The Dharma Revelation

Chapter 24

"I think we should take a break," Aaron said. He was sweating profusely and didn't wait for permission. He found a flat rock, swept some twigs off it and sat down. "Petra is tired," he added.

Petra twisted off her backpack and said with a smile, "I'm fine."

"Nice," Vincent said. "Blame Petra, why don't you."

"We can rest here," Dharma said. "We don't have much further to go."

They had been hiking for three and half hours, taking frequent breaks to eat and drink. Daniel had not had this much fun in a long time. Along the way, the group bantered and joked, but mostly soaked in the beautiful weather and fresh air. His friends made excellent conversation. It was both stimulating and entertaining. He didn't realize how long it had been since he had been outdoors for such a significant time.

"This land is beautiful, Dharma," Petra said.

Dharma smiled, "Yes, it is."

Daniel made his way toward Petra and Dharma. Petra sat with her back against a tree, idly drinking from a bottle of water. She looked oddly out of place in her blue jeans and oversized flannel shirt, but even hiking garb couldn't mask her beautiful features. Her dark eyes followed him as he approached, and he noted that she had no signs of perspiration or exhaustion.

"Don't you ever get tired, Petra?" he asked.

The air was crisp and cool, but the sun was in full force, offsetting the chilly autumn breeze. Despite the fact her hair was tied back, the wind blew wisps about her face as she looked up at him. She smiled at his joke but said nothing.

He sat down beside Dharma, who was hugging her knees with her back against a tree.

"Dharma," Daniel said politely. "Can I ask you a question?" He paused for a moment, and said, "That conversation in the car, with Vincent—"

"Wait," Petra interrupted. "Dharma didn't say if you could ask her the question or not."

Dharma giggled at Petra and said, "He does ask a lot of questions, doesn't he?"

"Yes he does," Petra noted.

Daniel nodded, appreciating the friendly jab. "Well, I was curious. And since I'm not a cat, I thought it was safe. But maybe I was wrong."

Dharma laughed at that. Petra smiled at him and took a swig of water.

"I was just wondering about your debate with Vincent in the car. It seemed to be deliberate, despite the fact he is not fully convinced of his argument."

Dharma nodded and said, "I can only teach when we have a common frame of reference. Since science is very important to Vincent, so I had to use his language in order to get through to him." She regarded him for a moment and said, "Just as you cannot talk to a Spanish-speaking person in Chinese and expect them to understand you, you can't convince a deeply spiritual person of God by quoting science. So in order to get through to a scientist, one has to speak the language of science. I spoke to him that way because it was his religion, his language."

He slowly nodded at her explanation, realizing she was talking about context.

"Do you feel at peace here?" Dharma asked Daniel, although she raised her voice a bit, as if she wanted to include everyone else.

Daniel nodded. Everyone else mumbled their agreement.

Daniel took a drink and recapped his bottle, noticing that Dharma was waiting for more.