The helping hand
The rhythmic sounds of the water droplets echoed through the dark cave, creating a haunting melody that resonated off the stone walls. A young child lay sprawled on the cold, hard floor, his breath coming in shallow, labored gasps. His vision blurred as his focus slowly faded, the chill of the cave seeping into his bones.
Meanwhile, at the mystic peak of the Suneru1 mountain, towering eighty-four thousand yojanas2 high at the center of the earthly realm, lay a second realm of heaven, Trāyastriṃśa3, spanning ten thousand yojanas wide. Within this celestial realm stood a majestic coral tree, three hundred yojanas in width, and one hundred yojanas tall. Its sprawling branches formed a grand canopy, casting a soothing shade over all who sought refuge beneath it. The air was filled with divine fragrance, and the gentle rustling of its leaves created a beautiful divine melody.
Among those enjoying the shade was Sakka4, the ruler of Trāyastriṃśa and protector of the earthly realm, who meditated over the Silāsana rock embracing the tranquility of dharma. Suddenly, the Silāsana rock became hot and hardened, startling Sakka. "What could be causing it?" he muttered, feeling the once-soft Silāsana rock become rigid beneath him.
Alarmed by the change, Sakka looked at the earthly realm with his divine eye (Dibba-Cakkhu) to find the source of his discomfort. His gaze fell upon Maung Nyo's struggles. Understanding the situation, Sakka thought, I cannot let such a virtuous soul die in vain. As a protector god, it is my duty to intervene.
With determination, Sakka summoned one of his retainer devas, "Descend to the earthly realm and heal this child," he commanded, projecting the image of unconscious Maung Nyo in the cave. Willing to test the child's resilience, he instructed the deva to heal him but not to help him further.
Obeying Sakka's command, the deva descended in a flash of divine light, illuminating the dark cave with his presence. He gently picked up the unconscious Maung Nyo and administered heavenly medicine, watching as the child's wounds began to mend and his breathing steadied. After ensuring Maung Nyo was stable, the deva gently placed Maung Nyo back on the ground and returned to the celestial realm.
Soon after, Maung Nyo woke up. Where am I? How am I alive? he thought, bewildered. His injuries no longer hurt. He checked his body with his hand, expecting to feel pain, but they were gone. Instead, he felt stronger and more energized than ever before.
As the confusion faded, he remembered the ring. Where is the ring? Panic surged through him as he frantically searched for it. No, I can't find it anywhere. Grandpa, what should I do now? He wept, feeling the weight of his loss.
I can't afford to give up. Grandpa didn't die in vain for me to die in the random cave. Maung Nyo wiped his tears. After a while, Maung Nyo's eyes gradually adapted to the darkness of the cave, allowing him to see a little better.
The cave was vast and treacherous. Several cave-ins had occurred, narrowly missing Maung Nyo and leaving behind treacherous piles of debris. With no sign of food or water, Maung Nyo's future looked bleak.
He navigated through the labyrinth of dark tunnels, each step echoing in the silence. He stumbled over rocks and squeezed through narrow passages, his fingers tracing the rough, ragged walls.
Several times, he heard the ominous sound of earth shifting and narrowly avoided being crushed by falling rocks. The ground beneath him was unstable and he had to step carefully to avoid triggering another collapse.
Soon, he found the dead end. This can't be the end. he thought. It left him with only one option to go back to where he had fallen and scale the cave wall vertically, climbing several hundred meters back up to the cliff he had fallen from.
Without hesitation, Maung Nyo climbed the wall, gripping every opening firmly. He kept failing, his hands slipping on the rough, damp stone and he nearly lost his footing more than once. opening firmly. He kept failing but giving up was not an option.
Each time he fell, the impact jarred his bones, but he forced himself back up, determination burning in his eyes. His muscles screamed in pain, and his fingers bled from the sharp edges of the rocks. Yet, giving up was not an option. Who knows how long he spent climbing the rock, but finally, he managed to reach the top layer of the cave.
Panting heavily, Maung Nyo lay on the rocky ledge, looking down the hole he climbed. I did it, Grandpa. Relief washed over him as he spotted his belongings scattered on the cave floor but unbeknownst to him, divine eyes were watching over his plight. His dagger, waterskins, and other items lay untouched, except for the his grandfather's Beginner Internal Arts tome was missing.
"I guess Black Cat left them because she deemed them useless." Maung Nyo rejoiced.
In the celestial realm, Sakka watched over Maung Nyo. His seat, Silāsana rock, had already turned back into its original softness as half of his body sank inside. Amused by Maung Nyo's determination, Sakka blessed the water inside the waterskin to relieve Maung Nyo's pain, tiredness, and hunger before meditating back into dharma's embrace.
When Maung Nyo drank from the waterskin, all his hunger, pains, and tiredness disappeared like a water droplet falling from the lotus leaf. Surprised, Maung Nyo recalled his grandfather's teaching regarding heaven watching over virtuous people and thanked heaven for aiding him in his struggles.
I was so close to dying this time. I will die for sure in the next challenge if I don't get stronger, he thought "It's a shame that I couldn't finish learning the basic internal arts but what can I do except let bygones be bygones." He whined.
Maung Nyo prepared all the items including rock, a water bowl, paper, and a candle, and trained the physical elements, paṭhavī (Earth), āpo (Water), tejo (Fire), vāyo (Wind). After all, it is all he knew to train the internal arts.
Time passed by as Maung Nyo diligently trained in martial arts, focusing on not only the external techniques but also the internal training of physical elements. Each day, he woke before dawn, his breath visible in the cool morning air, and began his routine.
He started by striking the tree trunks with swift powerful strikes to harden his fists and feet with each precise strike. He would also run and leap all over the forest, weaving between trees and vaults over obstacles to improve his stamina and agility. The forest echoed with the sound of his external arts training.
Afterward, Maung Nyo scavenged the forest for food, carefully gathering edible leaves and fruits. Most of the time, he would only get bitter leaves and unrippen fruits. He tried creating traps to hunt small animals, but they rarely succeeded so he stopped trying. On some occasions, he would find some mushrooms for his much-needed protein source.
After the meal, he would gather rocks, water to fill his water skin and water bowl, dry sticks and branches for the fire, and some leaves. Then he would sit by a small fire, its flame flickering in the darkness inside the cave. He would meditate until he reached the state of Samādhi. Then, one step at a time, he would try to soften the rock, make water viscous, light a dry branch on fire, and spin the leaves into the air, training in paṭhavī (Earth), āpo (Water), tejo (Fire), and vāyo (Wind). Each element challenged him in different ways, demanding imagination, patience, focus, and resilience.
And so, three years passed by.