The skies above Pusan continue to hemorrhage
rain like the slit throat of a bull. Empty eyed hoards of
Gwee Shin continue to flow over the streets like the acidified rain
in the gutters and open sewer ducts. All of the Gwee Shin
but one. While the masses radiate towards a central phantom
point, a lone pale ghost of a woman breaks off from the nether worldly
migration and begins a small pilgrimage towards the north end of the city.
Relentless rain passes effortlessly through her dim form.
The raindrops don't roll down her sallow sculpted shoulders.
The moisture doesn't touch her long black hair. Not even the
winds can pierce her aural veil of nothingness. Her lips cross
her face like the underbellies of two ruby snakes; her nipples point
slightly to the left and right, and her lower back is arched concavely
in opposition to the easy roll of her hips leading down to taught
cheeks and thighs. But as her calves narrow below her knees, they
drop into an airy void of space; as she has no feet, and floats steadily
above the pavement.
Neither does her mouth emit the low moan that is coursing forth
from other Gwee Shin. She blows silently north along with
the howling wind. Past the umbrellas of street market shoppers.
Through the Tongnae subway station; past the students at Pusan National
University; no one seems to see her. She blows up city hills
and through rain soaked children playing in the street. Perhaps
one of the small girls whom she flowed through felt the emanations
of spirit in her little heart and bones, but she did nothing more
than tremble momentarily with a sudden twinge of inexplicable grief.
Up through the streets of Kuso Dong and Nopo Dong.
Eventually coming to one of the Northern corners of Pusan, and a
road leading up into the mountains; up the road; she passes through
oncoming cars; past a large verdant terraced farming plot maintained
by many gardeners; past soju bongs, soft drink machines and a closed
coffee cart; past quiet walkers who fail to see her; finally arriving
at the North Gate of Pomosa Temple.
A freshly shaven monk in his new model Korando sport
utility vehicle sees her as he drives down the cobbled temple road;
but after briefly inspecting her form in a single mindful moment,
he averts his eyes, as he is not unaccustomed to such spectral sights
at this holy place. Shortly after he clicks open his hand
phone and dials a fellow monk by the name of Sang-Tong, who answers
after the first ring. The monk doesn't bother to open the
conversation with a greeting, " Sang-Tong, when was the last time
you saw a Gwee Shin spirit on the temple grounds?,", asks the driving
monk in rapid Korean.
"So, they are walking again.", Sang-Tong replies.
'I've heard of such movement of late; many friends have seen them
throughout the city ever since the onset of monsoon season.".
" Yes, very curious. I hadn't heard, but I've only
arrived home from a retreat in Kyungju this morning. Do you
fear the coming of a darkness?".
"No, I have no fear. But there is an end
to such appearances. Perhaps we shall witness an event of
transition ... it would seem that the signs of such change are rising.".
" Hmmm, perhaps. Have you already taken your afternoon meal?".
" No, not yet. Let's have the special at that fantastic
restaurant near the University, the one with cooked and raw fish.".
"Yes, that would be nice. I'll ask Master Yee
if he'll dine with us today. Let's meet there in an hour.".
" Excellent. Maybe we'll see some more of the Gwee Shin
as we pass through the city.".
"Perhaps. I hope so. I'll see you there.".
" See you ...", answered Sang-Tong, clicking his hand phone shut and
reopening it to dial Master Yee's number.
The foregrounds of the temple show few
signs of activity as the Gwee Shin passes. It is a slow time
of day, and the tourists are few in the heavy rain. Most of
the monks are busy with chores, studies and meditation within the
Temple's inner sanctums. She flows up and over the paths;
veering easily to the right, through the lush greenery of the mountain
temple; over a creek that is alive and flooding with rain. Up a
dirt path, winding around and through a small unmanned guard post.
The sides of the road are thick with pine trees and bamboo shoots;
contained by wire fencing. Into a clearing, a pagoda rises to the
left, and to the right a single floor, long box shrine composed
mainly of rain streaked Plexiglas panels.
Rising high above the roof of the shrine sits a giant
golden Buddha who wears a jewel and heart stone encrusted crown,
with heavy, sleepy slitted eyes gazing peacefully down at the foreground.
He sits atop a multi-tiered platform of granite slabs and is surrounded
by nearly sixty smaller wrought iron statues of various other Buddha.
Amongst the assembly of of Buddha's, most sitting with legs akimbo,
there are lovers and warriors; healers, conquerors, invigorators
and devastators; ascetics and hedonists ... ugly dragon headed gods
and peaceful cosmic ponderers show don't bother to open their eyes.
One is enshrouded in flames while another stands atop a beast ...
some possess the moustache and beard of a man, while others lapse into
androgyny.
The Gwee Shin climbs a few of the platforms
tiers before coming to a standstill before the central golden Buddha.
She stands for a moment before the giant statue which dwarfs her
opens its eyes. In an instant, the temple grounds surrounding
the congregation of Buddha has disappeared ... blinked out of existence.
All that is left is the Gwee Shin, the giant gilded Buddha and his
sixty companion Buddha, floating amidst the constant colorful light
pulses that compose Brahma-Space ... the trans-dimensional creation
point ... the nexus of all things; a state which is composed of nothing
less than sonic vibrations ... a place where even light exists as
sound. All of the Buddha have become active and alive in their
sonic state, as if they'd never been sleeping on the temple grounds
in the first place. Anchored in the middle of the orbiting
minor Buddha's, Giant Goldie and the Gwee Shin remained fixed.
" What shall I be called?", asked the Gwee Shin
to the giant golden Buddha. " You
shall be ?Kum?Yang,", answered the smiling giant in gentle transonic
thought waves.". " Why have you summoned
me from my sleep dream?, Golden Buddha?".
" It was no me who awakened you and your kind to roam
this city; perhaps it was simply the monsoon storms ... I do not
choose to know.". "Yes, I understand your place
amongst the way of things,", she answered bearing a slight frustration
in her thoughts. " None of my kind are able to rest these days.
We find ourselves roaming the streets, seemingly aimless ... as
so many of us did even when we lived as humans.".
" You, Kum Yang,", answered the Golden Buddha, " Of all
spirits, have dreamed long enough to understand the way of things
... and the slowness of knowing the purpose of some many events
which occur without warning. Such as the current predicament
of you and your sisters.".
" Yes.", she answered emptily.
A spectrum of electro-sonic colors blazed into infinity
around the floating beings as the Golden Buddha opened his mouth
to answer, " Kum Yang, I will tell you something. Understand it
however your nature dictates.".
Her ghostly face perked up with a spark of hope.
" You and your sisters ... I assume your dream has been interrupted ...
not by some cosmic gamers, engineers or tricksters ... but by the living
dreamers ... those who still survive amongst men ... and I am doubtful
that those fleshly conjurers are even aware that they've brought
you up from the reaches of your dream.".
Still looking hopeful, Kum Yang screwed up her face with
confusion in a subtle way. " I don't claim to understand this,",
she replied, " But after all Golden Buddha, you are the god of such
small moments and revelations. I will consider your prophesy.
Thank you for this consideration. I must return to my sisters
now.".
" Yes, Kum Yang, it is time for us,", he gestured to the
orbit of living sonic Buddha's circling them with outstretched and
flattened, golden palms, ", to return to our own peaceful dreams
... along our stretch of the dimensional continuum, and you to your
earthly plight. I have shared all that I am able. Let
us join in the union of transmigrational pleasure that will recorporate
us with the realm of earthly matter.". At that,
the Gwee Shin, the Giant Golden Buddha, and the many other's circling
them shimmered and flickered into a sub molecular orgy of sonic
spasm ... vibrating through the onion-like layers of the dimensional
continuum. Their faces saddled with the instantaneous euphoria of
the pan-cosmic orgasm, and stretched and distorted into the sonic
infinity that would deliver them from Brahma-Space and back to the
static matter state in the land of men.
Aside from the pelting rain, all was still on the
temple grounds. Kum Yang's life electricity's were still scattered
from the trip across negasonic-timespace. She lay down arms
outstretched, to do nothing more than lay still above the granite
slabs as she allowed her energy to recollect and stabilize.
In an inner mental mantra, she reminded herself that considered
properly, the chaos that is the order of al being could be a comfort;
that the uncertainty of consciousness in any form is an inverted
pillar that insures the ineveibility of motion and change; it was this
that would give her the strength ... whether she willed it or not
... to carry on with the plight of her sisters.
Some time later, the recollected Gwee Shin descended from
Pomosa's mountain temple grounds; to the concrete streets of Pusan,
to rejoin the exodus of diminishing distances.
(...to be continued soon with Part 4 ... Creatures Of Habit ...
)
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