Stephen's Secure Blog #323
These stories about Stephen began was when he was 10 years old, and
moving to a new part of the country to attend a special school for
gifted students, in the 1950's. This was from a time before computers
would fit on a desk, and when people communicated with friends in other
countries by actual letters sent through the postal service. He wrote
225 of them to a friend. He stopped writing to his penpal, but found he
still wanted to record his life, in case he lost his memory again, and
wrote 30 entries in his first logbook. Then he wrote to an artificial
intelligence called Geenee, in the master computer in his school for
gifted students, which he started attending in 2016. Now it's after
2018, and he's continuing to save his memories in a secure blog.
All characters are fictitious, even if some of them might have names
that belong to some actual people, or act like people we know.
The stories may not be posted in chronological order.
Stephen is 17 in this story, in the Fall of year 8 of his special
school.
Stephen's Secure Blog #323 "Building Reting Monastery"
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I made a pavilion near the existing road, in view of the shielded old
Reting Monastery. I removed the shield and the time freeze. At the
appointed time, I ported there, and ported all my guests there, which
were the Dalai Lama, Reting Hutukthu, the Abbot of Labrang, and
Rhamcha. We went into the pavilion. They examined it, and said some
admiring things. I said "Please let us sit and discuss what was, what
should be, and what will be here. Those might all be different things.
I can make it as exactly as my memory tells me, but that means that it
would have no electricity, telephone service, or any other modern
feature. And copying the construction methods would take a long time,
and truthfully, the result might not be considered safe in this modern
time." We looked at Reting. He said "I see. I would prefer that it
resemble what was before, if possible, but just that. Resemble, and not
a perfect copy. Yes, I would like the modern er, conveniences. I think
they will be needed to attract students now. I think you knew that, and
asked only to cause me to show you what little thought I can bring to
this endeavor." I said "Have these people been talking about me?" They
all laughed.
I said "I don't use glass. Unsafe. I use crystal where there would be
glass. In the housing for students, should there be electricity?" He
said "Yes, please, and not just for heat." I said "It isn't needed for
heat, and it will be free and not connected to anything outside of the
Monastery. Also, plumbing will be self contained. There will be light,
but no bulbs to replace. I can copy the original buildings as much as
possible, and their colors and decorations. Would you like them to have
any other decorations, such as carvings?" He said "Such as you have
done here? Yes, but I think the result, while beautiful, will not be as
as original as had been intended. Opinions and wishes please." The
Dalai Lama said, "Even totally knew and different, is still a
Monastery. I have been thinking the same. Like the old, but not
constrained to it." The others nodded. The Abbot of Labrang said, "I
confess to the desire to see Stephen be in his best form as the artist
he is." The Dalai Lama said, "I see that we are all in agreement."
Reting said to me, "Please. Use your best judgement. I have full trust
in it."
I said to the Abbot from Labrang, "You are here in this area as a
visiting Abbot, so you are the best judge of what a visiting Abbot
would want to have while visiting a Monastery. Please, what do you
think should be here for such important visitors?" Reting almost
choked. Labrang laughed, and said, "I see he understands you enough to
recognize what you are doing. So do I, and I have to admire your skill,
even while it is being used on me. I accept, as you knew I would see,
and would do." I said to the others, "Now you see something of why I
asked him to help the new government. Can't fool HIM!" They grinned and
nodded.
I said to Labrang, "You don't ruin my surprises, and escape
unscathed." He laughed. The others chuckled. I said to him, "As was
said to me recently, but you still haven't answered my question." He
said "An independent apartment in a larger building, close to the
residence of Lamas and the Abbot." I said "Fine. In the plans. One more
thing for now. Some other Monasteries have something very dramatic of
mine, which causes them to be attractive to tourists and other, more
worthy, visitors. Should I do that extra thing here, and if so, what
should it be? And don't tell me it should be what I want. I'm looking
for ideas, and not uninteresting politeness. Oh, and make it different
from what I have done before." Labrang said "You aren't making it
easy." I said "If I did, I wouldn't need to ask." He laughed, and said,
"True."
Reting said "I don't know if you can do it." I said "Oh! A challenge!
Give it to me!" He laughed. He said "A large Pavilion of The Dharma
that floats two meters above the ground. It would be surrounded by
invisible steps, daring visitors to test their courage and
determination to learn and follow The Way." We all stared at him. He
looked very embarrassed. Then I said slowly in awe, "That is absolutely
brilliant!" They all agreed. I said "I wonder why I didn't think of it.
I think I know who to ask for ideas in the future!" They agreed with
that, too. Poor Reting was about to shrink into the ground in
embarrassment. I said to him with a wicked grin, "Now you know how I
often feel." He said, weakly, "I just might."
I said "I'm ready to begin." They really paid attention. I said "I'll
do one section at a time. First, I'm going to port out all which should
be saved. And clean them, too. Done. Next, I'll start some repairs on
the Stupas. No need to replace them. Now I'm going to start on the
buildings. Some of the ones here now are replacements of better
previous building designs that I remember. I'll use the old ones as
models." I did that, one by one, by first removing the current building
or ruin, preparing the ground, modifying a design I had chosen, to fit
the site and add good stuff to it, and building it in space, and
porting it to the site, and making and putting the shielded control box
for it deep underground. In bringing back the old Monastery, I
significantly increased the size and extent of what was there. I
reconnected the phone lines, but not the lines for electricity. I
ported back the accessories, and duplicated the best of them, such as
mattresses and robes and things, and put a lot of them in the
storehouses, along with a lot of other things they would need,
including sacred texts.
When I was done, I said "Here, pass this around. The crystal has all
you need to know about what I did, and where everything is, and how to
operate it all." They did that, and made some odd noises. Rhamcha said
to me, "This is your best work in rebuilding a Monastery!" I said "Let
this serve notice that there is no end to improvement. Practice doesn't
just make you bored and tired, it can make you better." They made some
funny noises.
Rhamcha said "I should expect it, but your humor often catches me by
surprise." I said "Ah! Good. Thank you." They laughed. I said "Now we
have to decide if we want more things here, while I'm still in the
artistic mood, before I do the floater. To aid you in that, here is a
plan of the site in a miniature projection. You can walk around and
through it, if you like, to study it from different angles." They did
that, marveling at the detail of my illusion. Lhamo said "A grand hall
here, might be considered." Reting said, "An artist's eye! I have to
agree." I said "Would you have agreed to any addition?" He said "Well,
yes." We laughed. I said "How is this?" They liked it, so I made it and
put it there, with more accessories. Then they debated and agreed on a
place for the floater. I said to Reting, "Picture it in your mind, and
push that picture at me. I will see it then." He did, and I said, "You
have a talent for that. Hmm, try to push it into the air, willing it to
be visible to us." He did, and we could see it for about half a second.
Rhamcha said "I have been studying with Stephen's teacher, and
practicing that skill for months, and I can not equal your effort. WELL
DONE!" He hugged him with love, which really startled him, who said, "I
see you HAVE been studying well! I feel the love like his." Rhancha
said, "You will have it, too, and better than I, I think, judging by
the ability you have just shown."
I said "I'll build it, but a little bigger, and with some extra
features." We went to near the large space which had been selected for
it, and there it was. I said "It's higher up than two meters, so very
tall people won't bang their heads on it. The light which shines from
the bottom is just like natural sunlight, and turns on and off with the
cycle of the sun, so you can use that area for a garden if you want to,
but you will have to water it. The posts with the large cups are for
the entry control stones. The always invisible and unreal steps will
only be real to a holder of a control stone. That way, people won't
trip over them by accident. The stones won't allow themselves to be
taken away from beyond where the bowls are. If somebody tries, the
stones will port back to the bowl they came from." Reting said, "Those
are very good ideas!" I said "Well, I have a few." They laughed.
I said "One more thing. The stones are star rubies. Oh, and you can
see the steps when you are leaving. Let's try it out!" We all took
stones, and felt for the steps, and walked up them to the floating
building, which was 50m in diameter at the base, with a two meter
ledge, which was made of apple green jade. The outer wall of the
building was made of widely spaced very large always turning prayer
cylinders made of dark green jade, with light red and white jade
lettering on them. Past them was an open space with benches, and
reading tables with angled flat surfaces on which would appear the
sacred texts of different Traditions and Schools, selected from the
index of many languages. There were white jade with gold and platinum
inlay ornately turned posts in between the stations to support the
roof, which was conical, of carved yellow and light blue jade. The
large central pillar was of blue jade, the color of my clothes, with
relief carved scenes of The Buddha all over it, in natural colored
jade.
I described it all to them, and said, "There will be no wind, and no
sound one may hear but one's own voice, while using a reader, and that
will not be heard by others. That is so one can practice reciting
without distracting one's fellows. The air will always be fresh. No
animals will enter it, and inside it will always be of a comfortable
temperature and dry. It is self cleaning and protected. Nothing can
damage it. The prayer wheels and the control stone bowls will glow in
the dark, so those who walk around after dark will have something to
look at, and not bang into. So, is this what you wanted?" When he could
talk, Reting said, "More than I could imagine! It's beautiful beyond
words, and more. I can't think you enough." I said "Yes you can. Be
good to yourself, your fellows, your Tradition, and to Tibet. Be all
you can be, and help others to be all they can be. That is how anybody
can thank me more than enough."
He had some tears. The others were impressed. I said "One more thing.
Each of you touch the central pillar. After all have touched it, tell
me what you felt." The Dalai Lama looked startled when he did that, and
then grinned ear to ear. He remained silent, when the others said in
agreement, "I felt your love, but there was another love there." I
looked at Lhamo, and he said, "I know who's love that is. I have felt
it before, when it was given to Stephen in my presence." Rhamcha looked
startled, and then nodded. Lhamo, said "Yes. The love of The Buddha,
given to an equal."
I said "Let's leave, and test the stones to see if they will resist
being taken away." We walked down the visible to us steps, and they
walked beyond the stone cups, without putting the stones back like I
did mine. They all jumped as if they had been pinched on the butt. They
laughed at my grin. I said "A reminder for those who are a little too
er, forgetful? Should I remove that effect?" They all said no. I said
"I knew you would say that." They laughed. I said "I will set a barrier
so that nobody may enter these grounds until somebody takes official
residence, and there are guards. Let me know when that happens, and the
barrier will be gone. This will give you time to plan and decide what
to do, without haste. Where would you all like to be transported to
now?" Lhamo said "To my rooms." We hugged, and I ported him there. The
others, after conferring, said "To Sera." I ported them to Rhamcha's
office, after I hugged them all with love.
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Grant
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