VI. The Lantern Festival, Enlightenment.

“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is  enlightenment.”   = Lao Tzu

 

Lady Seol watched the lighting of the lanterns during the festivities of the Lantern Festival celebrating the Buddha’s birthday.  Colorful paper lanterns lit up the night.

In the courtyard of the temple, The Path of Lights was laid out like a maze, with the simple paper lanterns in their many colors guiding the way.

People walked the path seeking enlightenment.  Lady Seol had joined them in the ritual.

She had walked the path alone that morning.

She didn’t know if the path would truly enlighten her or whether she understood its full meaning. She could identify with the feeling of travelling in only one direction, alone. Slowly moving forward one step at a time to approach its end. It’s one conclusion.

Many times, before she had felt  she traveled  a similar road thru life. Perhaps, in the end the only true enlightenment she needed  was to understand herself inside the path she walked.

Later that evening she returned to the courtyard to meet her Father, Prince Jung.  She stood next to him, at a high point inside the courtyard watching the festival goers walking among the lights.

Lady Seol, stood quietly in deep thought. She kept her eyes away from her Father and towards the fading sunset, afraid of giving her feelings away.

At the Daebi-won no two days ever seemed alike. 

The changes she constantly worked to achieve, the improvements she hoped for, suddenly made her feel greedy for wanting too much. 

There were days she didn’t know if she was doing the right thing, pushing so hard all the time. 

She could sense he watched her closely as thoughts filled her head.

“You’re doing everything you can already.” He said to her. 

He looked amused at her predicament, but before she could say anything, he turned and looked back towards the mountains and the slowly setting sun.

As the light hid behind the mountains, the temperature turned colder. Lady Seol shivered involuntarily.

Her Father, as well as everyone else traveling with them on this trip, had heard from Geosa, about how spectacular the sunsets at Haeinsa Temple were.  

He had chattered non-stop all thru the long hours of the journey, about how beautiful the scenery would be, and the splendor of the festival lights.

The monk was proud of his home temple.

Her Father’s hand touched her elbow bringing to her attention the intense orange and crimson colors of the sunset lighting the sky and bringing the mountains to life as they watched them from the courtyard.

A slight mountain breeze entered the courtyard.

The bright colors of the many paper lanterns glowing and swaying inside the temple grounds rivaled that of the sunset.

The combination of colors around displayed their full majesty giving her a sense of peace, as if she had suddenly tonight entered a different world. 

She held her breath for a minute as the last rays of sunlight slowly faded behind the mountain. The light of the world was ending today as dusk descended.

Her father’s words broke the silence between them,

“I admire your restraint. By now I thought I’d be called by the Abbot himself to restrain my daughter. I expected to find you knee deep and surrounded by carved wooden blocks, exploring the depository of the Janggyeon Panjeon.

I heard the floors are especially designed to keep the blocks dry.  You seemed interested the day you arrived here?”

Looking at him she answered with some frustration in her voice, “There hasn’t been enough time, Father. We’ve spent most of our time at the library.”

Then she added, “I am still interested.  The construction and materials used for the floors, it’s unique. We could use a drier room, even a small one at the Daebi-won, during the rainy season.”

A comfortable silence settled between them.

Taking one last look at the last rays still barely visible, Prince Jung prepared to leave. “In the morning, we will be riding together into town. We will join the King for the festival feast.” He announced.

He waited until she met his eyes, “Seol, call it an early night tonight, get some rest.”

He then added more softly, “Tomorrow will be a long day, expect a longer evening.”

Acknowledging his concern, she nodded slowly, “I will, Father. Good night. “

As she watched his retreating back, she thought to herself, “Thank you for understanding my heart and sharing the beautiful sunset with me.”

The next evening, the townspeople stood by the side of the road, watching as the temple monks walked in a slow procession carrying paper lanterns. Children followed with excitement as the monks walked down the middle of the road.

More lanterns were hung around the town from house door to house door adding yet more color to the road and their passage thru town.

When the monks reached a large pond, they set the lanterns they carried on the water. Slowly, they drifted towards the larger lanterns already floating in the center of the pond. 

The larger lanterns were shaped like flowers and already illuminated the water.

Walking thru a different part of the town, Lady Seol, Geosa and  two of her ladies-in-waiting were stopping at vendors stalls to look at their wares.

Despite her Father’s warning the night before, she had still managed to stay up reading.  She wished now that she followed his advice.

Spotting dried chrysanthemum flowers, she approached a vendor’s stall. 

The dried flower petals and buds sat next to silks in assorted colors and tea sets at one table.

She saw that the vendor had white and deep brown varieties. 

They could be used to treat head congestion and fevers. 

“Where have these flowers been grown?, she asked him.

From behind her, a woman’s voice answered, “These varieties are grown here, in these mountains.”

She turned to see Queen Kyeongwha approaching. 

The Queen picked up some of the buds crushing them in her hand to smell their scent. 

“The brown variety brews into a dark tea and has a sweeter and more robust flavor. “

Over the Queen’s shoulder Lady Seol noticed that she was being escorted by monks, as well as her ladies-in-waiting.

“It is the white flowers however, that are the mildest.  Also, their taste is enjoyed most by children.”

Lady Seol bowed to the Queen greeting her, “Your Majesty.”

“We are not at the palace, Lady Seol. It’s a simple market place and I have mostly been raised inside a monastery. The formality of palace life and royal households is most at odds with the simplicity of monastic life. I prefer it remain that way.” The Queen answered.

She smiled at Lady Seol, extending her hand out to have Lady Seol smell the dried flowers.

“The scent is sweet, like honey” Lady Seol said. 

Then smelling a second sample of the brown flowers, the Queen offered her she added, “The smell of the white petals is milder.”

The Queen continued, “The scent is also indicative of the taste."

"When it comes to children, this could be overlooked, but it is important. It aids in medicine being taken consistently. Children will drink something they enjoy.", she continued,

"This is more effective than spitting it out.” The Queen said, with a twinkle in her eye.

Then with added mirth she said, “You might find this applies to adults as well. Although in my experience they seem to prefer the stronger flavor of the darker petals.”

“I have heard people say, it is better to be deprived of food for three days than tea." She paused in thought before continuing,

 “The tea is valued by many, as medicine if taken consistently, before they get sick, instead of afterwards. Perhaps children could benefit as well?”

Lady Seol completed her purchases of the tea flowers.

Her thoughts wrapped themselves around the Queen’s words, as they continued walking together.

Lady Seol watched the Queen discreetly. She was young, but not as young as her.

“I’ve read that mountain grown petals are of higher quality?” She asked.

The Queen answered, “It’s the mountain altitude at which they are grown.”

“Mountains have their advantages after all. They can make certain herbs stronger.”

 “They seem to have the same effect on children… even those of royal descent.” The Queen said in a softer voice and smiled.

As they approached the designated place for the feast, Lady Seol, bowed and the Queen and the monks accompanying her walked away to meet the soldiers admitting entrance to the King.

A large table sat on a dais.  It provided a good vantage point from which to watch the floating lanterns lighting the pond.  

A floor had been prepared for dancers to join the celebration. 

They would be performing for the King and the invited nobles and officials from the region sitting at the lower tables.

Queen Kyeongwha sat next to the King.  

Her Father met her eyes. Lady Seol approached and greeted him.  

She bowed to the King and Queen before sitting down next to her Father, at the end of the long table on the dais.

As their tea was served, the music started to play, bringing everyone’s attention to the dance floor.

Two lines of dancers emerged from the sides of the dance floor. They carried lighted lotus shaped paper lanterns in their hands.

The light reflected on their white Hanboks. 

Their soft graceful movements gave them an ethereal glow, representing the light of the Buddha’s teaching.

The white robes contrasted with the colored lotus lamps they carried.

The music reached a crescendo as the lead dancer stepped forward. The rest of the dancers formed two large circles on the sides of the dance floor in a quick rotation. 

Lady Seol’s attention was on the lead dancer.

She turned to look at her Father.  

He seemed more interested in his tea and the yakgwa cookies.

The lead dancer approached the front of the dais raising the lotus lantern high above her head. 

The light she cast out representing the Buddha's illumination of the world.

The sound of arrows embedding in the wall behind them interrupted the dance and shattered the moment.

Time slowed down for Lady Seol.

Archers stood on the roofs of the houses nearest to the dance floor.

Before she could see them fully her chair collapsed from under her.

They fired a second round of arrows.

She crashed onto the floor, still sitting in her chair.

A lady screamed.

The chair was now half on top of her.

She heard fabric from her Chimu skirt ripping, as she finally managed to free herself from the chair.

The sounds of chaos reached her.

Loud and panicked screams continued. The sounds of running feet were all around her.

Soldiers voices could be heard above the commotion, “Protect the King!!!”

She was on hands and knees trying to move away from the chaos.

The long white tablecloth draped over the table blocked her view of the archers.

She extended one hand trying to move away. She stopped seeing where her hand was about to land.

Blood stained the floor.

Crimson splattered the white tablecloth. 

With shaking hands, she tore away the cloth blocking her view. She reached one hand under the table following the trail of blood. It led her to two lodged arrows.

She identified the face.

Her Father had been shot.

A hand descending on her shoulder made her jump. Startled, she looked up to see Geosa’s face.

“We must go Lady Seol.”