I never thought I would say this, heh, but Pai Sho is not enough. Each victory of mine in the good old game reminds me of what I could be doing outside of my teashop. Each clever combination of tiles causes me to consider how I might combine real-world opportunities to cause unprecedented good. I have played Pai Sho almost every day for more than three years, ha ha! But now I feel that I have a responsibility to apply my capacities to real people. If I do not contribute my winning strategy to the world, who will?
The war against my brother Ozai is over. Aang, our Avatar, fulfilled his responsibility and saved the world from that danger. He did not do it in the expected manner; he did not use the tried and true method of Avatar-scale combat. He did not defeat his adversary in the usual way. After all, combat usually leads to combat again at some later time. But Aang made use of ancient wisdom to truly end the conflict in a way that none of us foresaw. Such a new kind of victory is needed again, I think, to solve problems that have never before been resolved.
You see, the real war is not over. The Fire Nation's war of conquest lasted a hundred years, and some began to believe that it would never end. But it did. The Avatar did what had never been done since ancient days, and the world changed. There is another much subtler war, which has continued for eons in the hearts and minds of individuals everywhere, in every nation and time.
Until recent years, I believed that this inner war was doomed to be an eternal struggle. After all, is that not what humanity is? Are we not the constant clash of light and darkness? Are not the demons of our darkest nature eternally at war with the angels of our brightest potential? How can the war in the heart of man ever come to an end? How can it even make any progress, for good or bad? Aren't people always the same, generation after generation?
No.
But I used to think so. It was only two years ago that Jeong Jeong unearthed a more complete version of the ancient Tale of the Blooming Lotus Garden, a legend that I admit I had paid rather little attention to before hearing of Jeong Jeong's discovery. But now, in its complete and quite lengthy form, we realized that a treasure of unforeseen value had been gifted to us!
We each studied the tale, and we shared our thoughts with our Order through many letters. Every day, it seemed we learned a new lesson that none of us had ever considered before! As our understanding of this ancient wisdom grew, we all came to see what unprecedented change it could bring upon the world. If only it could be put into action.
I was actually ready to end my retirement there and then, ha ha, but Bumi pointed out that we did not yet have enough of a plan to accomplish anything of substance. And so we waited, learning more and more with each day. At least we could implement the lessons of the old tale into our own lives. Pakku suggested that that alone might be sufficient, that perhaps we should not seek some grand plan whereby we might offer others what we had found. I hope he does not mind me telling you that part, heh. In the end, though, we all perceived that the Spirits intended something different. Something grander.
And now, it is time. Time for me to move this particular Pai Sho tile into the active portion of the board. It is time for you to hear the lessons of the Blooming Lotus Garden, and decide for yourself what you will do with them.
I am going to begin slowly, and we will see how the rest of the board responds, shall we? Firstly, then, I will tell you a brief summary of the meaning of the Tale of the Blooming Lotus Garden. And then I will let you in on our plan, which will require that I tell you the happy ending of this little legend, ha ha.
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