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Chapter 26 - The Hat Kingdom
I rarely dream, but whenever I do it seems there's a revelation there. Dreaming is different from astral traveling. There are two kinds of astral travel: in one you can control your coming and going whenever you wish; in the other you can't. Often astral travel reflects reality, but dreams are much more disorganized. Sometimes you remember dreams and sometimes you don't. One evening I was meditating about the idea of normal and abnormal, natural and unnatural. I thought about the contrast and about how it might relate to good and evil. That evening I dreamed I returned to an ancient city. The entrance to the city had a big sign that said Hat Kingdom. Upon entering the city I saw that everyone wore a hat. Different professions were represented by different hats. One man, a sturdy soldier, noticed I had no hat. "Who are you? Why don't you have a hat?" he said. "Forgive my ignorance. I didn't know when I arrived here at Hat Kingdom that everyone has to wear a hat." "Yes. In this kingdom, from king to beggar, everyone has to wear a hat so people can know who and what you are." "What is the philosophy behind the hat?" "You ask Sun Po-t'ao about that." "Who is Sun Po-t'ao?" "He is a man in the human world." After the dream I barely remembered the man's name. I wondered if there really was such a person. A few days later, I'd nearly forgotten the whole thing, the receptionist in our office called me. "Mr. Lu, there is a man from Kang-shan (city) to see you." "Tell him I am not receiving any people now." "He says his name is Sun Po-t'ao." "Sun Po-t'ao! Oh! Ask him to wait! I'm coming right away!" I remembered the man in the kingdom of the hats had told me to speak with Sun Po-t'ao. And here he was-Sun Po-t'ao, a real person! My first glance at Sun Po-t'ao focused on his big round white grass hat. He was dressed entirely in white, and looked clean and neat. I guessed his age to be about 40. He grasped my hand in a firm handshake. "Mr. Lu! I have heard about you and admired you for a long time. Today I am here for no other reason except admiration. We are all disciples of Buddha. We are all on Buddha's path. I have read your books. I know you have great wisdom. I have come to give you a push. Don't become discouraged because of blame, criticism and misunderstanding. The more slander you receive the more accomplishments you will achieve. Don't be afraid. Don't get discouraged." "Thank you Mr. Sun . . . While you're here, I'd like to know one thing. Do you wear a hat every day?" "Oh, yes! Yes!-' He touched his hat. "Many people call me Dr. Hat. There's much to be said about hats." "I'd like to hear about it." "First, hats have different sizes. Some are big, some are small. So are people's heads. Big heads should wear big hats. Small heads should wear small hats. Otherwise, the hat will be too loose or too tight. It is important that the hat fits. If it fits, it is natural. If it's natural, it's right. Life should be lived the same way. If you live very naturally then you are happy. You have harmony." "Second, you wear different hats in different seasons. In the winter you wear a wool hat. In the summer you wear a grass hat. You wear more clothes if you're cold, less if you're hot. I have many hats. For different occasions I wear different hats. Also, I change hats depending if it's day or night. The colors of my hats change too. There's a real art to wearing hats. In art we are looking for beauty." "Third, there are many varieties of hats. There are men's hats, women's hats and professional hats. Students wear student's hats, soldiers wear soldiers' hats. Gentlemen have their own styles of hats, and farmers have straw hats. What one is looking for is the completion of style. If the style is complete, then it is real and true. If the farmer wears the gentleman's hat or the student wears the soldier's hat, confusion and disorder results. Disorder is not natural and beauty is gone. Truth is gone. When the right hat is worn, purity and truth are apparent and real. This is normal." "Mr. Sun, you have said some wonderful things. The hats teach a valuable lesson." "Thank you." "Mr. Sun, do you know of a place named Hat Kingdom?" I asked curiously. "Hat Kingdom? No. Never heard of it."
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