27. They had come from the northwest at the furthest region of the town. When the retainer told them of the summons there was no question as to whether they wanted to go. They hadn’t seen the shrine since they’d traveled with it to arrive here and they had never seen the temple. So when they arrived there was much to marvel at. Everyone should make a pilgrimage to the temple. It was something to be seen and gave the pilgrims such a sense of pride that it was in their town. That this was theirs.
Inside the temple the pilgrims gathered at the sound of trumpets and a retainer proclaimed the coming of the Almost Venerable One. A hush fell over the crowd and from the recesses of the temple came the figure of the Almost Venerable One in his elephant headgear and gold-stitched robes carried by four retainers on a jewel-encrusted palanquin.
They set the palanquin down and it folded into a throne.
"Welcome, honorable pilgrims." There was something strange about the voice that came out from behind the headgear. It was otherworldly and had a quality unlike any voice heard before. Except, of course, the pilgrims had heard the voice of the Almost Venerable One which spoke infrequently and at crucial moments. It was the Almost Venerable One’s voice that told them of the need to move and find a new place to settle. It had been the Almost Venerable One’s voice that approved of their current location. And now it was the Almost Venerable One’s voice that beckoned them to enter the shrine. They wondered if the Almost Venerable One had ever been inside. There were some who thought that the Almost Venerable One was inside. Both internal and external, the essence and the incarnation. Of course, there were others who thought that was blasphemous. Maybe now they would find out. But whatever happened, it would change forever the life of those who basked in the presence of the Internal One.
The Almost Venerable One was telling them how each would be called two by two to enter the shrine. Each would receive one chance to pass a test and those who passed may enter the shrine. The Almost Venerable One would rest within to administer the test. And then the retainers lifted the handles of throne, turning it back into a palanquin and carried the Almost Venerable One with a fanfare from the trumpeters behind the veil of the curtain.
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Inside the temple the pilgrims gathered at the sound of trumpets and a retainer proclaimed the coming of the Almost Venerable One. A hush fell over the crowd and from the recesses of the temple came the figure of the Almost Venerable One in his elephant headgear and gold-stitched robes carried by four retainers on a jewel-encrusted palanquin.
They set the palanquin down and it folded into a throne.
"Welcome, honorable pilgrims." There was something strange about the voice that came out from behind the headgear. It was otherworldly and had a quality unlike any voice heard before. Except, of course, the pilgrims had heard the voice of the Almost Venerable One which spoke infrequently and at crucial moments. It was the Almost Venerable One’s voice that told them of the need to move and find a new place to settle. It had been the Almost Venerable One’s voice that approved of their current location. And now it was the Almost Venerable One’s voice that beckoned them to enter the shrine. They wondered if the Almost Venerable One had ever been inside. There were some who thought that the Almost Venerable One was inside. Both internal and external, the essence and the incarnation. Of course, there were others who thought that was blasphemous. Maybe now they would find out. But whatever happened, it would change forever the life of those who basked in the presence of the Internal One.
The Almost Venerable One was telling them how each would be called two by two to enter the shrine. Each would receive one chance to pass a test and those who passed may enter the shrine. The Almost Venerable One would rest within to administer the test. And then the retainers lifted the handles of throne, turning it back into a palanquin and carried the Almost Venerable One with a fanfare from the trumpeters behind the veil of the curtain.
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