Chapter 3.1.
The Tale of the Mountaineer
While I was still lying in the hospital(s) immediately after the last strokes, I would often slip into “black holes” (i.e., frequent micro-attacks of depression/recurring doubts about the meaning of persevering in the fight). I’d usually get out of them by thinking of a story that a friend told me a few years earlier and which I retell here freely, according to my memory (may I be forgiven for possible deviations).
In one city of an irrelevant name, in a land of an irrelevant name, there lived a mountaineer (or rather—a mountain climber, free climber, one of those who climb alone the steepest of rocks, skyscrapers, towers, walls, and similar challenges), once again, his name irrelevant. He was excellent at what he did but desperately wanted to improve. So, he went to the best climber in the land and asked to be taught the skills he hadn’t yet conquered.
When he became the best climber in his land, our mountaineer wanted to become even better, so he asked his master if there was anything else to learn.
“There is, there is,” the master said. “If you so desperately seek more, I can send you to the best climber in the world!”
And so it was. Our mountaineer went to learn his lessons from the best climber in the world. He learned and practiced until he finally uncovered all his secrets. One day, his master told him, “I have nothing left to teach you—you know everything I do, you’re even more skilled than I am, one could say you became the best climber in the world! But, still, I have to tell you that there exists, beyond all categories, an odd fellow in India who is even better; he literally does wonders. If you want to learn more, go to him!”
Of course, our mountaineer wanted to learn more! He went to India, found the odd fellow his previous master had told him of, and explained his strivings. After being convinced of the seriousness of his requester’s intentions, the odd fellow agreed to teach him. And so they went to the bottom of a very steep mountain. They climbed to the top easily, and then the master said, “Do you see the top of that mountain opposite ours?”
He said, then calmly walked to the opposite mountain and returned, simply on the thin air. “How do you do that?!” our mountaineer asked, amazed. “Well,” the odd fellow said, scratching his thick beard, “if you’re ready to sacrifice a few years’ hard work and practice, maybe you’ll learn . . .”
Indeed, after a few years, our mountaineer also perfected that skill. The master praised him and said, “Before you leave, know that there is one man who’s even better than us. You’ve learned powerful things now, but he knows much more.”
Confused but curious, our mountaineer set off to search for the mysterious man. After a months-long search, he finally tracked him down. In the middle of some jungle, they told him a man who generally fit the description lived in a remote village deep in the forest. After a few days of roaming about, he ran into an unsightly, tiny, thin man cultivating his garden with a hoe in a glade. After our mountaineer explained to the man what he wanted and who he was searching for, the man gave him the once-over and said, “Umm, you’re on the right path; yes, I am the one you’re looking for. Since you’ve successfully overcome all the required steps and still found me, although it was hard—I accept; if you firmly want to, I will be your master! I implore you to be patient and let me finish my work!”
And so it was; the man had cultivated his garden for three more hours while our mountaineer waited patiently. When the work was done, they set forth through the thick forest into the village. When they arrived, the man cleaned his hoe first, carefully putting it in its place. Then he cooked dinner for him and the mountaineer: they each got a handful of rice. When they’ve eaten enough, the man invited his guest to the front of his cottage, where a large old tree grew. “There we go,” said the man, sitting under the tree. “Now watch how I climb mountains!” And he started to meditate…