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Selection - Anan: Book One

from Chapter 1: Princess Sondari and Masla
Page: 2/3

Do not answer hatred with hatred. Do not answer force with force. Those who bear hatred will receive hatred in return. Those who use force will in turn be pursued by force. For as long as such acts are repeated, human beings will never be freed from pain and suffering.
King Aiku had become an enthusiastic devotee of this teaching of karmic cause and effect, and as a result, he changed his way of governing the country. Putting down the sword in favor of the pen, he turned from waging war to an ideology of harmony. People versed in literature and the arts rose to prominence, rather than warriors like Masla. When he was just one step away from realizing his ambitions, Masla’s dreams were dashed to the ground.
The anger that Masla felt was directed at the king and his senior statesmen. At the same time, he harbored an even stronger rage toward Sakyamuni and his disciples. He came dangerously close to plotting a rebellion, and it was only his love for Princess Sondari that restrained him. Now, however, everything had suddenly changed. An invasion by a hostile country was facilitated by the betrayal of a disenchanted warrior who, like Masla, had lost hope in the future. The result was a crushing defeat for King Aiku, who had urged his countrymen to follow the principle of nonresistance.
Fools!
As he gazed at the princess’s profile, Masla began to feel like everything that had happened up to now was all part of a dream. He no longer felt angry about the stupidity of the king and his statesmen.
There is a great wide world awaiting me now. Their foolish ideas about nonresistance have actually worked in my favor. Here before me, I have a flower that I can reach out and touch anytime—a gently blooming flower that I can pluck whenever I wish.
Masla was at the height of jubilation, with the greatest confidence in his abilities. No matter what country I go to, a fine warrior like me will surely be welcomed, he thought. And what’s more… Cutting short the rapture of these musings, a soft, sweet sound flowed from the lips of the princess.
“Anan-sama, Anan Sonja-sama, I am so ashamed to be seen like this.”
Masla rose to his feet with a start. With every drop of blood in his body suddenly boiling with anger, he took hold of the princess’s shoulders.
“Your Highness! Princess Sondari!”
With this, the princess was jolted awake. She became fully conscious and opened her clear, dark eyes.
“Oh…it’s you, Masla.”
Her eyes opened wider in surprise. She quickly sat up and asked, “Where am I? Where is my father? What happened to the castle…?”
“Your honorable father has died in battle, and the castle has fallen to the enemy. I came to your aid, and we have escaped this far.”
Even as Masla gazed at the princess and followed the movements of her eyes, his jealousy toward Anan enraged him and made it difficult even to breathe.
“Where are we?”
“I cannot say for sure. All I know is that we are outside the borders of our country.”


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