Soken/Perfection

Scroll of Perfection

Since the burning I have suffered a weakness of form. Thus when I found myself at the base of the mountain that would become the Way it was the path of body that I first set my feet upon.

All things have form, all things have body. The world is the place of forms, where the rock is a rock and the tree a tree. For many who first step on the Way, the Path of Body seems the easiest. Encouraged to engage in a physical craft while holding the mindset of self-observation, the supplicant attempts to synchronize changes in both the inner and outer worlds throughout their training. The supplicant soon realizes that true understanding is best reached by mirroring the inner process with the outer, each building off the other.

Thus the supplicant begins by studying the form of things, objects that are small and can be turned over in the hand. They learn of the strengths, the weaknesses, the properties, they use all of their senses to expand their knowledge and in the end feel they know it's form. Many supplicants are eager to claim mastry of their own forms soon after this insight, feeling they are more than ready; thus is the first pitfall of the Path.
This stage of my training was accomplished by work in a smithy, where I came to know iron, to shape it and bend it to my use, just as I shaped and bent my own body to the task. I learnt the path as I learnt to forge, until I thought my work good enough to show others.

To know only the physical body of a thing tells you but a part of its story. Those truly ready to continue down the Path learn that there are properties beyond the physical, and yet vital to knowing the form. Things such as value, symbol, and application must be understood in order to gain insight into the form.
Now that my work with iron was sufficient that I could use it, I realized that others could as well; the idea of value became apparent, not just of my work, but of myself. I realized my own strength and worth slowly, for like the true value of my work, I had no idea the price of what I was making.

Yet even as one takes this second step along the Path, the supplicant is confronted with yet another barrier. Now having expanded their view about things to include those parts of the form beyond the physical many supplicants see no further distance to travel. If you know all that is physical and all that is not, what remains? Thus it is now that the supplicant must realized that, just as the nature of a form is more than the physical, so too does multiple forms of the same type have a larger form. Thus they learn that the rock has form and so too does the mountain. The tree and the forest. The brick and the wall.
My work with the forge made me some money, mostly enough to keep the forge running, but I was not satisfied and I started to wonder about that. Why was I only making enough to break even when surely such a difficult job should bring greater reward both in coin and inside. So I started looking around at who else was forging iron, who they worked for, and how they practised the trade. Going from iron itself to blacksmithing was a difficult jump at the time, but as I learnt more of the greater form my business prospered. As I tied the lessons to my inner self I realized not the greater picture but the smaller. Each part of my body had it's purpose, each a function, each a weakness and a strength and by knowing each piece I gained important insight to my form as a whole.

And when the supplicant takes their third step and has seen the forms within forms, the forms beyond forms, and the forms obvious to all, they are not finished. To take the fourth step the supplicant must realize that even things with no physical component have forms. This is a difficult step for some, but just as a rock has lines of it's body, strengths of it's substance and faults where it breaks, so too does something that has never been, the sky, a flame, a poem, a thought. These things, have their structure, and their faults, they are just like all else even if most don't think they exist in the same way as a rock. The poem has a style, but not all understand them, a flame might flicker and dance but there is a method to its efforts, and a weakness to its design.
When I learnt of the formless I sought to use iron to give shape to them, thinking that such an act would surely prove the final test, but this did not succeed. The formless cannot be given a form, because in doing so you make a mockery of them. I did however come to realize the subtle poetry of iron itself, not in the strict structured poetry of the bards, but the quiet mystery inherent to iron. So too did I learn to hear the poetry of others, the songs my body sang each day and the simple flow of sensation and strength. It was at this time that I felt I knew what I truly was.

So at the fourth step the supplicant sees the the forms obvious to all, the forms beyond forms, forms within forms, and the forms of the formless.When they can do this then they are truly ready to take the test of proving and claim mastery of the Path

The test of proving is a display of understanding and skill, with the supplicant demonstrating their ability to create and shape the world in accordance to their will and thus mirror the inner control they now possess. The soken approached by the supplicant provides a focus, or task, often this is something within the purview of the supplicant's studies to date, but many feel that a true test must be related to the unknown. The supplicant is then to complete the task provided to them with no restriction to method or time. Care is taken in all aspects of the project, ensuring every piece of the form is in fact a flawless symbol of the supplicant's understanding and inner self. When the task is complete the work is presented to the soken and if acceptable, the supplicant has completed the test of proving, and walked the Path of Body.
When I came to the end of the path there was no soken to put me to task, thankfully I didn't need it; my greatest work as a smith was commissioned by a lesser noble of nominal importance. The sword proved to be a considerable challenge to my skills, and far more valuable than I was paid, but I could see myself in every step of it's construction. Unbending iron was heated in the fires of adversity, shaped by the hammer blows of pleasure and pain, feeling and thought. Imperfections were burned off, and remolded, while alloys were added to instill desirable qualities. The balance was perfected so it would float in the hand and the edge sharpened to the finest point. That which was strong but unrefined became a vital tool, a symbol of equal parts the ability to protect and destroy. The sword was, to me, the essence of my body and my struggles. When I handed the blade to its owner I knew I had finished the Path of Body.