Shh! Listen! Do you hear that?

That is silence. It is what I was enjoying before you arrived with your questions. But you are young, and so I will forgive you. You wish to understand the life of a monk, do you not? Very well, then. Come with me.

There, in the practice yard. Watch Brother Tenshin as I speak. Perhaps his movement through the seventy-three phases of Tiger Hunting the Moons will suggest an outlet for that silence-disturbing energy of yours.

That is what you will do with much of your time, should you pursue the life of a monk. We are much involved with the focusing and redistribution of energy, especially that within ourselves. You will learn to tap into the energy that resides within you, and to use it to lend strength to your limbs, and power to your actions. Your hands and feet will become weapons; your skin will become armor; your blood will become a healing fire. But it is your mind that is your true power, never forget that. Without a disciplined mind, you will never realize your full potential… or master Crane Stands in the Lotus, like Sister Essh'iial, over there.

Don't look so surprised, there are many among the scaled people who follow our path. They are different, yes. Harder, darker, more dangerous; but they are monks nonetheless. We are the two halves of the Flowing Circle, the light and the dark. If either grows too weak or too strong, the circle collapses on itself. Here, I will draw a Flowing Circle in the sand for you. Meditate upon the dual nature of our order and ourselves as you practice Kitten Swims Upstream. Perhaps, if you learn something from your meditations, Brother Tenshin will teach the kitten to become a tiger.