chungg tzu finished his tea, the cloud temple master sat in contemplative silence after their conversation and tzu completed his ritual duty. the chrysanthemum flowers had been infused with fresh wolfberries and as tzu added the water to their forth brew the master opened his eyes and smiled. the ritual was to keep adding boiling water to the brew until it was exhausted. 
they had sat there in the roof garden meditation pavilion since sunrise and now the sun was sinking behind the savage mountain. the monastery was accessible only in the summer months, chungg looked out across the mountain tops, he only had two weeks to descend lest he remain in the monastery until next spring when the ice caps melt. he offered the temple master his bowl and bowed his head in the traditional way. they finished the tea in silence and then the temple master smiled.
'chungg you will have to leave tomorrow morning at dawn.'
'yes master, i will leave at sunrise but have you considered my request?'
'yes, i have considered the request, it is unusual.'
chungg knew better to interrupt, he felt the chrysanthemum tea flooding his body, his head began to feel very hot and beads of sweat formed around his brow.
'come chungg tzu, i will show you the inner temple.'
chungg allowed himself a moments pride, the temple master was going to admit him into the inner sanctums, the secret school, the mystery school. he had spent two thirds of his life looking for it. and now finally he was here, in the mountain tops of cloud city. 
chungg followed the temple master from the pavilion, they walked through the gardens where the snow flowers were in bloom, immaculate patterns of white flowers in the shape of the swastika, the original sanskrit one. they passed through the passage ways chungg had become familiar with, the tibetan prayer wheels rotated with the wind that echoed along the corridors, some mantra flags hung from the door ways flapping in the breeze that also carried a chant of some of the monks in mantra. they walked towards the end of a winding corridor lit only by a small candle until the light just seemed to run out. they walked further into darkness and then stopped. the temple master knocked on the door three times, a panel slid open and some words were exchanged. then a stone doorway slid open and chungg found himself in the presence of an old man, he had long white hair and long fingernails but his skin was pale like the moon. the door keeper had been inside this room for most of his life, never seeing sunlight, never talking, eating only the small bowl of soup he was brought each day. his was a great responsibility, keeper of the inner sanctum. he offered us passage into the sanctum, the temple within the temple. chungg knew none of the monks would have any idea about this architecture nor the existence of the hidden temple, for this was for the masters. he saw shadows flickering and gradually candles illuminated a library, books and scrolls, a few monks sitting at desks, some seemed to be sitting cross legged slightly off the ground, some were in yogic poses and others appeared to be in deep meditation. no one spoke. he walked past these people, and then into a small room where he was asked to sit down. the temple master whispered, 'are you sure you wish to continue?'
'yes, i have come a long way.'
'the temple monk lifted a curtain, a mirror was revealed, it's surface was black, a deep black.
'this is the mirror of revealing chungg, if you gaze into it it will reflect your fear.'
chungg stood in front of it and braced myself, he looked into the mirror and saw himself in a black pool of endless night. his reflection was faint and seemed to flicker, and then suddenly it was gone and in its place was the most beautiful face he had ever seen, a young woman laughing, her eyes ablaze and her teeth glinting at me, perfectly. she had rich deep eyes that looked into mine and she had red hair. then she faded and was replaced by chungg. 
he turned to the temple master,'who is that?'
'the face of fear and love,' he said.