Wisdom and Truth
Po stretched to the left and then to the right. He twisted his back from side to side. Tigress rolled her eyes as she stood there with a towel in one hand and Po's jade staff. "Is this really necessary?" Tigress asked.
"I'm going to be talking to the people for a whole day, Tigress. I need to get prepared," Po said.
"Yes, but you look like you're training to go up against the punch dummy...again," Tigress smirked. Po narrowed his eyes at her as he snatched his staff from her.
"You're lucky you're my helper," Po muttered.
"Seriously Po, why do you need to start stretching for this?" Tigress asked. Po stretched his neck, cracking several stiff bones.
"I'm going to be giving advice and wise sayings for the whole day. I'm just glad that the Master allowed me to do this. Can you imagine if I had to say smart things for a whole day by myself?" Po asked. Tigress gave Po the towel then placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Po, I've said it before. You are smart and wise. Yes, with the Master you are more intellectual and have greater wisdom, but I think he made you well-learned as well. So stop putting yourself down," Tigress said. Po smiled.
"Maybe you should give the people the wisdom," Po commented. Tigress gave a small smile as Crane came into the room.
"They're waiting for you," he said. With that, Po and Tigress went outside to the horde of people, the children in the front. The children rushed towards him and hugged him. As Po sat down, the people crowded around him. Then he started to speak.
"The Master is the greatest. He cares for all the universe yet still attends to the needs and desires of the littlest child. The Master answers every request, though every answer is to people's own benefit." One person, seeming to be a bitter kind of young pig asked,
"I asked the Master to give me the luxuries of my friend. Why didn't he answer me?"
"He did, and the answer was no," Po plainly stated, causing everyone to chuckle a bit. "What do the luxuries of this world have to offer? Temporary pleasure. Pleasure waited for is much greater and more desirous than immediate gratification." Po decided to expand on that issue, though. "Why do we want what others have? To be happier, richer, or to simply have more than the other. The Master has said, 'love others'. If you love others, you should be happy for what they have and not want their possessions. The Master wants a person that is grateful for what he has." A child lifted his hand.
"Why is the sky blue?" He asked, causing everyone to chuckle a bit. Po smiled and lifted the child into his lap.
"The Master made everything you see in nature. The trees, the leaves. Everything is planned so carefully and precisely that mere man can not replicate it. Nature is his lesson book. 'We are fearfully and wondrously made,' says the Master. Because of this, every person has the dignity of being a creation of the Master. Without the Master, there is no dignity for the creation and the creation is simply a random mistake."
"What about conflicts?" asked a duck, "How should people deal with that?"
"If possible try to live in peace with everyone, but the person who is not of the Master will always want a fight. The servants of the Master and evildoers can never truly stay together. That is not to say we should exclude them. It's not that we are opposed to them, but they are opposed to us. We should try everything in our power to include them in the service of the Master and maintain the tolerant atmosphere, but true servants of the Master will drive evildoers crazy because they are opposed to serving the Master, much like darkness is opposed to light. If you have friends and allies who do wrong and you, having been given the light of truth, don't want to be like your friends, then start living the truth and your friends will flee. We attract people who are most like us. Whether in dating or in attaining a friend, we naturally attract people like us."
"Dragon Warrior, what about forgiveness? We've witness how the Master destroyed Bol-Lat and forgave the Mongolians. Who does the Master forgive?"
"The Master will forgive those who are truly sorry for what they do. Those struggling with bad habits will have to ask for forgiveness more than once but the Master is willing to give it. The Master's mercy is as endless as the ocean, but when a man refuses mercy then the Master has to destroy the wicked."
"Why?"
"Because the punishment for evil is death. Evil is separation from the Master, meaning it is separation from the source of life. The Master has given us mercy. We can not save ourselves. Every other belief where we are saved by deeds is not the way of the Master. The Master freely gives salvation to anyone who believes in him," Po said.
"So why do we do good deeds if they won't get us anywhere?"
"We do good deeds not to save ourselves. When we learn to rely completely on the Master, to wholly rely on his power to save us, when we learn to stop praying self-defeating prayers of "Help me" and pray prayers of "I give it all to you," then the spirit of the Master will NATURALLY cause us to do good. There are many motivations for doing good, but this is the main reason why the Master wants us to obey him. So that we can be happy and joyful and make others happy and joyful. It's selfish to think we can ever be good on our own. There is joy in the law. So this is the struggle of the servants of the Master. Not to be watchful against temptations or evil, but to be watchful in their relationship with Master so that nothing may separate them from the source of their happiness. Not to worry about their own efforts in being good, but continually forgetting about their own efforts because the Master has already done it all. When we realize that we can't do anything good and rely totally on the Master, then we make the struggle of perfection much easier. Daily we must do this. Our good works are not a production of ourselves. They are the production of the Master." Many were in awe by his teaching of this.
"Dragon Warrior, how can a person know when to trust someone?"
"You will know to trust someone by the little things they do. If a person can't be faithful in little things, how can he be faithful in large things? The littlest things can make and break the strongest nation." Then Po began to speak about another topic. "Children, young people, listen to the council of the elders and old men. They've been around the Earth longer than you have and know exactly what you go through. There is nothing that really changes under the sun. Cheating may take different forms, but it is still cheating. Nothing is hidden from the Master. He sees through the earth like a glass and nothing is hidden from him. So whatever you do, say, and think, make sure that it is something that the Master sees as good." Po kept telling wise things until it was finally the end of the day. He stood up and went to the Jade Palace, where Crane was waiting for him. The bird seems ticked off about something while the bug, Mantis, on his shoulder, seemed ready to debate. "What's wrong?"
"Can you please explain to Mantis what I've been trying to tell him about what you said," Crane asked, no pleaded. Po was confused.
"What's up?"
"He wants me to get a hook-up... with a prostitute," Crane said. Po and Tigress's eyes widened then narrowed at the small bug.
"Oh come on, what's wrong with having a little set-up?" Mantis asked. Po smirked.
"What's wrong with not having sex with anyone?" Po questioned.
"Nothing," Mantis answered.
"Then Crane has no need to be a part of that activity if he doesn't want to," Po smiled.
"Thank you! I will never touch a-"
"Don't criticize these people, Crane," Po interrupted, firmly "Regardless of their job, you must still treat them with respect." This was a kind of authority Tigress only saw Po exercise when he was with the people of Bol-Lat. It wasn't as severe as then but it was still noticeable. Mantis commented.
"See, even Po will admit they need some love," Mantis said.
"They need a caring hand and a loving heart, not a lustful person," Po said. He shook his head. "Why is it that people will rationalize their way into evil but never away from evil? What's wrong with waiting for the right person? What's wrong with leaving a drink alone? What's wrong with asking people to do the right thing? What's wrong with having high expectations for people?"
"Aren't those last two the same?" Tigress asked.
"They are," Po replied.
"Well, people can say those are too strict," Mantis argued.
"And we can say that earthly standards are too loose," Po replied. "Mantis, let Crane do what Crane wants to do." With that, Mantis hopped off of the bird's shoulder and left the group.
"Thank you, Master Po," Crane bowed with a smile. Po shook his head.
"Just call me Po or Dragon Warrior from now on. I don't like having the title of Master attached to my name. I believe the Master only deserves that title," Po replied, respectfully.
"Can I follow you around for a while? I don't have anything to do, really," Crane asked. Po felt Tigress move closer beside him.
"Actually, why not tomorrow. It's late and I want to get some rest." Crane nodded and left. Tigress was about to leave too, but Po held her back. "What was that about?"
"What are you talking about?"
"When Crane asked if he could come along, you came closer to me. Is there any particular reason?" Po asked. Tigress's eyes widened but calmly replied.
"It was a simple gesture, nothing more," Tigress said. Po stared at Tigress for a while, seemingly calculating her words in his mind. He then shrugged and let it go.
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," Po said, carrying with his staff on his shoulder.
"Tomorrow then," Tigress quietly said. She walked to her room and shut the door. Tigress sighed as she absentmindedly looked up at the ceiling. She didn't like lying to Po, but truthfully she couldn't understand why she felt... uneasy about Crane coming with them. She couldn't pinpoint the emotion she was feeling, but Tigress felt kind of... awkward with Crane being there. She liked the times Po and she were just by themselves. Tigress's eyes widened at that thought. Was she... possessive of Po. She vigorously shook her head. That couldn't be, could it?
Continued...