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One morning as the sun melted the frost, the earth opened up and revealed one of her secrets - the answer
to a puzzle that has never been solved. She spoke of a lost city somewhere in the forest. A refuge. A city of jade. Only the
parrots and monkeys and the forest dwellers knew of its existence. No one knew when it was built, or why. It has just been
there since the beginning of time. Its walls were made of jade, with mirrors embedded to reflect the sun. Huge pieces of stone,
dredged up from the sea, were carved into intricate designs. Some were green with swirls of black. Others were so pale they
were translucent and the sun shone through. There were fountains and pools to reflect the light of the planets, spinning along
the ecliptic. Overgrown with bamboo and banyan, palm and plumeria, it was a sea of every shade of green. The only light was
a luminous green glow, day and night. There were no people in the city, and no sound except the eternal sound that comes from
everywhere and from nowhere: from cracks in the giant walls, from broken statues covered with vines, and from the sky itself.
There was an altar with many jewels and pictures of those who have died and those yet to be born. And when the earth pointed
the way to the city, the people rejoiced and set out to find it. But seasons change - the crow calls in the morning and the
owl at night. And when the snow fell, the earth closed up again and the way to the city was lost. Lost to all except one.
He alone remembered the way and walked to the city - over hills and ridges, deep into valleys, mile after
mile - a lone figure walking barefoot on the mossy road, overrun with creepers. The parrots were still. Even the monkeys were
still as he passed by. He came to a pond and saw his reflection in the clear water. The fish looked back at him. And he never
returned. He simply sat down under a tree and waited. The tree was huge and gnarled and its branches spread wide to give shelter
to the animals. Flower petals from blossoms on the tree slowly fell to the ground like snow around the seated figure. And
as the crescent moon rose among shimmering stars, everything became still. The moon emanated a golden hue, and when clouds
passed before it, the light became ethereal. The distant echoes of a bell rang from somewhere deep in the forest, and the
Wheel stopped spinning. For this One, there was no more time. He was full. He was empty. He awoke from the dream. He became
a light unto the world, radiating from the lost city. And he spoke these words: "Beware of desire, understand impermanence.
Peace comes to those who see the one behind the diversity. To see if this is so, look within your own mind." And then he turned
into stone and remained for 1000 years, not speaking a word, a faint smile on his face - a distant light in the forest.
The earth has its seasons, and for us - time is short. To search for the city is my religion. To be lost on
the road is the way it has always been. To find it is to meet God.
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