94. The art of weiqi (go/baduk) war (碁#8) ☲

The stones go clank on the weiqi board. Or do they go clink. Some people argue that they go clonk. Or was that clunk? However, which way, a player hears the sound of stones being placed on the board, they can be as sweet as a gentle stream out in the middle of nowhere. And just hearing myself, say these things, makes me wonder about the significance of the thoughts I am sharing with you. Perhaps through the game of weiqi, I am seeking freedom. Even though at the core of my being I know that I am already free. Or maybe, more accurately I’m on some kind of journey to spiritual enlightenment. Despite not having the intention of actually visiting this place called Enlightenment. But that’s the weird part about higher games of weiqi. At some point in one’s evolution through the game we become a vessel to the Spirit of Enlightenment. It sucks us into the game so deeply, so intensely, that the game becomes the only reality. It is all there is. And when we are there, we experience a lifetime’s worth of us in which we know ourselves from birth to death. We play ourselves out to the fullest. And we are not totally sure if our opponent actually exists as a true individual or a manifestation of our own opinions, thoughts, feelings and beliefs. So when we are brought back to the now we can feel a little bit disorientated. Wondering what just happened. As we try to get our composure back, we rapidly start forgetting where we’d been. It is only years later, in the grips of powerful deja-vu when we try to piece it all together, that there is a chance that while we are trying to be at one with our yang dominated ego, that we come to know the other half: our yin dominated shadow. Here enlightenment is the unification of ego and shadow into one complete wholeness, that allows a person to see the space enclosed by that unification. Gladly: This is just spiritual talk telling you that your opponent is your opponent so that you can get to know your true self ⚔️圍棋戰聖