The Wheel of Teaching
Even though Sunya answered every question with complete sincerity, Adapa's doubts refused to settle entirely.
"One more thing… just one more question, if I may."
"There's no need to limit yourself to only one, you know."
"Ahem. Teacher — why are you teaching us these things at all?"
When he thought about it, it was strange. No matter how slim the odds, deliberately placing a dangerous weapon like breathing techniques into another person's hands was hard to understand.
"My intention has never changed from the beginning. I told you I would help all of you find peace of mind whenever you needed it, didn't I?"
Sunya gave Adapa's shoulder a light pat.
"I apologize if this sounds unkind, but I didn't teach you breathing techniques because I hoped you would become superhumans or gods. I did think you might learn to handle Prana — but even that is merely a means of gaining a little more room to breathe. It isn't the essence of what I'm offering."
To have peace of mind, it helped to have a healthy body and a clear spirit. The dead in the underworld had no worries about food and all the time in the world, so finding that peace came easily. But most of the living, breathing people of this world were too busy simply surviving to spare a thought for anything else.
The reason he taught them breathing techniques was his own form of consideration for those bound by frail flesh. The ability to handle Prana was nothing more than a byproduct of that process.
"You're telling me you placed such a dangerous weapon in my hands for something as small as peace of mind?"
"It would have been the same even if it hadn't been you, Adapa."
"…I don't understand. What on earth is this 'peace of mind' that you'd go this far for it?"
"It's nothing special."
Sunya opened his eyes a fraction.
"As I've lived, I've learned that strength alone doesn't let you do everything. More than once or twice, I've regretted not realizing that sooner."
"…"
"I want to teach that to all of you. A kind of vicarious satisfaction, I suppose? Haha."
Adapa still could not fully grasp what Sunya was saying. And yet, on another level, he found himself curious. He wanted to know what this man truly intended — how he meant to change people.
Until he understood that with certainty, Adapa resolved to keep attending Sunya's lessons.
Before long, Enede stepped into the classroom, and Sunya began the day's instruction as he always did.
As time went on, Sunya began teaching his students practical martial arts — archery, spear techniques, bare-handed combat. Apart from the breathing methods, these were the first truly useful skills he had given them, yet his focus remained on mental cultivation rather than victory in battle.
"Personally, I believe violence and martial arts must be distinguished from one another."
"Isn't martial arts just a technique for destroying things more effectively?"
Enede asked. In the distant future, many would study martial arts for sport or self-defense, but the essence never changed. Whether the purpose was killing or subduing, it remained, at its root, an act meant to destroy an opponent.
"At the most primitive level, you're right. But people sometimes invest martial arts with meanings of their own. Training solely to harm and kill others has its limits, after all."
"Meanings…?"
"Someone once said that martial arts are not merely a contest of strength and speed, but something that possesses a clear system and set of principles. Why do you suppose they said that?"
"Uh… I wouldn't know?"
"Because a warrior must calculate the distance between himself and his opponent, judge whether the line drawn by his own weapon — or his opponent's — suits that distance, and consider whether that line will arrive at the right place at the right moment to succeed in attack or defense."
Adapa found it impressive. It had already been remarkable that Sunya's theory of Prana could explain the power and abilities of the gods through logic — but the idea that even techniques for destroying people and protecting the body could be viewed through the same lens felt fresh in more ways than one.
"Someone else said that martial arts are a tool for the weak to face the strong — the very origin of rebellion. Just as you need no special technique to crush an insect underfoot, the strong require no technique when facing the weak. I don't think that's wrong, either."
"But even physically powerful warriors still train in martial arts, don't they?"
"Physical superiority alone doesn't always decide who holds the upper hand. People can grow weak at any moment — from illness, from maimed limbs, from sleeplessness, from sheer exhaustion. The strong can become the weak at any time. If we say they learn how to face the strong in preparation for the day they themselves become weak, it doesn't seem like much of a contradiction."
"Then what about you, Teacher?"
"I agree with the views I've just described, but personally, I think of martial arts as a form of communication. A kind of conversation conducted with the body, if you will."
Once again, an answer no one had expected. A discipline governed by laws and principles, a symbolic tool — those they could more or less understand. But applying words like communication and conversation to a technique for destroying people was something they had never imagined.
"Not all of them, of course, but most martial arts are built around facing an opponent. You have to consider a great many things — what weapon the other person is holding, what their physical characteristics are, whether the distance is close, what their temperament is like, what they're aiming for. If you could know perfectly what your opponent was about to do, even a small knife would be enough to bring them down."
"I… suppose so?"
"In other words, the better you understand your opponent, the higher your chances of surviving or winning. Doesn't that make it a form of communication as well?"
It wasn't wrong. Adapa and Enede nodded, if a little uncertainly.
"Well then — shall we step outside?"
Behind the building they used as a classroom lay an open lot. Wooden staffs and clubs carved from timber were arranged there, along with sticks shaped roughly like swords.
"We'll start with the staffs for now."
Following Sunya's instructions, the two students each took a long staff, spear-like in length.
"Now, spar with each other. There's a difference in raw strength between you, and we can't have anyone seriously hurt, so don't strike too hard. A light touch to any part of the body will count as a loss."
"Hold on, Teacher! Isn't this a little unfair?"
Enede voiced her complaint. Though small in build, Adapa was a demigod and an accomplished warrior besides — a different weight class entirely from Enede. She had decent athletic instincts, but her physical abilities were no different from those of any other woman of the age. As a hunter she could pull her own weight well enough, but standing face-to-face with an opponent in direct combat was an entirely different matter.
"It's fine. I'll go easy. And the teacher already said it — just touching the body counts as a win."
"…"
Enede still looked dissatisfied, but she finally faced Adapa and extended her staff. She at least knew how to grip a spear, and though she couldn't match Adapa, her stance was respectable enough.
"All right — begin."
The moment Sunya dropped his arm as the signal, the match was decided. Adapa thrust his staff forward at high speed and struck Enede squarely on the forehead.
"Ow!"
It was no harder than a firm knuckle-rap, but Enede clutched her brow with tears welling in her eyes. Fortunately, it wasn't hard enough to raise a lump.
"How am I supposed to beat Lord Adapa? This was never going to work from the start!!"
Between the sting in her forehead and the frustration of losing without even landing a blow, Enede's temper flared.
"Hmm, that was certainly too fast this time. Could you slow down a little, Adapa?"
"Yes."
"You want me to do it again?"
"It should be a bit easier this time. You don't have to win — just give it your best effort."
Enede grumbled, but she took up the staff once more. With Adapa moving far more slowly than before, she was able to respond adequately this time. The gap in skill was still too wide for the outcome to change, but unlike before, there was an actual exchange of blows.
"Well done."
"Hah… hah…"
An exhausted Enede lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. She seemed to have no strength left even to answer.
"Adapa — why did you thrust with the staff first?"
"Enede has long arms, so I judged that giving her distance would be dangerous. I meant to close the gap while keeping her in check."
"And Enede — why did you step back at that moment?"
"Ah… I figured the distance was working against me. Hah…"
After the sparring ended, Sunya had his students review the bout, making sure each of them understood what the other had been thinking when they acted.
"Tomorrow I'll teach you a few new techniques. From now on, we'll continue sparring once every three days."
"Th-that often? I-if we keep doing this, won't that peace of mind you keep talking about just disappear…?"
Even in the face of Enede's fretting, Sunya remained cool.
"You'll be fine once you get used to it. This, too, is training for peace of mind — so that you can find it whenever you need it."
Enede's face crumpled into a pout.