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Chapter 11

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In the village of Lighthaven, a crowd of three separated groups were loudly bickering each other in contest of whose religion was right as they stood on the open roads, yelling at the top of their lungs with insults and taunts altogether. One group wore their normal attire in this medieval age, mostly comprised of men, but a couple of women were also there with them. These folks are angry at the prospect of their divine gods being replaced by foreign deities they never heard of nor interested in having to begin with.

On the left, they had their orange robes, following the four noble truths even though they were allowing their emotions to control them. Bald monks who left their comfortable lives in order to live content with what they had rather than hoarding more. Although some had various reasons for joining this new movement,.

The last is a group of priests on the right, with their cassock clothing as some decisively wear their usual clothing, arguing with the other groups for having disrespected the all-loving God they loyally worship as their fatherly parents to their own children.

While the rest were spectators, scattered around to gaze upon the turmoil with curiosity about what was happening, many others were heading straight to their jobs, ignoring the mess altogether. These are ordinary people who have no interest in or care about this type of stuff.

"Praise the heavenly father!" An priest called out to the other groups, "There is only one God; the Lord above is the only way to be saved! Repent and beg his forgiveness to receive his love!" preaching and gesturing everyone to give their lives to the divine being.

The other group, who are followers of The Order Gods, shouted back in fury, "There are four great divines who rule over this plane of existence!" A man cried out, "The four creators who mold and shape life itself, having created all things should be the ones worthy of worship!" Then his companions joined in his fanatic rambling.

While the Buddhist monks, mostly comprised of new students, were enraged at the thought of being enslaved by gods, "believing such beings is a distraction to reaching our true potential!" A young bald student yelled in protest, "Man is the only creature that has the freedom in deciding what is right and wrong for them!"

As they continued their fighting, Seth and Genno finally returned to their home only to see large groups fighting among themselves for the religion they all believe in, frowning at seeing such violent commotion occurring in the streets, for the founders never encouraged such things.

Seth's heart was broken; he wasn't expecting the worst to happen while he was gone. It is saddening to see people of faith fighting against each other and committing violent acts by using their hurtful words rather than spreading love and tolerance for God's glory.

Genno, however, was disappointed in his followers, having taught them to also show respect for other creeds and temper their emotions accordingly. Instead, they are choosing to follow the angry sentiments of others in place of the peaceful teachings he's instilled in them.

Despite the heated argument between parties, the two wise men decided it was time to step in to cull the pointless fires and prevent violence from escalating further. This is not the time to be weak or indecisive, but to show leadership and a strong presence in solving the problem for everyone involved.

The two friends then stepped forth, while Seth was dressed in his usual white robe and Genno in an orange one; they're nonetheless recognizable in their disciplines, for they are the only ones who are able to distinguish between two figures. When others noticed their leaders were here, they instantly calmed down their arguments and shut their mouths altogether.

With the exception of the followers who still believe in the great divines, "false teachers!" One of the men in the group commented upon seeing them. Pointing at the holy men for preaching their religions, "they are con artists, liars, and heretics!" He accused the approaching founders.

Just as the rest were going to throw another heated word, the two eventually reached in the middle of them: "Have you all forgotten what God taught us?" In a stern tone, the young holy man addressed the situation: The second is like this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Hearing this, the followers of God became silent; their shoulders drooped while heads bowed in shame, for they felt guilt in the pit of their stomach in letting emotions cloud their minds as they had neglected God's word, "But the Lord despises other gods, has he not?" One asked in shame.

Shaking his head, "It is true of what you say," Seth agreed with the claim, "yet, it doesn't mean he outright hates this, for the Lord respects people and their decisions," finally adding to their dismay, "as the heavenly father reason of this is also a form of love by jealously itself. Shielding us and being concerned for us from heading into sin, away from his light, for his great love of us isn't envious. What he truly wants is for all his creations to have a chance of being saved regardless in how sinful or wicked they are," he exclaimed on his father's behalf.

"What is the difference?" Asked his follower, "jealously and envious? Two sides of the same coin, aren't they?" The followers of God are beginning to question the one they were all taught to serve and obey in hopes of reaching paradise.

Sadden smile reached on Seth's face. "As I said before, jealousy is fear of losing an important person to another," he calmly informed them. "Envy is having unfair advantage or possession, which is never love to begin with. Thus, they are indeed similar in many ways, but what is true is that God was jealous of losing us but isn't envious of the choices we can make," stating the facts.

Remaining silent, the devotees processed this information before fully understanding what it meant. Their master's insightful words were like a warm ray of sunshine upon their hearts as they were enlightened in this matter, "forgive us," apologizing to the holy man for their insolence.

Genno turned to his shocked pupils who witnessed the speech and said, "I told you all to respect other creeds, control your emotions, and never let anger lead your way. Seek better understanding and only attack through wisdom and reasoning alone," he told his own followers in the hopes they would listen to his advice.

But it seems the bald students still refused to drop their rage: "But teacher, they are being led astray!" One of them protested, "If they only know that enlightenment is the true way, we can help them see the truth and awaken their potentials," he suggested.

Turning his back to the monks, the wise founder stared down in deep disappointment, "Then you are still attached to such things; have I not taught all of you to detach yourself from desires? A mind that is still bound by things in this world can never achieve inner peace," scolded the monks.

All of them lowered their heads in shame, understanding they had failed in their path of enlightenment. Such is the price of letting emotions cloud their minds: "Please guide us, teacher, so that we may correct ourselves from our mistakes."

Sighing escaped from his lips but nonetheless smiled of having them finally returned to their senses. "It seems you have forgotten what I have taught you all," he said, showing a look of dissatisfaction as his disciples were offended by it. "Be humble, detach from worldly pleasures, practice meditation, and follow the Four Noble Truths that will surely lead you into the eightfold path." He reminded them to be more focused on the teachings than criticizing others for being different.

Expressing shame and guilt, Seth and Genno's own followers left without another word, ashamed of their actions. They have their new goal of what they must do to redeem themselves and ensure they are worthy of their masters' trust. The roads for them will be long, but now they all realize the great failure they have done.

It is the followers of the Buddha who have failed, having forgotten to remove themselves from desires and attachments to worldly things, letting hatred consume their minds in their anger towards those who are different or judgemental of them.

While the devotees of the Lord had also made a mistake, letting their envious and hateful words towards others. This is something that should never happen amongst themselves, and they have allowed themselves to succumb to darkness. God is the ultimate goal, and nobody is higher than them, but he himself never regretted allowing the concept of free will to his children.

As they left, leaving the last group to themselves, an elderly man from the crowd approached the wise teachers who scolded their followers. "We want to apologize for the trouble we have caused," he said, while others followed, expressing sadness and remorse for the act they committed in the streets. "Our tongues have been sharper than a sword that nearly made us murder each other."

Seth and Genno briefly stared at one another before smiling as they turned to them with gratitude. "Mercy is a crucial thing to becoming Christian," the white robed man told them in a gentle voice. "If not for forgiveness, there can never be any kindness in the world as the world is always full of sin," the young man added with wisdom.

"Kindness and mercy are also part of our teachings," Genno said with certainty, "while not a requirement for reaching enlightenment, it is nonetheless good to exercise them in becoming wiser." He also advised them in a calm and civilized tone, "However," making all of them focus on the monk, "your devotion and loyalty to the gods are also admirable," showing respect for their beliefs and dedication.

The two humbled them; their hearts were swayed by the words these teachers had preached. These holy men have shown them how to treat their enemies and even give compliments, which is far from what they expected them to do.

They had expected the two to be nothing more than greedy con men or something in between, but how wrong they were when all of them listened to their speeches, how wrong they were when the two men's followers were then corrected for being disrespectful or dismissive of other people's faith.

So the crowd left with this new knowledge; their distrust and hatred were now filled with understanding, a feeling they've long since lost in these tumultuous times as the people were left with nothing but corruption, cruelty, and violence. With peace now restored within the village, the two teachers can finally let out a sigh of relief.

"It's over," Seth happily told in a whisper, glad that everyone had finally come to an understanding as it took time for them to learn from their mistakes and find the right way. Looking up in the sky with a smile on his face, he said, "Lord, your everlasting love shall shine on the hearts of many."

Genno smiled after hearing this. "I'll be going," he informed, "good luck to you, my friend," patting his back in support before setting himself back on his journey where his fellow monks went, "may the world be blessed in your presence as its leader."

After watching his friend walk away into the distance, Seth tearfully placed his hand on his own chest and said, "Love everyone," reminding himself of the importance that his mother had told him, "for I hold no hate in my heart for anyone," wiping his tears with his sleeve.

Turning around, he then looked into the distance, where farmland along with its growing crops was visible to where he was standing. "Perhaps visiting another friend shall put me some ease," he said before walking toward the fields to talk to one person he had known for quite some time.

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.043 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 10:12, Dec 26 2024