Notes: I'm aware I'm playing with the concept of youkai a bit in this one. Whether it works, you tell me. I also apologise for my liberal applications of Buddhist philosophy.
"Amida" is the Japanese form of the Sanskrit name "Amitabha", a Buddha of mercy and light. He is the central holy figure of Pure Land Buddhism, which is my best guess as to Miroku's sect.
Behind the trees, the smoke from the village stains the sky.
Some days, they arrive in time. Frightening away bandits or lower youkai is routine work for them, who have faced Naraku and lived.
At other times, they come too late. There will be shovel-work and prayer-work, before they leave.
At other times still, the work proves difficult. Emotions bar the way to correct action.
The Enlightened One teaches acceptance.
Kagome is sobbing into the lap of a stone-faced Inuyasha. She is strong, but she is no child of this era. The ravages of war are strange and shocking to her.
Her sorrow is a well, a vessel for the tears that will not stop.
Accept. Pain is living, and only by accepting it will you conquer it.
If not for the girl clinging to him, Inuyasha would be venting his rage at everything nearby. He is strong, but only lately has he begun to comprehend the full meaning of such scenes.
His fury is a furnace; it would scorch away the blasphemy if it could.
Accept. Then you are free to act, unhindered by emotion.
Sango cradles Kirara's head, seeking comfort in her companion. She is strong, but her people sheltered her from such mindless savagery.
Her grief is a wall, shutting off the images before they drive her mad.
Accept. Only then will you be able to stop this.
Miroku goes to Inuyasha first. The youth shakes beneath his touch. "Kill those monsters. Hunt them down."
He cannot falter. "This was done by men. Youkai do not violate children; their emotions are far too unripe to be good fodder."
Grasping a clenched hand, he coaxes. "Come, my friend. The girls should not go back."
Accept. Only then can you begin to heal.
I take refuge in Amida Buddha.
The last line is a not-quite-literal translation of the Japanese mantra "Namu Amida Butsu", "Homage to the Buddha of Boundless Light and Life".