The Way of Truth and Strength

The following text is a compendium of quasi religious thoughts wrapped around the imaginary quest of a young man challenged by life’s unanswered questions. It is a fanciful tale contrived by the ‘master’ as a tutorial for his followers. The text is as follows:

The objective of any philosophy is to strengthen one’s resolve.

If that philosophy draws its strength from truth then it is a worthy pursuit. So it is that truth and strength are bound inexorably to a noble philosophy.

Both truth and strength come in many forms. The simple truth that life is fleeting goes unnoticed by the young and is lamented by the old, yet it remains steadfastly the ultimate reality. Likewise strength of character is frequently maligned and bartered cheaply for momentary gratification, yet it is the most important strength. These are the primary precepts of any worthy philosophy.

Throughout history man’s belief structures nurtured these teachings in the forms of taboos, laws, and religions that assured men of good character that they would reap immeasurable benefits if they followed the correct moral teachings.

According to many, the ultimate benefit is a blissfully righteous afterlife. This rebirth to a higher plane of existence can take the form of angelic cohabitation or reincarnation in a higher caste or simply the knowledge that one lived the best moral life that one could. Mine is not to advocate one belief system over another but rather to put forth simple truths that can be used by the wise man to garner strength.

Toward that end, I would like to introduce Sanja, a student of life. He is a simple young man from a primitive mountain village east of the Valley of Labuain, the ‘Valley of Challenges’. His path of learning takes him on an arduous journey of hardship and suffering.

The valley is steeped in mysteries and dangers that challenge both morals and virtues as it cuts across the mountains of the north from the great sea to the high plateau of his island home. The wise students of the tribal schools spend hours debating among themselves the meaning of what Sanja learns from his adventures in the valley.

All students are taught that if you can make your way through the valley you will find the great temple-in-the-sky where the ‘master’ holds court for the worthy. It is the place where the wise among us shall see the beginning of a new world. Those few that gather in the temple shall witness the god Hea embrace the goddess Vau to bring forth the children of the spirit, Yod. The earth shall tremble and heaven shall trump with thunderous joy as His lustful flame reawakens the grace of divine life.

Sanja’s hardships are the source of much conjecture and speculation that the student of truth-and-strength must resolve. Is he really as simple as he seems? Why did he take the more difficult path when the obvious solution is so straightforward? What lessons did he learn?