There was a King of a great land. This King had a strong army and many generals who were loyal but the King had one constant thought that they were not truly loyal and he sought to build an even great army with soldiers possessing greater skill and younger and more agile.
He prayed day and night that his dreams be realized without truly understanding that he had already achieved that which he sought.
One day a demon was sent from the Gods to help him attain that which he thought he had not yet attained. At the sight of the demon the King rejoiced thinking “what fortune have I to be sent this demon to bring me what my heart truly desires!”
The King began to amass an even younger and more skilled army which quickly began to replace the soldiers who had been loyal to the king for all of their lives. As the King’s generals began to leave to seek other Kings to serve as they had always done, the King thought to himself “Behold, these old and weak followers who were never loyal! Let them leave, I do not need them at all. I alone possess a demon that will stand beside me and provide for me all which I desire!”
The King’s empire appeared to grow and grow and his army became very strong until one day the King fell very ill and painfully passed away. On his death bed he pleaded to the demon to spare his life and cause him to live longer but the demon only replied “Oh vain and foolish King, I gave you only what you have desired, a young and strong army and a mighty kingdom. You yourself have failed to understand the true nature of your life and have been unable to see that you have been sick for a very long time. Now you must learn the forth of the four nobles truths, the truth of death”
After the King had passed away his Kingdom and army scattered to the eight directions as the King had never been concerned with leaving a successor to follow in his footsteps. Soon thereafter it was as if the King had never lived at all.
Very interesting story; I'm curious if this is ninja lore, or your own personal stuff. I can see numerous possible allegories in here.
Namaste, Engyo Mike Barrett
Posted by: Engyo Mike Barrett at April 27, 2005 06:36 PM