Chapter 35- The First of the Three Treasures

Tians’ triumphal trumpeting of his awesome arrival at level six was met with a resounding “Oh,” from the Brothers of the West Town Temple. Disappointing, but he was used to it at this point. Brother Su gave him a single encouraging pat on the back. Tian would just have to make do with that.

Tian’s shift in the hospital was unremarkable. The horrors and miseries of the place become part of the working environment. Like the dump- never nice, but there was a sort of numb comfort in the familiarity.

He did his best. He always did his best, of course, but there was something quite conscious and deliberate about it now. When he had to shift someone between beds, he lifted them very carefully, minimizing their pain. He focused on shaping his voice, trying to sound soothing and authoritative. It wasn’t very good, but it was the best he could do. He moved quickly to collect medicine for the doctors without raising a ruckus in the halls. He cleaned thoroughly, not neglecting even the hard to reach corners. Not minding when the best way to reach those corners was to scrub on his hands and knees with a rag.

It felt important to be doing his best today. He could do more today than he could yesterday, so he should do more. He couldn’t wrap words around it beyond “It’s the right thing to do.” Also, for some reason, it really exhausted that disciplinary squad member. So it was probably worth doing for that reason too.

At the end of his shift, Tian caught brother Wong in the break room.

“Brother Wong, someone said I was an ascetic cultivator earlier today. What is that?”

“An example of adjective abuse.”

Tian gave Brother Wong a look of bewilderment. His senior relented and elaborated.

“An ascetic is someone who lives according to very strict discipline and self denial. Of the top of my head, I’d say no wealth in any form, no food beyond the absolute bare minimum to sustain life, definitely no alcohol or meat, probably no flesh of any sort, no sex certainly and very likely no contact with the opposite gender whatsoever, strict schedules of prayer and meditation, ritual self abuse in the form of whippings, ordeals, fasts, carrying heavy weights, the list is endless. So while you may be one of the less materially motivated cultivators in the Depot, calling you an ascetic is…?”

“An example of adjective abuse, Brother Wong.”

“Exactly. You take after Brother Fu more than you do most of the rest of us- frugal, not ascetic.”

Tian frowned. The word frugal nudged a memory, but he couldn’t bring it to mind.

“So what does frugal mean?”

“Hmm. I’m pretty sure you have heard someone mention this in a lecture- the three treasures of the Dao are Compassion, Frugality and Humility.”

“Yes! That was it! That exact phrase.” It had been Grandpa Jun that had told him that, but Tian was used to leaving those sorts of details out.

“Right. And the first of those virtues is compassion.”

“So… what is compassion?” Tian was starting to feel a bit adrift.

“Compassion is the recognition that we all share a common origin. Every single thing in the universe is interconnected with every other thing. Your suffering is my suffering. Your triumph is my triumph. If you eat well, my belly is full. Although you can see how this would quickly become ridiculous if taken to an extreme. My starving to feed you would be considered compassionate, certainly, and quite in keeping with filial virtue, but it would also result in you starving because I am starving, leaving us no better than we were to begin with.”

“Or someone refusing to feed someone else for that same reason. You don’t need food, I’m eating for all of us.”

“Right, though that would lead to virtues two and three- frugality and humility.”

“Well, I still don’t know what frugality really means.” Tian scratched the back of his neck.

“Frugality means only taking what you need, and nothing in excess. That can be monetarily, but in other senses too. For example, eating just enough rice to fill your belly, but not so much that you feel bloated. That leaves enough for other people to eat. Wearing solid, long lasting clothes made out of cheap fabrics rather than easily damaged, but beautiful and expensive, silks. Again, that way, everyone can wear decent clothes.”

“Using a sect-made weapon rather than questing around for the legendary hook swords of King Ming.”

“Kind of thing, yes. Though again, all within reason. If the hook swords are exactly what you need and no more than you need, it would be perfectly reasonable for you to go and get them. It’s just that, are there really no alternatives?” Brother Wong’s pointy smile seemed to be aimed at the entire Inner Court.

“Right. Which would also extend to humility, I guess.”

“Yep. The ancients described it as “Not needing to be first under Heaven,” or words to that effect. You are no better than anyone else, and no worse either. It flows back into frugality. You don’t need more than others, so you take only what you need. You leave the rest for everyone else. Not just your friends, everyone. Which rolls back into compassion. Everyone is worthy of your care. Everyone is worthy of your empathy. As you are worthy of theirs.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.