Episode 956
Enlightenment
was (6) a special night.
A teacher who appeared like smoke, gave a grace that was difficult to bear, and disappeared like smoke just as he appeared.
Such a teacher suddenly appeared once again, gained even forgotten memories, and returned, showing generous sincerity to his disciple for the first and last time.
Yeon Ho-jeong said many things.
How he lived his life, who he connected with, what events he experienced, how he escaped the threat, and ultimately why he lived like that.
Cheon In-ryong listened to everything Yeon Ho-jeong said.
I didn’t just listen because it was my duty. As Cheoninryong listened to his disciple’s life story, he was genuinely happy or sad, sometimes impressed, and sometimes with a solemn expression.
It had to be that way.
Just as Cheon In-ryong was a more special relationship to Yeon Ho-jeong than anyone else, to Cheon In-ryong, Yeon Ho-jeong was the most brilliant relationship and a benefactor who guided him to enlightenment over a period of well over three hundred years.
A relationship that is bound to be special to each other. After attaining enlightenment through Deungseonji, he suddenly disappeared, but when he returned to this world and chatted with the only disciple, the special feeling was something that cannot be explained in words.
Just like that, the time of the examination passed by in a flash.
Even though we talked so much, there was still a lot to talk about. It was a relationship that would be regrettable even if we talked about it for a month or a year instead of just one visit.
But Yeon Ho-jeong knew.
The time has finally come.
The conversation with my teacher, whom I had longed for, was so moving that I cried, but I realized that the time had come to end this relationship.
“Master.”
“OK.”
“Master, were you happy?”
The Heavenly Dragon looked up at the sky.
Wherever all the clouds that had been moderately scattered in the cool wind had gone, and the entire sky was filled with the splendor of the moon and stars.
“I wasn’t happy. “Until I met you.”
“….”
“My life has always been difficult. “I don’t know who in the world could have lived a life of happiness, but for me, life was a wheel of a new world driven by constant worry, reflection, and enlightenment.”
“I understand.”
A gift from heaven. He was gifted with the talent to see things that ordinary people cannot see and think of things that cannot be imagined.
Who could understand the loneliness of a genius who ran alone on a mountain path and reached the summit at a young age while everyone around him was leisurely walking and enjoying the world?
Even more so, after coming down from that mountain, the teacher realized that the world is a continuous mountain of mountains.
For the teacher, who had no choice but to climb the mountain again despite the despair and went through lonely asceticism, life for over 300 years would have been a curse rather than a blessing.
“But after meeting you, I realized. “That I am not special.”
“….”
“Others were also looking up at the sky from their own wheels, waiting for the moment to take flight.”
The Heavenly Dragon smiled.
“Like you.”
“yes.”
“Even when I was in the Blood Cult, when I left the Blood Cult, and even when I subdued the Blood Cult and wandered the world, I was not a person who worked hard for anyone.”
“But thanks to you, Master, countless people’s lives were saved.”
“It’s only for me. Rather, I used Jungwon Moorim. “No matter how much I am, I can’t deal with the blood religion alone, so I decided to join forces and defeat them.”
“If our goals were aligned and what we wanted was different, we wouldn’t have joined hands.”
“Of course it is.”
Even though he was a teacher who transcended everything, Yeon Ho-jeong was worried that he might ruin his mood due to self-destruction, so he supported him.
Heavenly Dragon shook his head.
“The important thing is that there was always only me in my life. “I always saw the world through my own lens, tried to understand it alone, and tried to be satisfied with just being myself.”
“….”
“But after meeting you, I changed. “I could have lived alone in the world as before, but I realized then that living together is the way to make life richer.”
Cheoninryong burst out laughing.
“I heard you were very angry before your willingness to exist. “I couldn’t understand why this guy was so dissatisfied that he didn’t listen, or why he risked his life for something fleeting and abused himself.”
“I did.”
“But as a teacher, I wanted to raise you properly. “I hoped you could at least live a life without hating yourself.”
“….”
“I realized it after working so hard. In fact, I, the one teaching you, was coloring my own life with hatred.”
The Heavenly Dragon stopped walking.
A place where the moonlight shines particularly brightly. It was at the end of the hill where Yeon Ho-jeong first came to sit cross-legged and meditate.
“In the end, I was teaching you and correcting myself.”
Yeon Ho-jeong also saw the sky that his teacher saw.
The elegant moonlight seeping into the darkness and brightening the surroundings was like a teacher’s teachings.
“Hojeong.”
“Yes Master.”
“You should be happy.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes wavered.
Cheoninryong smiled and continued speaking.
“Happiness is the most abundant power that humans can attain. Unfortunately, in order to feel that happiness, you have to experience misfortune. “Just as there is no shadow without light, my situation must not be all good for my happiness to increase.”
“….”
“So being happy means living life properly.”
There is no such thing as a happy life. Because happiness is relative.
When my situation is difficult and things don’t go my way.
When people are tired from the long journey called life, they sometimes collapse.
However, those who struggle to move underground have the right to raise their heads and look at the sky. You can look at the sky and gain strength to overcome your current situation.
Thus, great happiness is given as a gift to those who overcome hardship and adversity.
Since you can feel joy just by not having any difficulties, how can you not say that this is a life full of happiness?
“Cry a lot and rejoice a lot. Suffer a lot and have a lot of fun. Life cannot be achieved with just one value. In other words, it is not possible to select one emotion and color it with a single color.”
“yes.”
“And you must also let go of the idea that your life will not exist until this war is over.”
Yeon Ho-jeong closed his eyes.
“Master.”
“There has never been a moment of worthlessness in your life, from when you first came into the world and when you faced death to when you returned and started a second, half-life and reached this moment.”
“….”
“Every moment is like a jewel that decorates your life. “If you want to live a proper life, you must embrace even the history in your memories that has colored your heart red and black.”
Yeon Ho-jeong opened his eyes.
While fighting against the three religions, he never once felt like he was living his life.
Every day was a day of passion. In order to protect my people and end the terrible wealth accumulated in the process, I repeatedly fought and killed.
And that fight continued even until we returned to the past.
Yeon Ho-jeong did not put those bloody days on the bookshelf of his life.
‘Why did he do that?’
My thoughts deepened.
Why didn’t I consider those moments as my life? Is it because the teacher is next to me?
The answer came quickly.
‘Because I didn’t think I could survive on my own.’
Yeon Ho-jeong was surprised at his own weakness.
Yes. He hated how the moments filled with war against the three religions seemed to be invading his life.
I was excluding it because I thought there would be nothing left for me if I acknowledged it.
“But surprisingly.”
It was as if he had read his student’s mind.
The teacher closed his eyes and spoke.
“You never forgot the brilliant relationships that exploded within the moment you turned your eyes.”
“…!!”
“You too were making choices about your life. “Like me in the past.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes shook greatly.
The Celestial Dragon opened its eyes again. His face was filled with only a kind smile.
“A teacher is not someone who only teaches skills to a disciple. “Sajejigan is about passing on all the knowledge and values of life that you have gained so far, even relationships and separations.”
“….”
“Still, even though you’re my student, you have many similarities to me when you were young.”
“….”
“But now things have to change. “This teacher hopes that you will gain the enlightenment he gained only in his later years and live a true life as soon as possible.”
“Master.”
“It is said that there is nothing more rewarding to a teacher than to become a disciple of Cheongchuleoram.”
Cheoninryong tapped Yeonhojeong on the shoulder.
“You are already faster than me. So, you will be able to get your life back much faster than your teacher.”
“…!”
“Thank you for having me as your teacher.”
It’s hazy.
Heart pounding. My vision was becoming blurry in an instant.
Yeon Ho-jeong realized. Now the time has come to let go of the teacher.
However, he could not let him go in tears and regret, so he bowed his head and knelt down.
A polite bow ceremony.
Yeon Ho-jeong bowed and stood up again, his face filled with a faint but bright smile.
“It was nice to see you again.”
“me too.”
“They are related to Master’s family, but I think I will have to fight until the end for my people.”
Cheoninryong burst out laughing.
“When didn’t you do that? “Don’t worry, just do what you want.”
“When will the war with them end…”
“Yes.”
“I will definitely build Master’s tomb then.”
“What kind of tomb is a tomb for a teacher who has gained all the enlightenment thanks to you and is walking the path of deungseon? However, if it is because you want to remember your ugly teacher, I will gladly come down to the tomb you made and smile and talk with your student.”
“Please do so.”
“In the future, whether you are a child or a disciple, please bring him to the tomb you made and say hello.”
“of course.”
“okay.”
“Master.”
“OK.”
Yeon Ho-jeong could not hold back his tears.
“Thank you for having me as your disciple.”
Cheoninryong, smiling brightly, took the gun.
Respect between masters and disciples, not between masters and disciples.
Teacher Cheon In-ryong recognized his student Yeon Ho-jeong as a true adult.
“Sasinmu’s twenty-fifth successor, Cheon In-ryong, finally passed everything on to his twenty-sixth successor, Yeon Ho-jeong. Let Yeon Ho-jeong, the twenty-sixth successor, value that history and choose a good heir so that our light can be passed on to future generations.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Yeon Ho-jeong bowed his head and hugged him.
How long has it been like that?
I slowly relaxed my hands and raised my head, and before I knew it, only scattered lights and moonlight filled the place where my teacher was.
“Master.”
Yeon Ho-jeong looked up at the sky with tears in her eyes.
Satisfied with everything, the scattered light of the teacher spun around in the air and spread out among countless starlight.
Yeon Ho-jeong stood still and looked at the sky.
A day or two passed by and Yeon Ho-jeong did not move from that spot.
