Copyright (C) 1997 by William Mistele. All rights reserved. 

                               The Wind Wizards 

Among the world's tallest mountains,  there lived a wizard  named 
Bari.  Bari's  job was to control the weather in a small  valley.  
Bari brought gentle rains each day in the afternoon. And the wild 
storms  with lightning and hail he drove away so the crops in the 
valley would be safe.  
     But  after a lifetime of controlling the weather,  Bari  had 
seen enough of rain and thunderstorms passing by.   Now he wished 
only for clear,  blue skies.  So he moved into a small house on a 
mountaintop  looking  down on the valley.  Bari decided he  would 
allow clouds to come and rain only once a week. 
     But a new wizard named Vajra moved in nearby.  Vajra built a 
house  on  top of the mountain on the other side of  the  valley.  
Though  Vajra had just graduated from weather controlling school, 
he liked rain because he loved rainbows.   Watching rainbows, all 
kinds and sizes, was his favorite hobby. 
     Each  morning just after sunrise Vajra called a  few  clouds 
over  to  his side of the valley.   The sunlight sparkled in  the 
falling rain.   Rainbows then laced the sky as Vajra sat down  to 
eat breakfast. 
     But  Bari became angry when he saw clouds hovering over  the 
valley  day  after day.   And so it was not long before  the  two 
wizards were fighting.   Vajra called rain clouds and Bari pushed 
them away. 
     Unfortunately,  when the two wizards fought, the rain clouds 
became  stuck  over the center of the valley.  With the  constant 
rain,  it  was  not  long before the  river  flooded  its  banks.  
Bridges broke and the fields and crops lay in ruin.
     The villagers who lived in the valley begged the two wizards 
to stop fighting,  but each wizard was determined to have his own 
way.   Bari wanted clear skies and Vajra wanted rainbows.   Alas.  
The  wizards were so powerful no one dared interfere  with  their 
war. 
     But  after a few weeks of steady rain,  a young shepherd boy 
named  Jeren remembered there was an abandoned temple  hidden  in 
the forest.   The temple belonged to the Lord of Boundless Light.  
Jeren  pushed his way through the thick undergrowth blocking  the 
temple gate.  He entered the temple and knelt in front of a huge, 
stone statute.  
     Jeren then prayed to the Lord of Light:  "Your light  shines 
brighter  than  the  radiance of ten thousand  suns.  Nothing  is 
hidden from you nor is your strength ever diminished.   You  calm 
the storm, change winter into spring, and cause the earthquake to 
fall  asleep.   You bring peace to the hearts of men and for  the 
sake  of peace I now ask for your help.   Send your servant,  the 
Goddess of Compassion, to restore harmony to our valley." 
     Jeren  left  the temple not knowing if his prayer  had  been 
answered  or  not.   But  that night the  Goddess  of  Compassion 
appeared to both wizards while they slept.   In their dreams, the 
Goddess took them high into the sky.  
     She said, "Both of you want to change nature to satisfy your 
desires." 
     To Bari who hated clouds she said, "Search the sky.  Show me 
a  fence that can hold the clouds back.   If you can find such  a 
fence,  I  will grant your wish.   The clouds will stay away from 
your side of the valley for the rest of your life."
     And to Vajra,  who loved rainbows,  she said,  "Find a chain 
to bind the sun.  If you can hold the sun in place, I promise you 
a sky full of rainbows twenty-four hours a day." 
     And  so  the two wizards set off to meet her  demands.  Bari 
went  and searched everywhere for a fence to contain the  clouds.  
He found garden fences, courtyard fences, castle walls, and walls 
for  defending empires.   But he found no fence great  enough  to 
stop the clouds from flowing by. 
     Finally  Bari asked the Sky,  "Where can I find a  fence  to 
keep  the clouds away?   And the Sky replied,  "I have never been 
troubled  by  the  greatest of storms nor have I  ever  lost  the 
smallest wisp of a cloud.  I give the birds,  the winds,  and the 
clouds  complete freedom.   They find their own way as  they  fly 
through the sky."
     And then the Sky said to Bari, "But you have asked me a most 
unusual question. Why do you want this fence?"
     And  Bari replied,  "Because I love the vastness,  the  blue 
depths, and the openness of the sky."  
     And the Sky said,  "You need no fence.  Instead, I will open 
your heart so it is big enough to hold the clouds,  the rainbows, 
and  the blue expanse within it."  The Sky touched Bari's  chest.  
Bari  then  felt his heart become as vast and clear as  the  sky.     
     Meanwhile,  Vajra  searched for a chain to bind the sun.  He 
looked at the chains anchoring ships in the sea.   He tested  the 
strength  of  chains lifting castle gates  and  drawbridges.   He 
yanked  on  the chains which elephants used to pull  down  trees.  
But none of these were strong enough. 
     Finally,  he found the greatest blacksmith on earth and paid 
him  to  forge the biggest chain ever made.   When the chain  was 
done  Vajra flew with it to the sun.   But the chain only  melted 
from the sun's heat. 
     So Vajra asked the sun, "How can I bind you so you will stay 
in one place?"
     And  the sun replied,  "Nothing can bind nor limit me except 
my own Joy.   The song in my heart streams forth as light and  is 
heard throughout the universe.  For what purpose do you make such 
a foolish request of me?"
     And  Vajra replied,  "Only the rainbow reveals to the  whole 
world the beauty of the colors hidden in your light.   My wish is 
for this beauty to shine both by day and by night."     
     "Ah,"  said the sun who then nodded.  "You speak out of love
for the light.   Here. I will give you my Joy."  And saying this, 
the sun touched Vajra's chest.  Then Vajra felt all the colors of 
the rainbow shining with delight from his heart. 
     And so Vajra and Bari returned to speak with the Goddess  of  
Compassion.   The two wizards said,  "We can neither fence in the 
clouds nor bind the sun in place." 
     Then the Goddess said:  "In trying to satisfy your  desires, 
you  have  become  wise." And as the  two  wizards  watched,  the 
Goddess  became  huge until she held a thunderstorm in  her  left 
hand and the sun in her right hand.  
     And then she said, "Where does Joy shine as bright as within 
the  sun?   Though the sun appears only during the day  it  fears 
neither  darkness nor night.   
     "And  whose heart is as vast as the sky?   The sky clings to 
neither  the  beauty  of the rainbow nor does it  flee  from  the 
lightning  or the howling wind.   Awake now from your dreams  and 
share with others the wonders your hearts have discovered."
     Gentle clouds now roll through the sky over the valley.  The 
bridges  are  repaired.   Crops grow again.   And the people  are 
happy.  
     The wizards,  however,  went and found Jeren and taught  him 
all they knew about magic.   But more than the art of controlling 
weather,  they  taught  him  about the joy  and  the  peace  that 
overflow from a heart filled with love.