strength. Kagome, is friendship, you are courage, I am knowledge." He said. He softened his tone, pulling her hands into his."See how together we can all contribute to Naraku's defeat?" He asked. She nodded, understanding.
"Kagome cannot fight, except use her spiritual arrows to purify. That power is greater than any priestess I've ever known." He said. Sango sat up, listening to him. She loved to listen to him teaching her things she never could have known. She was right, he did have great knowledge, and although he could fight, and he was strong, his knowledge was something to be admired.
"InuYasha is very physically strong, he relies on power, and knows how to control it. He takes advantage of his super-human qualities, and therefore he is our strength. We rely on him."
"You, Sango...your courage keeps up our morale, your determination drives us on and inspires us. And of course, your abilities in battle are fascinating." He said. He squeezed her hand.
"See how we all have different qualities? It works in such a way that I know it worries Naraku even. We don't all need to be physically strong in order to defeat Naraku. It's all about our approach, or diversity, and or course, skill." He grinned. She smiled back, then trailed her fingers down to his cursed hand, her fingers touching the cold metal ring that held the purple tekko tightly.
"And you. You are knowledge. I don't underestimate your strength. Also, you have your spiritual powers, and the-"
"-Curse." He spoke sharply. She touched the outline of his kazaana, making him flinch, and he snatched his hand back. She looked wounded and moved to comfort him when he smiled. That fake smile he always uses, she sadly realised.
"It's okay. I know I should use it as an advantage. The very thing Naraku cursed me with...will be the very thing that kills him." He said, silence lingering around them. She nodded.
"I know you will. I never doubted you silly. If its one thing you'll get rid of, it wont be your...'bad' habits." She joked. He smirked, and looked at her, amazed at her ability to turn such a heavy hearted conversation into a light discussion. He placed a hand on his chest.
"Now Sango..." She jumped up, and straightened her skirt out, clapping her hands together.
"Well, anyway, I think we should get back." She decided. He laughed, pulling himself up and straightening himself out.
"Of course." He replied softly. She smiled at him, and then turned to walk away, her hips swaying as she did. He bit his lip, and grinned.