Chapter 6

TRL 6

¹The traveler steps out of the door of the vessel. ²This world is gray, and stormy, with mighty cities extending past the horizon, reflective blacks and jagged towers as far as her eyes can see. ³And despite the fierce wind against her back, she finds comfort in the view. ⁴The traveler notices the representative, facing away from her, looking down, at the streets below. ⁵“Impressive.” ⁶The representative does not turn, but flinches slightly at the traveler’s words. ⁷“I know who you are, traveler. ⁸I didn’t think you’d ever end up here.” ⁹She sees that the representative is a warrior, worn down from ages of conflict, but undeniably human, quite like herself. ¹⁰But the traveler’s age shows, too, in her eyes, especially, because although the vessel is remarkable, the journey has been long. ¹¹The traveler laughs. ¹²“I try to come around.” ¹³“Can you help us? ¹⁴This world is failing. ¹⁵We have so much, but our humanity is dying. ¹⁶I am afraid.” ¹⁷The wind howls loudly, sweeping through the rusted metal spires surrounding them. ¹⁸“Yes, I can help you, dear representative. ¹⁹I hope you’ll be impressed with what I have to offer.” ²⁰The representative glances back at the traveler. ²¹“Can I ask you something, mighty traveler? ²²In all of your travels, did you ever find it? ²³I think you know what I mean.” ²⁴“Yes, I think I see it now. ²⁵Not all of it, no, I doubt that’s possible, and I’m sure you see parts of it, too. ²⁶And I’m only human, so I can’t promise perfection, but I can promise that I will try. ²⁷And I’m speaking to you, dear humans of this world, because if you can see it, too, then your world can heal, and you will be greater than you could possibly dream. ²⁸I don’t know what I did to deserve my journey and my vessel. ²⁹But I know that I must help you, and if I die trying then I will die, being grateful to have been at your service. ³⁰Because yes, I see it, dear representative, and some days it’s as cloudy as the storms of this world, but other days it’s as clear as the sky back home. ³¹Oh, god, if only you could see the sky back home.” ³²By now, the traveler is crying, overwhelmed by the grandeur of the moment, but the representative does not look into her eyes, only down, at the streets below. ³³“Continue, please, traveler, I am listening.”

AWM 6

¹But there is pain and suffering and grief in life. ²And pain, in a way, is more fundamental than joy, because it is always easier for life to run than to relax. ³And the universe is brutal sometimes, for it pays no mind to what was or what will be, it simply is. ⁴For no matter how strong you are in life and in faith, the human is a physical being, a fragile collection of flesh and bones. ⁵So it is only natural that humans seek to avoid pain, in search of comfort and safety. ⁶To be comfortable is to be certain, to know that when the next moment arrives, it will be okay. ⁷Sleep, for example, is the ultimate surrender of faith, the submission of yourself to the physical universe, the act of letting go of your ability to make any decisions at all. ⁸But in some ways, comfort is the opposite of decision, because to act or to move in the world requires uncertainty. ⁹And you must be careful, because as survival becomes easier, growth becomes harder, because it is only through difficult and uncomfortable exertion of will that change is possible at all. ¹⁰And there is terrible injury and trauma and loss in this world, deep and profound, but you must be careful, because if you do not face it, then it will become a part of you. ¹¹But just being aware of it is not enough, so if you do not know what to do, do your best, for action is infinitely more powerful than thoughts or feelings ever could be. ¹²And it is not that comfort is good, or bad, of course, because sleep and rest are necessary for growth and health and recovery. ¹³But to lie down in comfort is to die. ¹⁴Because comfort, like all things, will fade away in the face of time, so if you are not prepared for pain, then it will consume you, if not today, then tomorrow. ¹⁵But you are more capable than you could ever know. ¹⁶And to be alive is not a choice, and to be human is not a choice. ¹⁷And it is hard, so unbelievably agonizing sometimes, but you must fight, for you do not have a choice. ¹⁸Because if anything is sacred in this universe, it is life, so you must never waste it.

LIM 6

¹As the energy of the universe falls in time, from less likely to more likely states, symmetries and patterns emerge from the chaos. ²And the human is a delicate manifestation of these energies, a beautiful system of woven patterns, alive. ³And although the universe is endlessly complex, humans have worked hard to understand these patterns, trying to predict and approximate the truth of the universe. ⁴Mathematics, logic, and science, as they are called, are impressive in their extent, and quite useful, indeed, for building airplanes and clocks and cameras. ⁵But these things are not truth, for there is only one truth in the universe, always changing, the truth of the moment. ⁶So humans must rely on assumptions and axioms from which they can build greater knowledge. ⁷And the nature of these assumptions can vary, and sometimes they are so natural and reasonable that they can seem indistinguishable from truth. ⁸The assumption that tomorrow will behave the same as today, or that the things you see and feel are really and truly there, for example, are often accepted without question. ⁹And these assumptions are true, in their own right, not for any particular reason, but simply because they are something, able to be expressed and understood. ¹⁰And some assumptions are certainly better than others, more realistic and more useful for the human. ¹¹But the universe does not pay mind to these things, for in the universe, there is only life, and death. ¹²So truth can be misrepresented, because even if a fact is good and useful and spreads itself across the world, it can never be truth. ¹³But no matter how useful or accurate these logical frameworks might seem, they will always be limited. ¹⁴For even if the deepest and purest assumptions are found, it stands that a system can never prove its own consistency, and there will always be truths that can never be proven. ¹⁵So there will always be things that the human can never know, infinities beyond recognition, even through the most determined pursuits of knowledge. ¹⁶And maybe one day, humans will understand enough about the vibrance of a sunset or the elegance of art that they can confidently say that they know what is true and what is good in this vast universe. ¹⁷But today is not that day, for although the modern world is great, the depth of chaos is far greater. ¹⁸So knowledge can never replace faith, for skepticism might show you many things, but it can never show you faith. ¹⁹But that is the beauty of it, in a way, because although complicated symmetries can be powerful, simpler patterns are more common, and often more profound, too. ²⁰And it is only through religion that you can begin to understand the simplest truth. ²¹And it is only through faith that you can dream of catching a glimpse of the glory of the universe.

RIT 6

¹But the rituals of TKS are not laws, for there can only be physical laws in the physical universe. ²They are an approximation, defined in order to represent the subtleties of the life of the human. ³So the rituals of TKS will manifest whether or not you seek to perform them. ⁴So you must fight and work, tirelessly, day after day, to perform the rituals and to perform them well, or else they will manifest poorly, and your humanity will be lost. ⁵And TKS is not the only way to understand your life, but it is one way, so if you are confused, recite the scripture, deliberately trying to recognize the beauty and the truth of each ritual. ⁶Explore is the sixth ritual of TKS. ⁷There are many ways to perform explore, but this ritual requires you to challenge your routine. ⁸To explore is to create, to accept something that the world offers you, something that you rarely pay mind to, and to make something new from it. ⁹You might take some time to read a book, learn a dance, call a friend, perform another ritual of TKS that you find yourself neglecting, or even use a different hand to brush your teeth. ¹⁰The limits of your life are like an endless maze, winding deeper and deeper, and to explore is to discover what lies within these walls, even if it is just a single corridor. ¹¹It can be scary, but you must be deliberate in whatever you choose to do, learning, practicing, and becoming familiar with it. ¹²Because sometimes it is only once you escape your current routine that you realize you were not in a pleasant place to begin with. ¹³And there will always be too many games to play and places to visit and videos to watch that you will never be able to conquer all of the life of the modern world. ¹⁴But even still, if you seek what is good and what is true then you must explore your world. ¹⁵And explore is the most difficult ritual, in a way, because it is not always clear why it is needed at all, as the days roll by, but it is the most rewarding, too. ¹⁶For the beauty of this ritual is that even if it is difficult to perform, once you understand it, you will find that your life does not get harder, it gets easier, instead.

TYX 6

¹The terrain is hilly, and barren, except for a few shrubs scattered across the ground. ²The night sky is out in all its glory, the bright stars and the full moon illuminating the landscape. ³Yex walks slowly, behind Tee. ⁴The two do not speak, but they hear the roar of a river. ⁵Eventually, the two arrive upon its bank, and Tee finally speaks. ⁶“Here, let’s rest.” ⁷“I think I get it now, my friend. ⁸To ask why is to worry about causes and reasons. ⁹But just as there is death in this life, there is life in death, too. ¹⁰This instant does not create the next, but rather, the moments flow and splash in time, like this river, powerful, indeed, but forever fleeting. ¹¹And I can’t see where the water comes from or where the water goes in the end, but I am here, now, and I can feel its current across my fingers, cold and fast.” ¹²Tee smiles, but does not respond to Yex’s words. ¹³Yex takes a small drink from the river and continues to speak. ¹⁴“And we are here simply because we are. ¹⁵It is easy to wonder why, but not everything needs a cause, I don’t think. ¹⁶This is the truth that I was searching for, and I was staring it in its eyes all along.” ¹⁷Tee, too, takes a drink from the river, and responds. ¹⁸“You are far smarter than me, my friend, smarter than I can ever be. ¹⁹And for that, I am proud of you.” ²⁰Yex remains entranced with the river, and eventually speaks after some time. ²¹“But although we are strong, we must remember that time keeps secrets, too. ²²For one day this river might carve a canyon and dry up, leaving its legacy on these hills. ²³And someday, somebody might come across the canyon, and they will appreciate its elegance. ²⁴And if they try hard enough, they can maybe even see the river that once ran strong, cutting through the rocks. ²⁵But they will never feel its current across their fingers.” ²⁶There is silence as the two sit. ²⁷“I enjoy hearing you speak, my friend. ²⁸And yes, I agree, I think I’d want to know how, rather than why. ²⁹But will they be like us, whoever comes across the canyon? ³⁰Will they be like you and me?” ³¹Yex looks at Tee, and appears almost confused, but again there is silence.

WXY 6

¹“But dad, what should I do, in this world? ²How do I become a good person?” ³“You love to ask the difficult questions, my child.” ⁴“But do you know the answer?” ⁵“I’m sorry, my child, but there is no simple answer to that question. ⁶Matters of good and bad are not easy, and they never will be, and it’s tragic, indeed. ⁷But it’s a blessing, too, because if good and bad were simple, I doubt we would be here at all, for it is only within the subtleties of good and bad where I have ever found duty. ⁸I can tell you what I believe, but that’s the best answer that I can give you.” ⁹“Please tell me, dad, because if there is anything that I need to do in this world, I need to do good.” ¹⁰“You continue to impress me. ¹¹But please remember, my child, life is sacred, even if it is not yours.” ¹²“Tell me, dad, tell me what you believe.” ¹³“I believe that to be a good person you must get out of bed, each day, ready to perform the duties which are called upon you. ¹⁴You must look in, at yourself, and understand that it is your responsibility to act, not the universe’s responsibility to give you meaning. ¹⁵And excuses may be a reason, but they are not enough, not in the way that I see it. ¹⁶Because even if you wish to do good, intent is not quite enough, either. ¹⁷Bad intentions are rare, I’ve found. ¹⁸But intentions are nothing more than the sticks and leaves used to build the fire of action. ¹⁹And when the fire warms hands or burns down forests it is not so important how it started.” ²⁰“That sounds so stressful. ²¹What if I accidentally let my fire go?” ²²“Oh, it’s very stressful, and it’s certainly not easy. ²³We are physical beings, me and you, and we are small, no match for the roaring furnace of the universe. ²⁴But that’s the beauty of it, in a way. ²⁵Because you can always push yourself to be better, always, my child, for there are no limits to faith. ²⁶That is what makes us human. ²⁷But please, don’t be too hard on yourself, my child, just be kind and be honest, and most importantly, never let go of your faith. ²⁸Fighting to do good is not a matter of right and wrong, or true and false. ²⁹It’s a matter of life and death.”

RLI 6

¹TKS is not perfect. ²For perfection is not a thing, it is a comparison, a judgment of good and bad. ³And no two things can ever be the same, so nothing can ever be perfect, truly. ⁴And physical things change, but perfection does not change. ⁵But that is not to say that perfection does not exist in this universe, because TKS knows that there must be some place, an edge between life and death, where perfection lies. ⁶And it might never be truly attainable in its purest form, because all ideals of perfection can only be expressed through physical parts. ⁷But even still, its shadows can be seen, and TKS knows that hidden somewhere in the chaos, there is a beautiful relationship between the truth of the ideal and the fight for it. ⁸But religion is not just anything, it is the greatest thing, in a way, a shadow of the greatest truth. ⁹And TKS is not perfect, for it can only ever be itself, but it is a religion, and it tries to be reasonable, to be universal, and to be good. ¹⁰And this is the beauty of religion, because perfection does not change, and the symbol does not change, but you do, so if you really try, you can see it. ¹¹Even if it is not clear what it is, you can still fight, chipping away at perfection, day after day, seeking it, wherever it lies, hidden somewhere between your form and your faith. ¹²And even if you fail, and you need to start over from nothing, it is okay, because perfection will always be there, and perfection does not change. ¹³And TKS is not law and it is not truth, for there are only physical laws in the physical universe. ¹⁴And there is only one truth in the universe, the truth of the moment. ¹⁵But it does not matter, because to practice TKS is not to view the scripture as perfect but to have faith in perfection itself. ¹⁶And like all religions, TKS was created by humans. ¹⁷So if there is any divinity in this universe, it is humanity. ¹⁸Because although humans are curious and fragile and foolish, sometimes, it is only through humanity that there can ever be god. ¹⁹So although there are many things in this universe, most importantly, there is me, and there is you. ²⁰And perfection is in me, and it is in you, too, a small piece of it, a flash of grandeur in the void.