Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"Oh?"

"Because if you don't leave, you will die, and the suffering will continue."

"Wait a minute, isn't this a story about Krishna..."

Belatedly realizing what was happening, Siddhartha continued in a cheerful, joking tone, "Teacher, you've lived that long?"

"You get numb after living a long time. It's more accurate to say that there's not much difference between living a long or short life."

Gavial cleared his throat. He felt it was a long time ago, more than two thousand years ago, in the turbulent river that was a sight to behold. He guided Krishna's father, Futian, to help Krishna escape the predicament of his birth, to witness birth, and to witness death. That was it.

"That's why you went to practice asceticism with me, teacher."

Siddhartha smiled.

Since becoming a rejecter, he rarely smiled, probably because he still carried a heavy burden in his heart. But since it was his first journey of freedom, he was somewhat excited. Of course, most importantly, his teacher was with him, 'enduring hardship' together.

"If you don't experience and feel things for yourself, but just observe everything from a high vantage point, it's useless. After all, the environment itself will rewrite your thoughts and other aspects."

"...From this perspective, I, as a Kshatriya, am actually an anomaly."

“I am not either, and Siddhartha, you said before that before you were a Kshatriya, you were first and foremost a human being… That is enough.”

Despite their shoulders being submerged in water, the two continued to chat and laugh.

After a day, the two successfully arrived at the monastic forest where the hermit Alora resided.

At first glance, all you see are simple, grass-colored huts and many people dressed in yellow ascetic robes meditating.

Meditation, as described by the ancient Indians, is a state of mental tranquility achieved by eliminating external distractions and suppressing various thoughts. Originating from the Upanishads, it is often associated with wisdom and differs significantly from the modern understanding of Zen. Closely related to Yoga, striving to enter this state is an important practice.

Later, led by one of Ara's disciples, the two successfully saw Ara, who was practicing 'Samadhi Yoga' in the river.

Samadhi, also known as "equanimity," is the highest stage of yoga practice. It refers to a state of being free from external disturbances, where the mind and the object of meditation are completely united without any distraction. Subjective consciousness is as if it does not exist at all. Yoga practitioners believe that being in this state allows one to recognize the true world and is an important path to ultimate liberation.

Breath control is one of the eight limbs of yoga, which simply means controlling your breath.

"Greetings, Master, I am Siddhartha."

Siddhartha clasped his hands together and spoke to the sage Alara.

“I left home to cultivate myself, and came here specifically to seek the Way and comprehend the truth.”

The sage Alara smiled, but frowned slightly when he looked at Gavia beside Siddhartha.

As a master of the Samkhya school and a supporter of the Vedas, he naturally sensed the aura of the 'Six Teachers' emanating from Kavia, which was contrary to the true Dharma. This made Alara want to drive the two away immediately, but before he could speak, Kavia spoke up.

“Aro, we have come to understand the path you have seen and heard, and we have no ill intentions.”

"Um……"

This made Arolu hesitate a little. After all, although their paths were different, the other party was so friendly, so it didn't matter.

So he said to Siddhartha:

"Do you know how to beg?"

"That's exactly why my teacher and I came here."

"No, I'm not talking about knowledge, I'm talking about begging. If you seek the Way, then go begging."

Begging is asking for food, receiving alms from others.

However, Alara was not deliberately making things difficult for Siddhartha; rather, he and his disciples were genuinely doing just that. Therefore, Siddhartha, who had already come to his senses, naturally agreed, and Kavia, who was accompanying him, went along with him.

"Teacher, I want to ask, how can I beg for food?"

Amidst the bustling streets, Siddhartha pursed his lips and asked Gavia beside him.

"so."

Gavia lowered her head slightly, then held a bowl on her head with both hands.

“‘Venerable One, please give alms.’ Say such things.”

Following Gavia's example, Siddhartha quickly found his first house to beg for alms. After begging, he subconsciously raised his left hand, which puzzled the green-haired youth, who stared blankly at his raised hand.

"what happened?"

"Teacher, I don't know why, but I subconsciously raise my hand to give blessings."

"That's normal. When someone respects you, your soul naturally wants to bless them."

Having found the answer, Siddhartha resumed begging for alms. The locals were generally friendly, and few knew Siddhartha, so he felt quite comfortable.

“Venerable Sir, please give alms.”

“Wait, I’ve seen you before. You are the crown prince of Divirawei, Siddhartha Gautama, right? I’ve seen your royal sacrifice with others before. Why are you begging for alms? Why don’t you come inside with me and have something good to eat? These have been sitting around for who knows how long.”

Just as Siddhartha was calling out as before, the people giving alms made a rather surprised sound.

It has been said that one can overcome the hardships endured in private, but the dignity displayed in public is incredibly fragile.

This was perfectly suited to Siddhartha at this moment. Although he had made up his mind to abandon himself, this was only the beginning, and how easy was it to do so?

Human dignity is an incredibly wondrous thing. Siddhartha had already thought he had abandoned it, but when someone who knew him saw him doing such a thing, he suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

"I……"

Siddhartha pursed his lips, somewhat unable to meet the man's gaze. For a moment, he really wanted to run away, but then he thought of his teacher who had begged for alms with him, the people who had suffered so much, the despair of those labeled 'untouchables,' and the war-torn land.

Many people say that I will inevitably become the Chakravartin King who unifies the world, and that the righteous Dharma will continue to shine, which is also the reason for my existence.

Therefore, one must never overstep the bounds, and must never do anything that is not the king's duty.

But even so.

Even so, I want to do something for those who have been grieving since the birth of the Dharma under the scorching sun.

It wasn't from today, but from that day, that I decided to 'endure hardship'.

So Siddhartha took a breath, raised his head, looked directly at the man, and said, word by word:

“I am not the crown prince, I am just a monk, and I cannot enter your house to eat. Please forgive me.”

The term Bhikkhu originates from "begging," meaning a person who begs for alms. It does not only refer to Buddhist monks; Hindus also use the term Bhikkhu during their ascetic period.

Seeing this, those who knew Siddhartha's past identity could only watch him leave in silence.

Gavia didn't say much about it, because for someone who had already made up their mind, there was no need to say anything more.

Moreover, Alara's asceticism is an old Indian practice, and it doesn't really help Siddhartha achieve transcendence. However, such things still need to be experienced by him personally.

Two days later, because Siddhartha's talent was so amazing, Alara had the idea of ​​taking him as a disciple. So he went to Kavia and asked if he could agree to this request. Kavia naturally agreed, and Siddhartha, knowing that Kavia had agreed, naturally agreed as well.

After all, in the original development, Araraja was one of Siddhartha's teachers, so from Gavia's perspective, there was no major problem.

One day later, the sky was a clear, cloudless blue, dazzling and bright. The nearby river shone like crystal under the bright sunlight.

At that moment, Gavia was beside Siddhartha, who was meditating under a tree, and lit a bonfire for him.

"Why do you look so worried, Aro-ro?"

Gavia looked at Aroro approaching and asked this question.

“Siddhartha has been meditating for several days without drinking a drop of water, a state I cannot reach…”

Aravara looked at Siddhartha with concern, who had his eyes closed. "I hope nothing bad has happened to him."

Gavia shook her head:

"No, you should understand that Siddhartha has already reached the highest state of meditation. He has long since broken free from the constraints of the physical body and feeds on inner pleasure. In fact, it is no easy feat for Siddhartha to reach this state. Even the Six Masters and other practitioners of the path cannot achieve such speed."

"If you, sir..."

Looking at Gavia, who was completely unmasked, Arolu sighed softly, "Not one of the Six Masters, but one of the true Dharma, this must be a fortunate thing."

"Is that so? Let's not talk about this anymore, Aloruo, don't worry."

The silver-haired youth smiled and said, "Even when a mother is asleep, she will still take care of her child. I will always take care of Siddhartha. Let's go back and get some rest."

"...I have passed on all my knowledge to Siddhartha, and I truly hope that he can take over from me and guard this monastery. I hope you can convey my message to him."

“I will tell him.”

After receiving Gavia's promise, Aravara departed.

As Gavia sat down again, Siddhartha suddenly opened his eyes and looked around somewhat bewilderedly.

"You have been meditating for several days."

Gavia explained it to him.

"But I didn't feel the passage of time..."

Siddhartha said with some excitement, “This time, I felt as light as a feather, dancing in the blue sky, beginning to fly like a bird, then rising like a cloud, gradually losing the sensation of my body, and then I felt myself as a tree, rooted to the earth, with its trunk stretching into the distance, and then the endless void surrounded me, a kind of infinite peace…”

The green-haired youth looked up at the sky and continued.

"That was a feeling I had never experienced before, flowing from the bottom of my heart. Teacher, that's what I felt."

"Your level of attainment is already very high, Siddhartha. What ordinary people need over a hundred years to reach, you achieved in just a few months..."

Gavia continued to look at Siddhartha, “Just now, Arara asked me to convey to you that he hopes you will become the master of this monastery. He has given you everything and has nothing left to give you, so he hopes you will take his place in protecting this monastery.”

Upon hearing this, Siddhartha was taken aback for a moment, then quickly regained his composure:

“Teacher, Guru Arolu has shown me great kindness, and I should repay him, but—”

The young man's eyes hardened as he watched Gavia light the blazing campfire.

"Fire is inherently good, bringing warmth to the cold and cooking food for the hungry. But when it is confined to a small space, serving only one household, wouldn't it plunge all beings into darkness and suffering? The thoughts of Guru Aro have been of great help to me, but I understand that the Guru is a supporter of the true Dharma, which is not what I want."

"Therefore, I cannot stand still; I must find a way to be free from the cycle of birth and death."

"Moreover, the true Dharma should be liberated, and before the existence of various castes, we are all common people."

For some reason, Gavia, who was making eye contact with Siddhartha, suddenly laughed and said something similar to what Siddhartha had said.

"Heaven should not create people who are superior to others, nor should it create people who are inferior to others."

I will eventually disappear from this world.

However, if he and they can all get out of 'Lira'—

"In that case, I've made a profit in my life."

In that instant, Siddhartha seemed to see his teacher, as if he could glimpse the Milky Way filling the sky, the pitch-black dust filling the universe, pressing down on him like a heavy object, yet having almost no effect on him, or rather, being ineffective and even harmful...

But I'm willing to do it this way; that's how I feel.

Aside from that, it was beautiful; the dust had a faint luster like crystal, and would occasionally shimmer in the endless darkness.

A scene so detached from reality and so illusory, as if existing in the future yet to come, or as if existing in the unchanging past, but manifesting in the present 'now' because of present suffering.

Therefore, simply by gazing at this tranquil and beautiful scene, Siddhartha felt that the true light existed in the endless dust, like weeds, past, present, and future.

……

The following day, Siddhartha refused Araraja's public request in front of everyone.

"……Yeah."

Arolu gave a wry smile.

"It is my honor to have you as my guru. You never question my selfishness."

“You can go even further, Siddhartha. Udharama of Magadha can guide you.”

Arara looked at Gavia and Siddhartha and said, "I hope that when you succeed, my life will not be over."

After saying that, the two headed towards Mojietuo together.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Aroluo scooped up some soil from where they had set off and smeared it on his forehead.

"What, what are you doing, teacher?"

Alora's disciple asked his teacher, puzzled, about the meaning behind this action.

"You should also smear the mud they trod on your foreheads; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Aroluo stretched out his hand, "Look at that departing figure. How many eras would it take for such a being to appear, making the earth, the sky, the universe, and all things bow down at his feet?"

So hundreds of ascetics followed suit, imitating the previous Arhat by smearing mud on their foreheads.

However, contrary to Alara's expectations, Siddhartha will indeed be as great as he said, but he will surpass Lira and become the Buddha, while Kavia will go to the opposite side of 'India,' which should be the place of darkness. As for the source of darkness, it is unknown.

But surely light will eventually appear in the darkness, after all—