Master Po meets Lila's friend - a short story

Lila, a young woman with a newfound spring in her step, walked confidently up the stone path to Master Po’s temple, her sneakers scuffing lightly on the stones. Beside her trudged her friend Penelope, a perpetually frazzled college student whose sighs were as heavy as her backpack. Lila’s eyes glowed with a calm she hadn’t known during her first visit, her once-anxious demeanor replaced by a serene ease. Penelope, however, looked like she’d just gotten a pop quiz in every class.

“Lila, you’re, like, weirdly chill now,” Penelope grumbled, adjusting her glasses. “You used to stress about deadlines, your parents’ nagging, and that one time a barista got your coffee order wrong. What’s your deal? Meanwhile, I’m over here drowning. My parents are on my case, my friends are obsessed with social media clout, and don’t get me started on the state of the world, have you seen the news?”

Lila smiled, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “I can’t really explain it, Pen. You just gotta meet Master Po. He’s got this... vibe. And the Chihuahua helps.”

“The Chihuahua?” Penelope’s eyebrows shot up. “What, like, a dog?”

“You’ll see,” Lila said, nudging Penelope toward the temple’s arched doorway.

Inside, Master Po sat cross-legged on a faded cushion, his bald head gleaming under a shaft of sunlight. The Chihuahua—the Chihuahua, a tiny creature with a cryptic aura and an unsettling knack for staring, lounged beside him on an ornate cushion, gnawing on a dried fig. The air smelled faintly of incense, dog treats and dog hair.

“Welcome, Lila,” Master Po said, bowing slightly. “And you must be Penelope. Your face carries the weight of a thousand unread textbooks.”

Penelope huffed. “Yeah, well, life’s a syllabus that keeps changing. Everything annoys me. My parents, my friends, the world, it’s all too much.”

The Chihuahua let out a sharp yip, its tiny body vibrating with purpose. Master Po tilted his head, listening intently, then translated, “The Chihuahua says: ‘Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.’”

Penelope blinked, her glasses slipping down her nose. “Did that dog just... talk? And what’s that supposed to mean? You saying I’m choosing to be miserable?”

The Chihuahua barked again, a rapid-fire series of yaps. Master Po nodded and translated, “You’re choosing to wrestle with the leash of your thoughts. Pain comes, your parents nag, your friends chase likes, the world spins on. But suffering? That’s you deciding to chew the same bitter bone over and over.”

Lila nodded, her bracelets jangling. “It’s like when I used to freak out over exams. They’re still gonna happen, but I don’t have to lose sleep over them anymore.”

Penelope frowned. “So, what, I just... ignore everything? Pretend it’s all fine?”

Master Po leaned forward, his robes rustling. “Not ignore. Observe. Let the world be as it is, without adding your own story to it. Your parents lecture? That is their dance. Your friends chase shallow trends? That is their path. The world’s chaos? It simply is. You choose whether to carry it like a stone in your backpack.”

Penelope pushed her glasses up, skeptical. “Sounds like a fancy way of saying ‘deal with it.’”

The Chihuahua yipped sharply, its tail flicking. Master Po translated, “Exactly! But ‘dealing with it’ means letting go, not piling on more stress. You’re not the world’s janitor, Penelope. Stop trying to clean up its mess.”

Master Po’s eyes twinkled, and he spoke without prompting, a rare occurrence. “Penelope, your heart is like a pond. Every annoyance is a stone dropped in it. The ripples are your suffering. But if you let the stone sink without chasing it, the pond stays still.”

The Chihuahua’s ears perked up, impressed. It plucked a dried fig from its stash with its teeth, tossed it into the air with a deft flick, and Master Po, grinning like a kid caught it in his mouth with a satisfying chomp. Penelope’s jaw dropped. “Did... did the dog just reward the human?”

Lila laughed, her voice echoing in the temple. “Told you they’re weird here.”

Penelope shook her head, still processing. “Okay, fine. Say I buy this ‘pain isn’t suffering’ stuff. How do I even start?”

The Chihuahua let out a low, grumbling bark. Master Po translated, “Notice your thoughts. When you’re mad, ask: ‘Is this the world, or is this me adding to the world?’ Then breathe. Let it pass. Like a notification you don’t click.”

Before Penelope could respond, a loud honk echoed outside, the unmistakable sound of a UPS truck. The Chihuahua’s eyes widened, its Zen facade crumbling. With a ferocious yip, it bolted out of the temple, barking like a possessed squeaky toy. “INTRUDER! DEFEND THE SACRED GROUNDS!”

Lila and Penelope stared, baffled, as the Chihuahua’s tirade faded into the distance. Master Po chuckled, brushing fig pieces from his robe. “Even the wise have their triggers. The Chihuahua’s path is not yet complete.”

Penelope blinked. “So... what, it just is? The barking, the truck, all of it?”

Master Po nodded. “Precisely. The truck is. The barking is. Your confusion is. Let them be, and you are free.”

Lila nudged Penelope. “See? Told you he’s got the vibe.”

Penelope sighed, but a small smile tugged at her lips. “Yeah, okay. Maybe I’ll try this ‘let it be’ thing. But if I catch you stressing over a coffee order again, Lila, I’m calling you out.”

Lila grinned. “Deal. Now let’s go find that crazy Chihuahua before it takes on the whole delivery fleet.”