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Author Topic: The Twenty Stages of Enlightenment. For Strength of Body and Peace of Mind.  (Read 1100 times)

Lion El'Jonson

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The Twenty Stages of Enlightenment
For Strength of Body and Peace of Mind
by Akio


Introductory Chapter

Allow me to begin this book by introducing myself. My name is Akio, a monk from the village of Chuugoka on the Southeast island of Rokushima Taiyoo. As an orphan of unknown origin, I have no formal family name, though some have referred to me as Akio Segatakai, referencing my height. I was raised by Master Hamada, a master in the arts of Ki. Ki is the inner power within the body, within every living person known to us, perhaps even energy generated by our spirit. While it's exact nature is unknown to us, what is known is that both usage and mastery of Ki leads to incredible feats of body and mind. Peace with ones self, overcoming ones flaws and insecurities, contrasted physically in the advancement of muscle, speed, even the rigidity of skin.

It is not uncommon for those who master Ki to be able to perform seemingly unnatural acts, such as running at incredible speeds or snatching arrows out of the air mid flight. While to some this may sound ridiculous- impossible, even, you may have seen such an individual. Masters of Ki, often known as Monks, tend to fight with their fists or small, deft weapons in either hand such as kamas or more uncommonly short blades. This path is not easy, so I have learned firsthand, but my Master outlined the path to me in detail. Something I have learned for years- the Twenty Stages of Enlightenment.

This path was passed down to him from his Master, but tragically, my Master lost his life before he could complete the journey. With his life taken, as his lone disciple, his knowledge of the Stages is lies with me to keep alive. Through this book, I will not only transcribe the Stages, but I will describe my journey as I ascend through the Stages as well. I hope this book will serve as a guide for any aspiring Monks seeking to master Ki. Though I am not currently prepared to take disciples (I am not skilled enough to yet refer to myself as Master.), I know that this knowledge can help. I will post the chapters of this book as I write them, for I will surely not write them quickly enough to wait until they are all done. I thank you in advance for your patience.


[Posted Publicly in the Vallaki Area]
« Last Edit: May 18, 2021, 05:44:04 PM by Wrath »

Lion El'Jonson

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Chapter One
The First Step

Beginning The Path

When my Master told me that the first Stage of Enlightenment was possibly the hardest, I was skeptical. It's natural, after all, to believe that the first step will be the easiest. But when it comes to becoming a Monk, it's much different than starting a new diet or building the courage to court your local love. To train and excel as a monk, the level of dedication required is unmatched. Every monk needs a code- a strict lifestyle and doctrine to live by. This code shouldn't be a secret, either- your code is something to be proud to follow, not to mention memorize by heart. For the sake of offering an example, I will give the code that I adopted and live by to this day.
  • Maintain Your Honor
  • Be Respectful Of The Law and Those Who Uphold It
  • Harm No Innocent
  • Preserve The Hamada Teachings
No Monk's code will be identical to the other, as it is important that you believe strongly in your code. Your code must come to you via your own beliefs, not another. The Hamada Dojo has always trained few students of strong moral character, who believe in good and uphold it- however, even Monks that serve dark forces abide by their own codes. While the path may be followed without one, a code offers a rigid, routine way to understand your principles and help advance you. To begin the path of the Hamada Monk, your first act must be to realize your code.

Stage One: Strenghten Your Mind

You are about to undertake a path both long and arduous- to become a master of ki, first you must master yourself. You know you have achieved the First Stage of Enlightenment when you are at peace with your own mind. Though I assume some may be asking 'What does it mean to be at peace with myself?' The answer is simple. We are all fraught with insecurities, unreasonable desires, and negative aspects. Concern over appearance, lust for money or power, envy of your neighbor's wife. The darker thoughts that cloud your mind must be tamed before you can begin to manipulate Ki.

To begin aspiring for the First Stage, you must meditate. Find a place of peace- many Monks are capable of meditating anywhere, but when first beginning you will need silence and solitude. Focus on emptying your mind of all thoughts- enter as quiet a state mentally and physically as you can, then begin to think of your code. Each line, each word, let them resonate through you as you meditate on them. You should do this for as many hours as you can, without breaks for food or water until you are finished. Do this every day until your code is second nature to you- until the words are as easy to recall as your own name.

Once you have done this, shift your meditations to new subjects. Specifically, recognize the nature of your flaws and the reality of their insignificance. Reach into your most shameful thoughts and realize each and every one of your flaws and insecurities, then meditate on this list as well. As you become more familiar with it, focus more on the reasons each flaw is changeable or unimportant. An uncomely chin does not matter to a Master of Ki, for their beauty is in their grace. A slow mind does not matter to a Master of Ki, for they are grateful for how much they can learn.

Do not rush yourself. Do this for as long as it takes- likely weeks, perhaps months. You will know you have reached the First Stage when your insecurities are meaningless to you, you are one with your code, and you can meditate peacefully in even the loudest of crowds.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2021, 10:57:59 PM by Dale »

Lion El'Jonson

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Chapter Two
Physicality

Strength of Body

You reached the First Stage, your mind is ready to take on the challenges of Ki. By now, you have likely already realized your willpower and discipline are stronger than ever before- you've reached the level of dedication necessary to continue walking the path. With a steadiness of mind achieved, you're ready to begin harnessing Ki and strengthening your body. Even if you have every intention of living a life of peace, a rigid sense of physical readiness is necessary for any follower of Ki. A weak body cannot hope to progress for long on the path, lest your own flesh grow weary and fail under the duress of harnessing your spiritual energy.

But there is no special secret to physical training- like everything along the Stages of Enlightenment, it relies on dedication and hard work. To properly train your body for the physical requirements of being a Monk, you will have to undergo both a training regimen and a diet. To begin, first you must limit your meals to three times a day, they must also be of reasonable size. Too much and your body will gain too much fat, too little and you will be unable to build the muscle required. Your meals should consist of meat and vegetables, fruit as well if you can reasonably acquire them. Avoid heavy desserts, food made with excess oil, excessive alcohol, and anything using too much sugar.

The physical training should be very frequent, resist the urge to skip even a single day. It is recommended that you physically train every day of the week, however, a day may be passed if you participate in physically demanding combat for at least an hour or more. Even still, exercises are more productive and recommended over combat. My personal regimen is simple, but I keep it mixed up from day to day to allow certain parts of my body to rest. Make sure to drink water regularly, lest you collapse.

Squats - Keeping your back straight, lower your hips until you are at half your regular height in a crouched position. Hold for a moment before rising. Repeat. As your physical prowess increases, perform this with weights slung over your shoulders.

Pushes - Start at a position flat to the ground. Place your hands to the sides of your chest. Rest your toes on the ground, keep your legs straight, and use your arms to lift yourself up. Lower yourself to elbow level, before rising back up. Repeat. Add weight to your back to push your limits.

Running - I recommend running before any other physical activity. It will ready your body for the rest of your exercises and help prevent injuring yourself.


Stage Two: Harness Your Ki

While resting off your physical exertion, continue your meditation. Enter your state of peace and focus on harnessing the energy that flows through your body. The stronger you become physically, the more focused your mind becomes, the easier you will find it to sense and draw from the spiritual force of Ki. A beginner technique I learned from my Master was the Hi No Ken, a rough translation to common being the 'Fire Fist' technique.

It is important to wear gloves for this technique, lest you set your own hands ablaze. In your focused state, you must think of fire. The aspect of it, the nature of it, how it starts, burns, and dies out. Envision your hands covered in this flame; at first, you will feel nothing. You must meditate on the topic and focus on it. You will eventually feel a welling, bursting energy over your hands, you will see that flames have enveloped your gloves, yet do not burn the fabric.

Once you can call the Hi No Ken effortlessly, even in the middle of combat, you will know that you have achieved Stage Two of Hamadan Enlightenment.


[Posted Publicly in the Vallaki Area]
« Last Edit: October 08, 2022, 11:04:21 AM by Dale »

Lion El'Jonson

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Chapter Three
Reflexes
Sharpening your Speed

Another aspect of harnessing Ki that's perhaps most known is the way it effects the swiftness of the Monk. You've likely heard the tales of men who run at unnatural speeds and catch arrows right out of the air- this is not myth or falsities, for a Monk this is more than possible. Primarily this will be achieved through meditation and focus on the Ki- however, there are mundane ways to sharpen your reflexes and improve your ability at this. Relying solely on the Ki, while possible, will leave you at a disadvantage in combat. For peaceful monks, these physical exercises are unnecessary. But for those who plan to engage in combat, I highly recommend them.

Rock Catching. As simple as it sounds, one must gather a handful of rocks, preferably cherry sized to start with. The exercise is very simple- stand in place, throw the rocks above your head with some force, then move to catch them all with the same hand. Doing this enough, eventually you'll be able to catch most if not all of them with a single hand. In later stages of training, if you wish to keep performing this exercise, use smaller pebbles instead.

Monkey Running. Significantly more difficult than the previous exercise- one that also requires a suitably dense forest. You may not be able to perform this exercise well until further in your monk training, I have had difficulty with this one myself so far. Climb a tall tree, stand upon one of its thicker branches. To perform the exercise, you need to jump to the next tree and continue onwards. Using the base of the branches and the trunk as points to land and jump from, you can go from tree to tree. At first, it will be slow. You will be pausing to keep your balance, likely gripping the tree for support. This is fine. In the later stages of your Monk training, you'll be able to leap from tree to tree without pause. This is excellent training for your reflexes, helping you make actions on the spot without overthinking them


Stage Three: Ki Agility

For Monks that engage in combat, speed is of incredible importance. But every monk, even peaceful ones, tend to hone their speed and agility by harnessing the Ki. As doing so will strengthen one's ki and make excellent practice in harnessing it more naturally. As the bond between yourself and your energy is paramount to the the stages of Enlightenment, I recommend this for all Monks.

To achieve Stage Three, you must focus channel your ki into your own body. You will have to do this consciously, at first. Clear your mind of all thoughts and go for a run. As you run, focus your ki into your legs and visualize your speed increasing. It's difficult to describe with words, but you must realize your own swiftness increasing as you perform this exercise. The ki will help you move, fight, and react faster in time.

Simple as this exercise is, it requires repetition. You will know you have achieved Stage Three when you notice a natural change to your running speed. You will begin moving faster than before, if only slightly- your reflexes will be sharper, quicker. You may be able to pluck an arrow from the air, however, I don't recommend exposing yourself to such a situation. Attempt this only when necessary, it may be wiser to use your enhanced reflexes to evade rather than deflect until you are more confident in your agility.

Lion El'Jonson

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Chapter Four
Combat
Stage Four: Striking The Enemy

A chapter I'm sure you may have been waiting for- teachings to better defend yourself or attack your enemy. There are monks who are mired in peace, that do not learn much in the way of combat ability, but monks of Master Hamada are not one of them. While in the past, my Master and his before him would supplement this stage through stance training and combat dummies, I personally achieved Stage Four through vigorous practical combat against the challenges the nation of Barovia presented to me.

A key aspect of Stage Four is learning to strike harder- not faster, mind you, but harder. You may question the difference but a fast strike is not necessarily a hard hitting one. In this, you will need to practice using your martials arts, whether you rely solely on fists or mix both kicks and fists together in your style, you must become very familiar in using them.

The simplest, but most dangerous way, to advance to Stage Four would be active combat. I recommend wearing gloves for this to avoid injuring your hands, as while some suggest you should fight bare knuckles to strengthen your hand, this is completely unnecessary. More likely you will only serve to injure yourself and put your training on pause. I personally used thick leather gloves and boots during this time, which allowed me to put as much force behind my strikes and kicks as I could without damaging my body.

Focus on your Ki, channel it into your body as you did to enhance your speed in Stage Three, but now, use it to add force to your strikes. Imagine the weight of a rushing bear behind every kick, every strike. You will know that you've achieved Stage Four once you're seen a physical difference in how intense your strikes have become. You'll see they've become more wounding and your enemy is more likely to stagger.


Reaching Stage Four Without Combat

For my more peaceful fellow monks out there, that wish to rely more on non-violent training, I write this section for you. First, I commend your initiative in being less violent- it's an admirable quality. Training your strikes is still plenty possible, if a bit more time consuming, without engaging in active combat. Keep in mind that the following training will also serve to harden your knuckles, which will make them less vulnerable to bruising and dislocation.

Strike Progression - You will want to begin by finding a large rock or tree and pinning a large stack of paper up against it. The exercise is simple- with both hands, punch the stack of paper repeatedly until it is worn away. Unfortunately this is best done without gloves, and will bring pain and soreness despite the ki you're channeling. As you continue to do this, pin less and less paper up each passing day until you are striking the rock or tree with your bare fists.

Combat Dummies - If your style is similar to mine, more reliant on precise martial arts, you are better suited towards practicing with armored combat dummies. Cover them in thick leather to start, and practice your style against it while channeling the ki through your strikes. Kicks, punches, this will work for any technique. To increase the effectiveness of this as you progress, armor the dummy in metal plates; The more authentic the armor, the better for your training.

Combative monks may also find benefit in these exercises for the purpose of strengthening their knuckles, but the Stages of Enlightenment will naturally harden your skin and body as time goes on, so this wouldn't be necessary in the long run.

Lion El'Jonson

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Chapter Five
Activated Ki
Achieving Stage Five: Practice Makes Perfect

Stage Five is a simple one- unfortunately there's little advice I can give you for reaching it beyond keep training. Continue channeling the Ki as often as possible, as Stage Five comes passively once your body has adapted to the ki's use and is doing it subconsciously. As your monk training continues, you will notice that you no longer have to consciously channel your ki for certain things and the Ki will start to mesh and adapt to your body. This will become a recurrent theme in future chapters and you will ironically find your life becomes easier the further along the path you travel. Counterintuitive as that may sound, the simple reason is as you progress, your mind is becoming more disciplined and your body more accustomed to physical strain.

It's at this point that I recommend escalating your physical training to more demanding exercises, to avoid stagnation and continue progression. It's a little harder to recognize that you've reached Stage Five, in fact some Monks don't realize they've reached it until they've bypassed it for Stage Six all of a sudden. The reason for this being is that the main change to you at this point is that the Ki is beginning to integrate with your body. Many monks find that the Ki will prevent them from natural sicknesses, including the more dire ones, a very understated and not well known benefit of Monk training. It's part of why so many peaceful monks often live to very old ages- there's no risk of a disease ravaging their aging body.

To continue your training towards the next Stage, I have two advanced physical exercises for you to complete.


Incline Running

This is incredibly simple but strenuous, even for those of our talents. The simpleness of it is the find the largest incline you can- a hill, a mountain, the longer the best. Starting at the bottom of the incline, run up it at full speed. Jog back downwards to avoid giving your body rest and repeat this over and over until you physically cannot. For normal individuals this kind of until-failure exercise is damaging, but by this point you should have the endurance to remain uninjured. Make sure you're channeling the ki to increase your running speed- combined with this exercise, it will help you advance.

Dummy Tackles

Set up a combat dummy and cover it in the heaviest practice armor available, this exercise is simple in the sense that you will tackle the dummy to the ground, then stand it back up and immediately do it again. If you have weights to add to the dummy, do so- the heavier and more cumbersome it is, the more effective the exercise. This training will help you to take down your opponents in combat, even if they're larger than you.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2022, 11:09:19 AM by Dale »

Lion El'Jonson

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Bonus Chapter
A Word To My Readers

Before I move on to Chapter Six, let me congratulate you on coming this far. I know that our path isn't an easy one. It's not one that brings ultimate power, it's not one that brings untold riches, it's not even one that brings unmatched glory. All of these things are just as easily achieved with any other lifestyle- but making it this far, you understand the same thing I do. The path of the Monk isn't about power, money, or fame; It's about peace. Peace with yourself, peace with others, learning to improve ones self and aspiring towards perfection.

Our path requires much of us: Discipline, Strength, Endurance, and most of all Persistence. There are those that may scorn you- may claim you are wasting your time, that there are better ways.

But let's be clear with each other and ourselves; The path of the Monk is irreplaceable. Enlightenment will place us in a new plane of thinking, change us in ways that even I can't imagine. As I write this, I am currently of Stage Six on my path of Enlightenment. Yet the differences I already feel, you do too no doubt. The clarity of mind that our path brings us should be celebrated and advertised- don't be afraid to offer others advice or ideas. Even if they aren't willing to follow the path, there are many exercises of the mind and body we use that can help others achieve a little peace too.

In the end, it's important that we understand what really matters. We follow our code, we fight for what we believe in, we don't stop doing our best. I do my best to bring what knowledge I have to you, in the hopes that it will make a difference and help guide you on your own journey.

-Akio
« Last Edit: June 18, 2021, 06:39:24 PM by Dale »

Lion El'Jonson

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Chapter Six
Combat Ki
Achieving Stage Six: Intensive Training

As stated before, there are two primary ways to further your training at this point. The slower, more peaceful method is repeated meditation and reflection. Any channeling of your ki, even passively, will help further you along the path- but adapting your body to using more and more of the ki through meditation alone can take years. For all stages this point and beyond, I will focus on the physical training, as the meditation will no longer change. Simply taking your focus and meditating on your ki is all you must do to peacefully further yourself.

For those that wish to ascend the path faster, like myself, there is need for more continuous, combative exercise but to a more intensive point. If you're still strengthening your fists against a dummy, this is the point you should be adding studded leather armor to it. Retroactively increase the difficulty of all prior physical exercises that you're still undergoing. Obviously, however, I have some new exercises for you to try that will help take you along the path, ranging from simple to complex.


Swimming
It goes without saying, really. The way you use your ki to enhance your running, do the same while swimming. Preferably a large body of water like a lake, attempt to cross the entirety of it. Just be sure of your safety in doing so, bodies of water in the core can be more dangerous than they are worth. However; It is said there are artifacts that allow one to breathe underwater. Extended underwater swimming would be incredibly good training, if you happen to possess an artifact or potion that allows you to breathe underwater, heavily consider this method.

Climbing
Another simple exercise- climbing. Preferably buildings or cliff faces, as trees have too many hand holds. Channel your ki to embolden your grip and scale your chosen object as quick as you can without putting yourself in too much danger.

Multi-Dummies
A recycled concept of the dummy you are likely already training with- this time, place one more on both sides of the dummy. Your goal is to practice your usual combat routine, but try to include wide strikes or roundhouse kicks; for every attack you land on the center dummy, you must land another on one of the extra two. Be sure to channel your ki while practicing and fight as fast as possible. Particularly dexterous monks can apply this training to active combat, usually able to fare against multiple opponents quite well.

Arrow Striking
If this exercise sounds dangerous, that's because it is. You'll also need a friend to help you. The premise is simple- arm your friend with a bow or crossbow, then have them shoot at you and attempt to catch, deflect, or break the arrows. Do NOT have them shoot too often- even heavily experienced monks can only manage to catch so many arrows in a short time. Your ki has its limits, know them and be familiar with them before attempting this. However, this practice is most effective while not wearing any protective padding or armor- your self-protective instincts will sharpen your reflexes and your ability will suffer if you hamper them with armor.

The Milestone

Stage six is one of the milestones in our path towards enlightenment- it marks more changes in our bodies that permit more impressive feats. For those combat oriented, this is an especially important stage, while peaceful monks may not even notice it. altogether. You will know you've reached Stage Six on the Path of Enlightenment when your Ki is influencing your speed and strength in combat. Your strikes will come out more frequently and fiercely, your speed is gradually increasing and you're likely able to move at much faster speeds than normal.

Continue these exercises- as Stage Seven will be achieved the same way and I won't have new techniques for you to practice with until you've reached that point.

« Last Edit: July 31, 2021, 11:23:53 AM by Dale »