Chapter 40 : The Eyes Of The Buddha

Jack collapsed into Akiko's arms.

A crowd of students rapidly gathered round the temple's main entrance

trying to get a glimpse of Jack, covered in mud and carrying his injured

friend upon his back. Two monks hurried over and rushed the unconscious

Yori away.

By now, the early morning sun was clipping the temple's rooftops, but

it hadn't yet entered the courtyard. Jack shivered uncontrollably from the

cold.

'What happened? Where have you been?' Akiko demanded, worry

etched in her face as Jack fell to his knees, too tired to stand on his bruised

and bloodied feet. 'We were back hours ago.'

Jack didn't answer. Instead he stared at Kazuki, who had come up

behind Akiko. His rival had washed and was dressed in a clean robe. He

looked fresh and almost unaffected by the night's exertions. Arms crossed,

Kazuki observed Jack's shattered form with amused curiosity.

Jack's whole body shook, no longer with cold, but with fury.

'Your cheating almost killed Yori!' he managed to gasp.

'You're delirious, gaijin. I didn't cheat. I finished first because I was

the best,' Kazuki replied, giving him a contemptuous sneer. 'It's you who's

failed. Don't blame me, you pathetic gaijin.'

'He hasn't failed yet!' snapped Akiko, glaring up at Kazuki. 'The sun's

rays haven't reached Buddha's eyes. He still has time. Come on, Jack.'

Akiko, not caring about the mud getting on her fresh robe, began to

half carry, half drag Jack towards the steps of the main temple.

'NO! LEAVE HIM!' came a cry.

Akiko stopped in her tracks. Jack lifted his head to the see the whiterobed High Priest standing at the top of the steps, his hand outstretched,

ordering them to stop. Behind him through the open shoji doors of the

shrine, hidden in shadow, Jack glimpsed the wooden Buddha.

'You cannot help him. If he wants to continue in the Circle, then he

must complete the journey by himself.'

'But he'll never make it,' pleaded Akiko.

'That's for him to decide, not you. Put the boy down,' instructed the

priest.

Akiko gently lowered Jack to the ground and stepped away, her eyes

brimming with tears.

Jack knelt where he was. A numbing exhaustion pinned him down as if

the weight of the entire sky had dropped upon his shoulders. The Buddha

statue was no more than fifty paces away, but it could have been the other

side of the world for all he cared. He had expended his last ounce of energy

in his desperate marathon to save Yori's life.

Inside, the monks began to chant the Mantra of Light and Jack could

see the rest of the school, the sensei and Masamoto waiting to see what he

would do. The High Priest beckoned Jack on with a single wave of his

hand, then turned and entered the shrine as if expecting him to follow.

Jack didn't.

He couldn't.

He simply had nothing left. This time Jack knew it was not a pain

barrier he could break through. This felt like a canyon, a vast vacuum of

energy, a void impossible to leap across.

Kazuki knelt down next to him, an arrogant smile upon his face, and

whispered gleefully in Jack's ear, 'You'll never make it.'

The sun was halfway down the temple roof and Jack could see it

inching its way over each tile. Kazuki was right. It would require a

superhuman effort to reach the Buddha in time.

Jack stared dejectedly at the ground in front of him. In his exhausted

daze, he watched an ant crossing his path, dragging a leaf five times its size.

The little creature struggled, pulled, pushed and prodded, but despite the

enormity of the task it didn't give up.

There's no failure except in no longer trying.

Sensei Yamada's words resounded in his head. Jack glanced up and

saw the old Zen master staring at him from the doorway of the temple, his

eyes radiating belief in him.

'Come on, Jack! You can do it!' cried Yamato, running down the steps

towards him, Saburo at his side.

'Come on, Jack!' echoed Saburo.

'It's not that far,' Akiko encouraged, her hands outstretched,

desperately willing him on.

With a Herculean effort and the supporting cheers of his friends, Jack

managed to get to his feet. He staggered forward, repeating the mantra with

each step, 'There's no failure except in no longer trying. There's no failure

except in no longer trying. There's no failure…'

Jack dragged one foot in front of the other, his legs as heavy as if a ball

and chain had been attached to them. He was falling forward more than

walking, but each step carried him closer and closer.

He was at the temple steps now, crawling up them. His friends

continued to shout their encouragement, but their words were a distant wash

in his ears. The only sound that he was conscious of was the ever-cycling

chant of the white-robed monks. The nearer he got, the stronger their

mantra became, seeping into his muscles like an elixir.

Now he was inside the shrine.

But so too was the sun.

It had risen above the line of the mountains and now shone brightly on

the back wall of the temple, its beam catching motes of dust in the air as it

descended towards the Buddha's eyes.

The school, in awe of Jack's supreme effort, were utterly silent as they

watched him lurch towards the shrine.

Jack reached out as the sun illuminated the Buddha's eyes. At the same

time, the monks ceased their chant. Jack felt the cool sensation of the wood

and the smoothness of the Buddha's belly. He smiled briefly before

collapsing at the statue's feet.

'You can never conquer the mountain. You can only conquer yourself,'

began the High Priest, once the congregation had settled back into the

temple following lunch. 'The first challenge of the Circle of Three tested

the physical body, taking it to its very limit. Five of you succeeded in

reaching the temple before the first light of dawn struck the eyes of Buddha,

thus demonstrating your dominion over the body.'

Jack swayed on his feet, dizzy with exhaustion. He'd been given food

and water and allowed to rest, but it hadn't been long before they'd woken

him again and brought him back to the main temple with the other Circle

entrants.

'The Body challenge should have proved to each of you that the mind

rules the body. The body can keep going as long as the mind is strong.'

The priest studied each of them with his fathomless eyes, checking

they had comprehended this life lesson.

'Once you realize this, there are no limits to what you can achieve. The

impossible becomes possible, if only your mind believes it. This truth forms

the basis of the second Circle challenge. But first Masamoto-sama wishes to

speak.'

Masamoto stood and approached his students, his stance proud and

mighty as he appraised Jack and the others.

'I'm honoured to have such strong samurai in my school. The Niten

Ichi Ryū spirit burns bright in all of you.' He clasped Jack's shoulder with

his sword hand and Jack felt the immense strength of the great warrior. 'But

today that spirit burnt brightest in Jack-kun.'

Everyone's eyes fell upon Jack.

Jack didn't know where to look, except directly into the scarred face of

Masamoto, who returned his gaze with paternal pride.

'Jack-kun demonstrated true bushido. When he sacrificed his chances

for a fellow samurai in need, he displayed the virtue of loyalty. In bringing

that same samurai down off the mountain, he showed courage. He not only

conquered himself, but I am of the mind that he conquered the mountain by

denying it Yori-kun's life.'

The school bowed as one, honouring Jack's achievement.

Jack glanced around, uncomfortable at being the centre of such

attention. Akiko smiled warmly at him, while Tadashi, clearly exhausted

from the first challenge, only managed a brief nod of the head in

acknowledgement of Jack's achievement. Yori wasn't in the line. He was

still recovering from his injury, being tended to by a monk whose medical

knowledge was renowned. Jack had been told that Yori would need time to

recuperate, but the signs were good and he was responding well to the

monk's herbal remedies.

'No allowance, though, can be made for the boy's fatigue,' interjected

the High Priest, bowing respectfully to Masamoto. 'The path of a Tendai

monk is never-ending, so the challenge of the Mind must begin forthwith.'