| LiShen | Created on Monday, 18 September 2006 20:01 |
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Full Name: Li Shen Gender: Female Age: Middle Years Eyes: Blue/green Hair: Quite red Birthplace: Kunsan Birth Season: Spring Greetings. ~ bows and gestures to mats and table~ Please sit and have some tea as I tell my story. ~sits across the table from you and begins speaking as she pours tea~ I was born and raised in the western edge of Koguryo, near the port town of Kunsan. My family was of the Warrior class. My early upbringing and training was designed to give me a foundation to build that way of life. I studied: calligraphy, poetry, sword skill, painting, grappling, needlework, meditation, land management, magic, troop leadership, chi points, philosophy, and of course politics and etiquette. It was the education of a well-rounded Warrior-Lady. ~smiles~ Yes, I see the puzzlement in your eyes. You see before you a Monk who studies the philosophy of Zen and follows the Middle Way. ~shrugs~ Well, the transition was not so odd as it may seem. I studied many things, but my talents and inclinations were not so all-encompassing. I began training with my sisters and the other students of my family from the day I could walk. By the time I was able to read I found my passion was philosophy. First I found teachings of Taoism, then Buddhism. The basis of each of these, as ways of seeing the universe, held truths for me. But it was the synthesis of these two forms of thought I found in Zen that captured my spirit. Being one not drawn to the religious - but the philosophical - I began pondering and searching for my own path and my own world view. ~ reaches forward to take up her tea cup, sips, and nods~ Though this takes but a few moments to speak of, this process took many years. In the meantime, I trained physically, mentally and spiritually. The training was sometimes rigorous, but mostly it was ever-present. It was a way of life. As I grew, it became as evident to my parents as it was to me that my interests were not with the Warrior way. For instance, as I studied strike-points, I learned healing points and when I studied Forms, I learned moving meditation. When I was about 12 years old, my family welcomed a Monk into our household. Among other things, she taught me the ways of a healer. She also gave me insights to her way of life that I had not found in scrolls. When I was old enough to travel, she took me wandering with her. There were several Buddhist Monasteries scattered around the Rice Plain east of Kunsan. We visited many during our wanderings. Each held slightly different views and focused on different aspects of the teachings they followed. Some were healers, some were fighters, some were teachers. For some the Monastic life was a permanent retreat from the world, and for others it was the base from which they made their way out into the community. But the common thread I found was the peace, the balance and the following of the Buddha's Dharma. When I came of age, I left the home of my family and moved to Kugnae to train under the Poets in that guild. I mastered the skills of Hyun Moo and continued to practice the three-fold training arts of my youth. I worked as a healer and followed my Path alone. One evening, as I sat talking quietly with a friend amid the bustle of the South gate of Mythic, I told him that I knew that there was a Sangha somewhere in the area, and felt sure that one day I would find my path leading to its door. At that moment, Janken walked by. My friend, being bolder than I was myself, called him over to us. As I spoke to Janken, I knew that it was time for my solitary wandering to end. The time had come for me to seek a Master and to join with a Family again. Janken soon became my Sensei and, after I trained for a time, the Monk Circle of Kugnae became my home. More tea? ~ refills your cup, and resettles comfortably. Smiles~ |
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