Diet Therapy (2)

Diet Therapy (2)

The seven days and nights they had promised passed. During that time, Mu-Jin managed to teach Beob Gun the treatment methods adequately. Electrical and thermal therapies were within the domains of Hyun Gong and Hyu Dam anyway, and Beob Gun, who had observed for the past two months, could at least mimic acupressure and Muscle Stretching Technique to some extent. 

In the end, excluding manual therapy, Mu-Jin only taught a few exercise therapy techniques during those seven days and nights. 

And Hyun Kwang, who had initially started eating meat porridge, could now eat almost unseasoned boiled meat. 

Thanks to Mu-Jin's dedicated treatment, or maybe because he ate meat, there was a slight change in Hyun Kwang's blocked progress. 

After spending those seven days and nights like that:

'It's been a while since I've been here.'

Mu-Jin entered the cave for wall-facing meditation, where he had been taken during his novice disciple days. The duration of his wall-facing meditation was set to one month.

Additionally, Master Hyun Chun, who was also punished with him, said, "Let's go in."

Unfortunately for Mu-Jin, he had to do this together with him.

'This is a disaster.'

Mu-Jin intended to enjoy a pseudo wall-facing meditation like last time. He planned to build his body, practice martial arts, and hunt animals at night. That was the kind of wall-facing meditation he had in mind.

However, now that he had to do it with Hyun Chun, he would have to genuinely face the wall for a whole month. 

With a face like a pig being led to slaughter, Mu-Jin entered the wall-facing cave with Hyun Chun. 

As Mu-Jin expected, as soon as Hyun Chun entered the cave, he sat in a lotus position. With his eyes half-closed in a seated position, Hyun Chun began to recite a Buddhist scripture.

"Mahāprajñāpāramitāhṛdaya Sūtra, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva…."

Even though he was sitting right next to him, the barely audible Buddhist scripture could be heard by Mu-Jin, who thought, 'Isn't it forbidden to speak during wall-facing meditation?'

That's what Mu-Jin definitely knew.

'Hmm? Since wall-facing is also a type of Buddhist practice, is reciting scriptures allowed?'

Well, Hyun Chun, being the head monk, would certainly know the rules better than himself, a third-generation disciple.

Mu-Jin thought it was reasonable and started to stare blankly at the wall. Thinking that he was going to waste a whole month just like that.

As he spent time in vain for a while:

"Through continuous practice, one awakens to the heart-mind… Form is emptiness, emptiness is form…"

From the murmurs of Hyun Chun that reached his ears, Mu-Jin noticed something peculiar.

'What? Why are all the scriptures mixed up?'

Even though Mu-Jin wasn't particularly interested in Buddhism, he had been a novice disciple for a year and ten months. Additionally, he had spent three months as a third-generation disciple, forcibly learning a considerable number of Buddhist scriptures.

Moreover, since all of Shaolin's martial arts were based on Buddhist scriptures, he had no choice but to read all the scriptures to learn martial arts.

But as he listened carefully, the scriptures recited by Master Hyun Chun were all in a mixed-up order.

Reciting the Heart Sutra suddenly transitioned into the Diamond Sutra, then moved to the Lotus Sutra. From the Lotus Sutra to the Avatamsaka Sutra, and then back to the Diamond Sutra. 

Even the verses didn't start from the beginning but jumped around according to Master Hyun Chun's preference.

'Wait a minute?'

Before long, Mu-Jin found a pattern in the jumbled verses.

'They're all verses I know?'

To be precise, they were verses related to the martial arts he had learned. Shaohong Fist, Autumn Wind Step, Nine Palace Stance, Arhat Palm, Stone-Crushing Finger, Guanyin Hand, and Diamond Fist.

'Could it be…?'

With a hopeful thought, Mu-Jin focused more on Master Hyun Chun's murmuring.

And when he operated his inner energy in accordance with the sequence of verses recited by Hyun Chun, he continuously visualized in his mind how they would connect.

'The beginning is the first move of the Chain-Linked Fist, a straight punch, and the latter part is the third move of the Autumn Wind Step, a kick with the left leg. Ah, to connect these two movements, should I insert the key point of the Diamond Fist in between?'

To be precise, it was a straight punch and a side kick that Mu-Jin had developed. Each move was respectively the first of the Chain-Linked Fist and the third of the Autumn Wind Step, but he was combining the key points of all the martial arts he had learned into one. With the help of Hyun Kwang and Hyu Gul, Mu-Jin even succeeded in incorporating the key points of the Diamond Fist into each move. 

The problem was, while he succeeded in incorporating the key points into each move, the movements themselves did not connect smoothly. But now, Hyun Chun was showing him a way to connect them seamlessly through the verses of the Buddhist scriptures. 

Focusing on the verses recited by Hyun Chun, Mu-Jin organized the key points in his mind. However, merely sitting and organizing the key points was not satisfying. Naturally, Mu-Jin felt an itch to move his body. 

'Is it okay to get up?'

Considering that Hyun Chun was deliberately informing him of the key points, wasn't this his way of allowing him to train? After a brief moment of contemplation, thinking he had nothing to lose, Mu-Jin boldly stood up. 

"Mahāprajñāpāramitā…"

Hyun Chun, who must have sensed Mu-Jin's presence, continued reciting the scriptures without any reaction. 

"Phew."

Feeling certain that Hyun Chun had given his approval, Mu-Jin operated his inner energy according to the key points he had just organized in his mind and tried connecting the straight punch with a kick of the left leg. 

However, thinking it in his mind and moving his body and inner energy were entirely different matters. The flow of the moves was still awkward. After repeating the straight punch and kick several times on his own, Mu-Jin noticed a change in the tone of Hyun Chun's chanting, albeit a bit late. 

'Is there a rhythm…?'

Hyun Chun's chanting had developed a rhythm and a sense of speed. Some verses were strong and others were fast but gentle. 

'Is he demonstrating the flow of inner energy?'

With this thought in mind, Mu-Jin calmed himself and rotated his inner energy in accordance with the rhythm of Hyun Chun's chanting. He matched the rhythm by sending his inner energy quickly in some areas and powerfully in others.

Bang!!

Sure enough, the connection of the moves became significantly smoother. 

However, as if unsatisfied with this level, Hyun Chun continued chanting. There was a slight change in the chanting, seemingly pointing out the mistakes Mu-Jin had made in his previous moves. 

Thus, Mu-Jin continued to repeat the movements in sync with Hyun Chun's chanting. Conversely, Hyun Chun, with his heightened sense of qi, read the flow of Mu-Jin's movements and inner energy and guided him through the verses and rhythm.

'Haha, he is indeed a quick learner.'

As Mu-Jin had guessed, Hyun Chun had adopted this method to aid Mu-Jin's training. It was both an apology for taking a month of Mu-Jin's training time to treat Hyun Kwang, who had saved Shaolin, and a means to nurture Mu-Jin, whom he had entrusted with Shaolin's future. 

To this end, Hyun Chun had previously asked Hyun Kwang about the martial arts Mu-Jin was learning and how he was connecting the key points. 

Knowing this much was enough for Hyun Chun to teach Mu-Jin without any difficulty. No matter how talented Mu-Jin was, he was still a child who had been practicing martial arts for only two years, while Hyun Chun was a master who had trained for fifty years. 

Thus, this peculiar training continued for a while.

"Ahem."

Hyun Chun, who had been chanting loudly, suddenly cleared his throat, causing Mu-Jin to stop his movements with a puzzled expression. Sensing the reason, he quickly assumed a lotus position and stared at the wall.

Soon, a senior disciple arrived, placed food and water, and left the cave. Hyun Chun had signaled Mu-Jin of the approaching senior with a cough, knowing Mu-Jin wouldn't be able to detect their presence.

Even after this, every time the guard left, Hyun Chun resumed chanting, and Mu-Jin continued perfecting his martial arts in sync with the chanting. 

The training continued late into the evening, and as night approached, Hyun Chun lay down facing the wall, indicating it was time to sleep. 

After about half an hour had passed since Hyun Chun lay down, Mu-Jin quietly got up and slipped out of the cave. 

'Haha, seems like his body was still itching to move.'

Thinking that Mu-Jin had stepped out to train without disturbing his sleep, Hyun Chun closed his eyes again, unaware that Mu-Jin had gone out to hunt for meat.

* * *

Twenty days had passed since Mu-Jin began his wall-gazing training. During this time, Hyun Kwang's body was recovering day by day. The two months of treatment had already corrected most of his dislocated joints and misaligned ligaments. The only remaining issue was the lack of muscles to support these joints and ligaments.

Over the twenty days and seven nights, Hyun Kwang ate meat daily and combined physical therapy with the help of Beob Gun and Mu-Jin. As a result, his body gradually started to develop some muscle. 

"Master! You look completely different!" 

Beob Gun, Mu-Jin's nominal master and Hyun Kwang's disciple, beamed brightly like a child. True to his words, Hyun Kwang, who had previously been extremely emaciated, now had small but visible muscles forming in various places. 

Thanks to the strength of these new muscles, Hyun Kwang was now able to walk a bit on his own without needing to hold onto Beob Gun's hand. 

"Hoo." 

Taking a deep breath, Hyun Kwang stood up on his own and walked from his room to the main hall. What seemed so natural to others felt like a miracle to him. Though he had seen the small yard of the temple countless times, Hyun Kwang now looked at it with profound eyes. 

'Everything was just my stubbornness.'

His disciple, Hyun Chun, always blamed himself, saying he was too focused on preserving tradition. He believed things would have been different if Hyun Kwang had become the abbot. At this moment, Hyun Kwang realized he was no different from Hyun Chun. What was asceticism? It was supposed to be for enlightenment and to forget desires and distractions. But why had he been so obsessed with the practice itself? Why had he followed it just because it was Shaolin's tradition? The essence, not the form, was important. He realized it was laughable that he had explained this to Mu-Jin, his disciple's disciple, as if he were superior. 

"Amitabha." 

Hyun Kwang deeply recited a Buddhist prayer, then sat in a lotus position and closed his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, the view of the yard he had just seen remained vivid in his mind. In the distant future, even if this yard and the temple disappeared, their image would still exist in his mind. Though unseen, they existed; though non-existent, they could be seen. Form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. (色不異空 空不異色 色卽是空 空卽是色) 

The world was inherently like this. What had been binding him all this time? 

"Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā."

Hyun Kwang deeply recited another Buddhist prayer with his eyes closed. 

'Ah… I have also been bound by that day thirty years ago.'

The day the demon cult's vanguard attacked. The day he lost his martial arts and became disabled, unable to walk on his own. Though he always reassured those who worried about him, saying he was fine, deep down, he harbored a deep-seated sorrow. His intellect, which had reached the heavens, understood Shaolin's martial arts and scriptures, but his heart, filled with resentment, could not accept them. Despite all the writings indicating that the answers lay within himself, he sought answers only in the texts. 

Realizing this, he was able to shed one layer of the chains that bound him. His intellect and heart, already reaching the heavens, combined, allowing his mind and skills to reach Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi, the supreme enlightenment. His body, unable to walk on its own, regained stability through Mu-Jin's treatment. The only thing lacking was his shattered dantian, which could no longer store energy. 

'Haha, that's also stubbornness.'

So much energy flows through this world. Why try to contain it within this small human body? As a gentle smile spread across his face and he closed his eyes, a golden light began to emanate from his body. 

"Master!?"

Beob Gun, who was watching beside him, exclaimed in shock. His master, who had just walked to the main hall, was now displaying an incredible phenomenon. The golden light surrounding Hyun Kwang grew stronger. 

"What, what's happening!?"

Naturally, Shaolin Temple was thrown into chaos. 

"Could it be… that Senior Brother Hyun Kwang has attained Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi?"

Hyun Gong, who had hurried to Hyun Kwang's hall using his qinggong, muttered in amazement as he saw the golden light. Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi which mean supreme perfect enlightenment, implying that Hyun Kwang was now attaining Buddhahood.

"Amitabha." "Amitabha."

Hyun Gong and several other high monks at Shaolin who had gathered at Hyun Kwang's hall bowed and chanted in reverence. 

"!?"

The golden light enveloping Hyun Kwang's body gradually faded until it vanished like a mirage. Hyun Kwang opened his eyes with a gentle smile.

"...Senior Brother, have you attained great enlightenment?"

Hyun Gong, the highest-ranking monk after the abbot and Hyun Kwang, asked with a curious expression. Hyun Kwang responded with a subtle smile. 

"I have simply realized with my heart what I knew with my mind."

"!!!"

Though he spoke as if it was nothing, the high monks gathered could tell that Hyun Kwang had reached an exalted state. 

"But why…?"

"Haha, isn't it because there are still unresolved matters?"

In response to Hyun Gong's question, Hyun Kwang answered in a Zen-like manner. Though he was relinquishing all distractions and attachments, he still had one lingering attachment that kept him here.