The Dharma Revelation

Chapter 25

That evening when Daniel was alone in his room, he sawed through his cast with the scissors that John left him. The fiberglass splintered and cracked as he peeled it away. It felt wonderful. His arm seemed to have the same range of motion and very little pain, although it was a bit weaker than it should have been.

Smiling, he sat down with the Osiris-supplied mobile phone and made some calls.

First he checked in with the hospital to see how Jessie was doing. She remained unconscious, in stable but critical condition. BJ Turner remained with her, not leaving her side. Daniel was impressed at how seriously the man took his job, and felt a lot better about her well-being, knowing that she had protection.

He couldn't get through to Eric or Troy, although that was not so unusual. Daniel knew his brother would contact him when he was able, and he would try Troy again later.

St. Joseph's was running normally. An associate from another parish was filling in for him. Things were getting done, which was a relief to Daniel, although everything Eric had told him was true. The official word was that he was on a leave of absence, but after speaking with Grace, she had confirmed that he was suspended until further notice. She asked a lot of questions about where he was and what he was doing, but Daniel was evasive. He came away with the feeling that things were very much up in the air as far as his future, which gave him a sliver of hope.

He spent some time in contemplative prayer, which was easy to do in the lavish room he was given. He put on soft music and sat in a rust colored leather recliner. The chair was very comfortable, but not too comfortable as to cause him to fall asleep.

After an hour of prayer, he rose out of the recliner and fixed himself a sandwich.

He considered taking a walk. It was only 9 p.m., and the thought of visiting some of his new friends, or even just wandering around a bit, felt like a good idea.

Then he saw the gold-colored, soft-cover book he had forgotten about.

The Equanimity Dilemma.

Daniel picked it up, turning it over to look at the back cover. There was a picture of Petra in the corner, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders, with a subtle, attractive smile for the camera. Underneath the picture were a list accomplishments and awards she had obtained over the years. Daniel frowned in concentration as he tried to understand what these awards meant.

"Holds the Certificate of Pureland Realization, Shinran accreditation, the Multidimensional Sutra Endorsement, and Noble Sangha award."

The rest of the cover was littered with praise and endorsements from what appeared to be Buddhist scholars and other respected members of that religion.

Daniel had never heard of any of them.

Intrigued, he took his sandwich back to the chair and opened the book.

Petra had a difficult time sleeping, and after several hours of tossing and turning, she decided to roll out of bed and make herself an espresso. The sun would be up soon anyway—better to just start her day.

She couldn't shake the image in her mind of the world being exposed to human connectedness. There were several scenarios she played out, and they were all equally shocking. Dharma had told them they were on the right track. It was all quite unreal and seemed a bit eerie to Petra. She thought of the mahaa-prajnaa and wondered if Dharma was some sort of enlightened being who would guide everyone to the ultimate truth. It certainly seemed possible.

She sipped her coffee and thought of her first night here, when she met Dharma. Her thoughts bounced around to the various meetings and events she had experienced here at Osiris since her arrival. She remembered leaving the Baltimore Zen Center and wondering how she would ever find peace again.