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Thoughts of a Sweeper
As profound as you find them
Created on 2006-01-18 00:33:34 (#9286734), last updated 2006-04-02
3 comments received, 157 comments posted
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Basic Info| Name: | Sweeper |
|---|---|
| Location: | The Monastery, some century |
BioLu-Tze is a Sweeper. He cleans the Monastery of the History Monks. He is lower in status than the newest novice.
On the surface. Everyone knows that nothing is like it seems. According to The Way, 'You can't judge a book by its cover.' And Sweeper is a firm believer in The Way.
"You know that the dreadful Battle of Five Cities did not happen because the messenger got there in time?"
The did. You learned this early in your studies. And they bowed nervously, because he wasthe abbot, after all.
"And you know that when the messenger's horse threw a shoe he espied a man trudging beside the road carrying a small portable forge and pushing an anvil in a barrow?"
The knew.
"And you know that man was Lu-Tze?"
They did.
"You surely know that Janda Trapp, Grand Master ofOki-doki, Toro-fu, and Chang-fu, has only ever yeilded to one man?"
They knew.
"And you know that man is Lu-Tze?"
They did.
"You know that little shrine you kicked over last night?"
They knew.
"You know it had an owner?"
There was silence. Then the brightest of the novices looked up at the abbot in horror, swallowed, picked up one of the three brooms, and walked out of the room.
THe other two were slower of brain and had to follow the story all the way through to the end.
Then one of the said, "But it was only a sweeper's shrine!"
"You will take up the brooms and you will sweep," said the abbot, "and you will sweep every day, and you will sweep until the day you find Lu-Tze and dare to say, 'Sweeper, it was I who knocked over and scattered your shrine and now I will in humility accompany you to the dojo of the Tenth Djim, in order to learn the Right Way.' Only then, if you are still able, may you resume your studies here. Understood?"
Older monks sometimes complained, but someone would always say: "Remember that Lu-Tze's Way is not our Way. Remember he learned everything by sweeping unheeded while students were being educated. Remember, he has been everywhere and done many things. Perhaps he is a little... strange, but remember that he walked into a citadel full of armed men and traps and nevertheless saw to it that the Pash of Muntab choked on a fish bone. No monk is better than Lu-Tze at finding the Time and the Place."
Some, who did not know, would say: "What is this Way that gives him so much power?"
And they were told: "It is the Way of Mrs. Marietta Cosmopilite, 3 Quirm Street, Ankh-Morpork, Rooms to Rent, Very Reasonable. No, we don't understand it, either. Some subsendential rubbish, apparently."
Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time
On the surface. Everyone knows that nothing is like it seems. According to The Way, 'You can't judge a book by its cover.' And Sweeper is a firm believer in The Way.
"You know that the dreadful Battle of Five Cities did not happen because the messenger got there in time?"
The did. You learned this early in your studies. And they bowed nervously, because he wasthe abbot, after all.
"And you know that when the messenger's horse threw a shoe he espied a man trudging beside the road carrying a small portable forge and pushing an anvil in a barrow?"
The knew.
"And you know that man was Lu-Tze?"
They did.
"You surely know that Janda Trapp, Grand Master ofOki-doki, Toro-fu, and Chang-fu, has only ever yeilded to one man?"
They knew.
"And you know that man is Lu-Tze?"
They did.
"You know that little shrine you kicked over last night?"
They knew.
"You know it had an owner?"
There was silence. Then the brightest of the novices looked up at the abbot in horror, swallowed, picked up one of the three brooms, and walked out of the room.
THe other two were slower of brain and had to follow the story all the way through to the end.
Then one of the said, "But it was only a sweeper's shrine!"
"You will take up the brooms and you will sweep," said the abbot, "and you will sweep every day, and you will sweep until the day you find Lu-Tze and dare to say, 'Sweeper, it was I who knocked over and scattered your shrine and now I will in humility accompany you to the dojo of the Tenth Djim, in order to learn the Right Way.' Only then, if you are still able, may you resume your studies here. Understood?"
Older monks sometimes complained, but someone would always say: "Remember that Lu-Tze's Way is not our Way. Remember he learned everything by sweeping unheeded while students were being educated. Remember, he has been everywhere and done many things. Perhaps he is a little... strange, but remember that he walked into a citadel full of armed men and traps and nevertheless saw to it that the Pash of Muntab choked on a fish bone. No monk is better than Lu-Tze at finding the Time and the Place."
Some, who did not know, would say: "What is this Way that gives him so much power?"
And they were told: "It is the Way of Mrs. Marietta Cosmopilite, 3 Quirm Street, Ankh-Morpork, Rooms to Rent, Very Reasonable. No, we don't understand it, either. Some subsendential rubbish, apparently."
Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time
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