Day Thirteen: Walking through the epic

On the last day, everyone telephoned me at the Artists Village: Aka, Rainbow, Rosa, Ju-Huang. Each of them offered to drive me to the airport. I was very touched. But by then I understood enough to know how much gas it would take and how unnecessary it was. The bus stop was two blocks away, next to the Sheridan Hotel.

I was very excited, almost as excited as I had been before we went to the National Museum. Mr. Sun had agreed to come to the dancer’s room at the Artists Village to demonstrate the steps of each of the main characters in the epic. Mr. Hsu and I had spoken about each of them. Now Mr. Sun would embody them. I-Li agreed to come to translate for me. She too was thrilled. I had not known it but Mr. Sun is considered to be a national treasure in Taiwan. Jeremy told me he was thinking of making a documentary about Mr. Sun.

Mr. Sun demonstrated the walks of the Tang Priest,  Monkey King, Kwan Yin, the Immortals, and the Jade Emperor. He worked with me on each of them. I asked him what regime of exercise I should follow. He answered, “At sunrise and sunset, breathe thirty times, inhaling with your nose and exhaling with your mouth. This will calm the body before beginning to meditate. It is important you prepare the spirit to meet the body. Then stretch, do knee bends, cloud hands. and extend the foot from the knee. This will prepare your foundation.”

I-Li continued to translate, “I thank you for your gift, “ Mr. Sun said.”The teapot is a work of art. A gift of artist to artist. Thank you for your visit. I have a gift for you.”

He went out to his car and brought back a very large box. I-Li, Jeremy and I were shocked. Inside the box was an extraordinary pearl crown that Mr. Sun had made of the Jade Emperor.

“Good to be a ruler,” Mr. Sun said, “better to be a good one.”

That evening Ju-Huang, Song, and Jeremy took me out for dinner. “Tonight you cannot pay. You are no longer the boss. We are the boss now,” they said. “You will not let us take you to the airport, but we’ll pick up your suitcase from the Artists Village and then drive you to the bus stop.” “Yes,” I nodded without protest.

They waited with me for the bus. I looked at them with a tearful happiness. The warmth of strangers, the open hearts. “That’s a beautiful necklace,” Ju-Huang said, pointing to the jade necklace Mr. Lin had given me. It was carved with the figure of Monkey King holding a vase in his right hand and a compliant rod in his left. Monkey had been born with a stone heart. His stone heart had to break for him to experience compassion. I did not know the stories of the Taiwanese I had met. I did not know how their hearts had opened. I knew we shared the joy of giving. In my purse were pink metal retractable chopsticks from Ju-Huang. “Good for the environment,” she told me. With Monkey King, the compliant rod for protection, the vase for wisdom and chopsticks, I was set for all future journeys. Such a Journey East as I had traveled I could not have imagined. All I could have done was to dare to set out.