Heavenly Creatures

The next month was a busy one for Tara. Her parents came home after a few more days in the hospital, and Tara worked diligently to finish her schoolwork. Her grandmother decided to stay with the family, which set off a round of adjustments in the house. Her grandmother and her mother also made up with one another, and Tara saw them baking cookies together one day.

She supposed that that in itself was a miracle.

Tara found that she no longer thought back to her time with Sun, her sister, or the old man anymore. So much was happening in her life that she no longer had time to reminisce about the past. She supposed that this was a good thing. Life was happening now, and she no longer wanted to miss it.

At the end of June, Tara went by her old high school and turned in her schoolwork. It seemed as if she had attended school lifetimes ago. She supposed that’s all the past truly was: memories of something that may or may not have happened in the way one remembered.

On her way back home, Tara visited the Buddhist bookstore.

“Can I work here?” she asked the shopkeeper. He had been sweeping the floor, and he unbent his back to peer at her.

“Well, hello to you too!” he said.

“Hello!” Tara laughed sheepishly. “I need a teacher. So can I work here?”

The old man looked at her for a long moment. “Are you sure?” he asked. “This road demands absolute adherence to the truth.”

Tara stood up straighter. “I’m sure,” Tara said.

The man nodded. “Then be my guest. But you’re starting at minimum wage!”

Tara laughed. “Fine, fine.”

On the way home, Tara crossed the bridge and saw a crane sitting in the river below. It was unusual to see a crane in that part of the world, but it didn’t seem unusual to Tara.

Let your soul be washed by the water of eternity, which is really the water of your own being, she thought. She looked at the river and the wild grass. The sun was setting, and it seemed to sit just right, so you could see rainbows in the sparkles of water. A memory came to Tara, of when she sat with her sister overlooking Rome.

Those who live by the sword must die by the sword, Avalokitesvara had said. But Tara had lay down her sword now. As the shopkeeper said, the past didn’t exist. It had faded into unreality, leaving only the shining benediction of the present.

“The pen is mightier than the sword,” Tara whispered, and she smiled as the crane flew off in the direction of the sun.

The End.

Acknowledgments & Afterword

Thank you to my mom and dad for giving me this precious human life and educating me. Thank you to all of my teachers and friends. Thank you to Master Haebong, who invited me to Nepal to study with him. I also thank Anam Thubten for his meditations through the Dharmata Foundation.

Further reading and resources I’ve used as inspiration: many books by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and Adyashanti, as well as The Path to Enlightenment by the Dalai Lama, Rebel Buddha by Dzogchen Ponlop, and King Arthur: Debated and Disputed by the History Hour.

This book is a retelling of the Buddhist legend of Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta, but heavy creative license has been taken. The story draws from many influences of the East and the West and different philosophical traditions. Primarily, it highlights the transition from religious to nondual spiritual teachings.

It’s important to note that this book isn’t condoning passivity in the face of abuse. If you are experiencing abuse of any kind, please reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline or a mental health care provider for help. It’s worth it to say, as mental health is still stigmatized in South Korea, that just as one goes to a doctor for physical health, one should go to a doctor for mental health. As a modern society, we should use all of the resources available to us to not just survive but thrive.

About the Author

Jenna Ji Min Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea, but grew up in the United States. She attended W.T. Woodson High School and Phillips Exeter Academy before getting a B.A. in English from UC Berkeley. She then spent half a decade in South Korea teaching English and attending business school at Yonsei University before coming back to the United States and writing this book. Her spiritual studies began at Exeter and continues today. She currently lives in Yonkers, NY.