Conflicting Views ~ Part 3

      “What do you seek to present to me in leading me here?” asked William, half puzzled and half apprehensive.

      “Just a moment,” answered Chang as he walked to a wall with elaborate dragon carvings on it and touched the eyes of the largest dragon. They glowed a dull amber and there was a sound like the sonorous chime of a bell, and then amidst the sounds of grinding stones the two halves of the symbol on the floor slowly began to shift apart. William held his breath and wanted to reach for his ice mace. A tall, elongated rosewood table also began to ascend through the widening aperture, of such dimensions that it could only serve as a pedestal, and overhead, too, stones shifted and an opening started to appear in the ceiling, until the gray light of the winter morning streamed through the hole, relieving the otherwise oppressive gloom.

      And then all was still again, and William saw a large glass bowl atop the raised table filled with a dirty liquid. Hardly the thing to place in such a dignified spot as atop a pedestal in the middle of a chamber, reflected William. He could not be sure if he caught a faint glimmer from somewhere within the murk. But before he could ask or say anything…

      “Tell me, young sir,” asked Chang, indicating the glass receptacle. “What do you see in this bowl?”

      “Some sort of murky liquid. Like muddy water.”

      “There is actually a pearl in the liquid. Can you see it?”

      “No, though perhaps a faint glimmer.”

      “Why not?”

      “Well, because the liquid is filthy… if it were clear water — ”

      “— Then you’d see the pearl shining forth in all its splendor! Right?” interrupted Chang with excitement in his voice, eyes suddenly bright and sparkling.

      This dramatic change in behavior on Chang’s part was singularly puzzling to William. “Uhh, yes… But so what? What’s there to be so excited about?”

      “I tell you, young sir, it is just the same with all living beings. Recall what I said earlier regarding all things being made of Aether, including all living beings. The fact is that, owing to various contingencies, the Aether which constitutes a living being can become turbid — much as water can become muddy — and obscure that being’s inner vision of the True Nature of Things, just as the dirty water in this bowl prevents you from seeing the pearl submerged in it! And it is only when a living being has lost sight of the True Nature of Things that he, she or it will turn to evil!”

      “Please elaborate,” requested William.

      “For sure. What is the True Nature of Things? That they come together to form a unified whole, a single living body. And all life in the Universe actually possesses within itself an instinctive knowledge of this unity, in particular its own unity with all of the rest of creation, and therefore seeks to conduct itself in accordance with this knowledge, to recall what I said on all life being good. It is just like the many parts of your body each ‘knowing’ instinctively, if we may put it that way, its unity with the rest of the body, and behaving accordingly so your body functions as a normal, healthy whole.

      “At times, unfortunately, the ch’i — pardon me, the Aether that makes up a living being — gets contaminated with impurities, so to speak; it lacks clarity and is dense and opaque, owing possibly to ill weather at the time of birth, poor environmental conditions, or other factors. And this coarseness in a being’s Aether actually veils its inner vision, preventing it from accessing that inner knowledge and following its guidance, much as the dirt in this water conceals the pearl from your sight. Then that being, no longer aware of its unity with the rest of all life, would act in ways prejudicial to the well-being of others; herein lie the roots of evil. If its constituent Aether were clear from the very beginning, a being would then clearly perceive its unity with all of creation and would never engage in acts that would inflict suffering upon others — quite the contrary.”

      William began to see the connection. “So that is how you explain evil…” he responded, nodding his head.

      “Yes. And there is another way this opacity in your Aether leads to evil. When you fail to perceive yourself as one with all of creation, how would you feel? You would feel that this Cosmos is not your home. You would feel alienated, and therefore insecure and afraid. And you might attempt to allay that terrible feeling by seeking control and dominion over others, by forcing your own will upon others, thinking that when you have power over your world that fear will subside. And in this way, again, evil arises. In fact there is evidence that this was how the Serpent Riders, or their homeworld, became evil!”

      “But surely that terrible feeling need never arise if one were to have received the Good News of the Savior’s Resurrection,” objected William, indicating the Holy Book under his arm. “Still, granting for the moment that what you say may indeed be valid, what can be done about it?”

      Chang was momentarily speechless upon hearing the crusader’s remarks, but he quickly returned to the discussion. “Well, what do you think, sir? If the Aether of a living being could be made clear, then all those aforementioned causes of evil would be eliminated and that being would become good, wouldn’t it?”

      “I suppose it would…” muttered William, as if somewhat unsure of his answer.

      “This is precisely what I’ve been doing my research on in the past ten years — a means of purifying all forms of Aether, of making Aether clear and transparent, so to speak.” There was excitement in Chang’s voice. “My research has borne much fruit with respect to the mineral and vegetable states of Aether so far; now I’m working on the animal and ratiocinative states. Here, let me show you.”

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"Conflicting Views ~ Part 4" 

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"Conflicting Views ~ Part 1"