“I can’t help but feel envious of the people in the future who will be born in His
Majesty’s era, an era of peace, where people will be beautiful in both body and mind,
where people will live long lives. I think it would be a wonderful world to live in, don’t
you think, Kraison?” he turned to speak to me again.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Kraison replied with the same words.

“Aren’t you going to say anything else to me?” Phra Inthracha said with a smile,
reaching out to touch my shoulder affectionately.

I noticed a look of envy from one of the ministers, unnoticed by Kraison, but I was well
aware of everyone’s feelings.

“Yes, Your Majesty… I am feeling deeply moved by Your Majesty’s words,” he replied.

“Indeed, I’ve been meaning to ask you several times, why did you sculpt the image of
Phra Sri Ariya Metteyya with royal attire and such a formidable countenance? Where
did you get this style from?” he asked again.

“From a vision, while I was half-asleep, Your Majesty,” Kraison replied cautiously.

“What did you see in your vision? Can you tell me?” he asked.

“In my vision, I saw Phra Sri Ariya Metteyya not as a monk, Your Majesty. He was like a
king, but not a king who rules over a single territory. Instead, he was like a great
emperor who rules over all kingdoms across the earth. He has immense wealth, and
the royal attire I sculpted him in, I feel, doesn’t even come close to reflecting the
majesty I saw in the vision. And I sculpted his countenance to look formidable because
I felt the immense power that could destroy all evil, making them vanish,” Kraison’s
voice explained.

“Even though you say you have only sculpted a fraction of what you saw in the vision, I
can still feel such great Buddha power. It seems we must hold a grand celebration for
this Buddha image to honor His Majesty properly,” Phra Inthracha said.

While I was prostrating before Phra Inthracha, my eyes suddenly met those of a young
woman. She was one of the royal concubines who had accompanied His Majesty, but
she was sitting at the very back. I felt that Kraison was smitten with this woman
because I noticed his heart beating faster when he saw her. She was a young maiden,
not yet twenty years old, with fair skin and a short, almost shaved haircut, with a tuft of
hair remaining on top. He looked back at her several times, and every time he looked,
he made eye contact with her. I knew that this young woman also had feelings for
Kraison. When I saw her, I immediately knew that this was Koharu, but Kraison didn’t
know why he felt so attracted to her.

“Lord Phoche, I’ve found Koharu. Do you think Kraison feels attracted to that woman
because he sees her beauty, or because my mind knows she is his wife in the future?” I
asked Lord Phoche mentally.

“The inner spirit, or what you call the subconscious, is actually timeless. One day in the
future, when you have enough skill to look back at yourself in the past, or become the
one standing in the stands at the stadium—which you don’t actually need to do as you
are doing now because the future mind resides with you every moment—the future
you is watching over you in layers like this. So, if I were to answer your question in
your current situation, it is the second case: because you know that woman is your
wife, you send this feeling to Kraison’s mind at that time, making him feel a certain
specialness. This can be called many things: predestined affinity, love at first sight, or
even a sixth sense because it all comes from the inner spirit, which is independent of
space and time,” Lord Phoche replied.

“It’s really confusing. If I hadn’t come to see this moment, if I hadn’t traveled back to
this time, would Kraison still feel this way?” I asked further.

“Yes, he would. The one who came back to see is you in the present and you in the
future. He is still you, after all. So, whether you come or not, that feeling will still be
transmitted,” he replied.

“I think I’m even more confused now,” I said.

“If you continue to think based on the existence of time, you will never understand
these things,” he replied.

“Never mind, I’m just curious. I can let it remain a question,” I said.

“Kraison… Kraison… are you still listening to me?” Phra Inthracha called my name twice
while I was conversing with Lord Phoche and lost in the reverie of love.

“Yes, Your Majesty… I’m listening,” he replied haltingly.

“What are you thinking? You seem rather absent-minded,” Phra Inthracha asked.

“Nothing, Your Majesty… I just have a strange feeling about myself at this moment. It’s
like seeing a vision of the future, but not quite,” Kraison replied, not daring to answer
truthfully.

“You’re always a bit strange, but I like your strangeness. What did you see?” he said.

“Suddenly, I saw a vision of people living in peace, without war, without soldiers,
without weapons, without drought, only abundant crops and food, Your Majesty,” he
replied.

“Perhaps it was a vision from Sukhavati, the Buddha field of Phra Sri Ariya Metteyya
that will appear in the future,” Phra Inthracha speculated.

“Perhaps, Your Majesty,” Kraison replied.

“Lord Phoche, why did Kraison see that vision? I didn’t send any thoughts to him,” I
asked.

“I always say that the spirit is timeless. Therefore, there is no chronological order.
Firstly, what he felt is everything that is within you, and at this moment, you are like
the spirit residing within him, a spirit that knows more than he knows. And this is your
present, and it is also the spirit with the state of the future residing within you as well. So, if you explore feelings that are not feelings arising from thought at that moment,
you may see all the images. But seeing may not be the same as seeing with the eyes. The seeing will be similar to what you call ‘seeing with feeling.’ Secondly, the feeling he
has for Koharu, who is that woman now, Koharu is like a bridge connecting him to a
clearer vision. But whenever there is a symbol that connects, the understanding or
seeing with feeling, which is you in both the past and future, will become clearer. The
impression of the planet Thungra you just left, the image of the beautiful people, and
the image of a peaceful and perfect life, thus connect,” he explained.

“So, if sometimes I feel something strange that doesn’t come from thought, it also
comes from the timeless spirit, right?” I asked.

“Yes…” he replied.

“Your Excellency, please inform the royal astrologer to prepare auspicious dates for the
celebration of Phra Sri Ariya Metteyya,” Phra Inthracha turned to instruct the
accompanying minister.

“Yes, Your Majesty…” the minister replied.

“And I will name this Buddha sculpture ‘Buddha Nimitta Phichit Mara,’ as Kraison told
me about the origin of the formidable countenance a moment ago,” Phra Inthracha
emphasized, placing his hand on Kraison’s shoulder, as if to show his appreciation.

“Yes, Your Majesty…” the minister replied, subtly emitting a wave of envy that I could
clearly perceive.