"In Guanyin's grove, his greed won't cease, Southern tides bring no release. Schemes cloud his sight, On Bodhi Peak, he learnt life's worth is peace."

"The furnace crumbles, bricks fall, a day of disgrace, Lament did he, the beauty he could not embrace. All his talents wasted on the golden son, Looking back, he's become a foolish one."

"A serpent youth in white, with furious gaze, Writes poems, dances, yet fierce in battle's blaze."

"In skies high, his talents shine, like plum blooms pure and bright, His form defies the winter's snow, a sacred being of light. With lofty heart, he claims no kin to the emperor above, His noble spirit dims the stars, unlocking the Great Pagoda."

"Once she rode the cloud chariot to the high terrace, Now she dwells in a secluded cave by the mountain base. The breeze by the frail bridge chills her delicate frame, Spring arrives, another bridal gown newly made."

"You are your choices, your causes and effects, not what you're called."

"On his red skin, talent may shine, Eyes glaring bright, a mischievous sign. Samadhi Fire forged, yet heart unrefined, The gate to Mount Ling lies within the mind."

"With empty hands, he preached, yet gold was his quest, He left no wealth, just doctrines to attest. A life of greed, his doom was sealed tight, If deeds were weighed, would he still face his plight?"

"Mark this: He's not just any monkey. He's a monkey of merit. A monkey was made Buddha once."

"From dawn to dusk, toil's bitter strain, Day and night, home's burdens remain. Destiny shows no mercy, merciful she became Why is her household light the hardest to sustain?"

"Tending the furnace, stoking the flame, Making pills, to immortality aspire. Countless eyes and countless schemes, One misstep, and shatter all dreams."

"Endless yellow winds, sands stretch afar, In the land once abundant, no homes there are. Half-guai, half-immortal, who can decide? Thief or sage, why would he mind?"

"With powdered face and hair in a twist, A slender waist adorned with jade amidst. As charming as a maiden from the skies, Yet most formidable when she vies."

"Renowned as the mighty king, his life was far from plain, His spirit spanned the three realms, his fame touched four domains. Among the guais, a hero grand, wild and untamed, The sudden arrival of dharma left his homeland forever changed. With shadow as his companion, true enlightenment within him lay."

"Indulging in desires, I am carefree, No fears, no sorrows, just pure glee. In land of bliss, at the Eight Precepts, I laugh with delight, Inherent nature blooms, a tower of light."

"Sword raised to the azure sky, Enemy blood stains the black robe high. Fortunate to be a maiden fair, Outshining heroes with grace and flair."

"Your faith has led you here."

"Born to a fate of trials and woes, Who pities the ebb and flow of those? Better to live in nature's embrace, Freely to wander, freely to repose."

"Countless souls pursue the immortal quest, Seeking the Dao, but truth is not addressed. The ferry itself will never be ashore, Ask not when fruits will ripen, in the void they fade evermore."

"Wind fans the flames, the hammer strikes, Swords dance, blades sweep the dust aside. With iron will, one finds their way, Between stillness and motion, greatness will stay."

"No shame in taking pills. More unfair are the innate skills."

"Craving fortune's smile, but met with bitter strife, Toiling by dark waters, in a grumpy life. In that realm of paint, the last hopes retreat, The green one brought him sweetness, a long-awaited treat."

"In life, a brave heart met a noble lord, Loyal and true, bound by a warrior's accord. Grateful and steadfast, he sought to repay, Unyielding in courage, keeping danger at bay."

"Sanxian, sanxian, grief and rage untold, Defeated and demeaned by my follower bold. Confused, I saw kindness repaid with hate, The sands obscure the truth, the wind seals my fate."

"A kind face veils his virtuous light, The benevolent eyes mask his might. To the one he grants a wondrous spell, For that the story has yet to tell."

"Edge sharpened, arm restless. I was looking for someone to test it."

"No divine arts, no meditation's trance, With a palm fan, he nurtures his pill's dance. A sincere heart, the medicine he seeks, Bored by human woes and worldly techniques."

"The board is earth, the pieces sky, Colors of Yin and Yang comply. In subtle moves, revolutions blend, Laughing, praise the game that will never end."

"Bottom up the jade nectar, a celestial brew, In the jar, the fresh wine sparkles anew. In worldly clamor, he wishes to stay drunk, Forgetting homeland, foreign lands amok."

"Born with a clumsy heart, trapped in life's advance and retreat, Breaking precepts repeatedly, following nature, not the Buddha's feat. With rake and tusk, smashing fate, burrowing karma's weight, Rolling in the muddy world, heedless of scorn or debate."

"Jens “Jeb” Bergensten at Minecraft Live 2020"

"Let’s go back. The atoms of the player were scattered in the grass, in the rivers, in the air, in the ground. A woman gathered the atoms; she drank and ate and inhaled; and the woman assembled the player, in her body. And the player awoke, from the warm, dark world of its mother’s body, into the long dream. And the player was a new story, never told before, written in letters of DNA. And the player was a new program, never run before, generated by a sourcecode a billion years old. And the player was a new human, never alive before, made from nothing but milk and love. You are the player. The story. The program. The human. Made from nothing but milk and love. Let’s go further back. The seven billion billion billion atoms of the player’s body were created, long before this game, in the heart of a star. So the player, too, is information from a star. And the player moves through a story, which is a forest of information planted by a man called Julian, on a flat, infinite world created by a man called Markus, that exists inside a small, private world created by the player, who inhabits a universe created by… Shush. Sometimes the player created a small, private world that was soft and warm and simple. Sometimes hard, and cold, and complicated. Sometimes it built a model of the universe in its head; flecks of energy, moving through vast empty spaces. Sometimes it called those flecks “electrons” and “protons”. Sometimes it called them “planets” and “stars”. Sometimes it believed it was in a universe that was made of energy that was made of offs and ons; zeros and ones; lines of code. Sometimes it believed it was playing a game. Sometimes it believed it was reading words on a screen. You are the player, reading words… Shush… Sometimes the player read lines of code on a screen. Decoded them into words; decoded words into meaning; decoded meaning into feelings, emotions, theories, ideas, and the player started to breath faster and deeper and realised it was alive, it was alive, those thousand deaths had not been real, the player was alive You. You. You are alive."

"Once upon a time, there was a player. The player was you, [player name]. Sometimes it thought itself human, on the thin crust of a spinning globe of molten rock. The ball of molten rock circled a ball of blazing gas that was three hundred and thirty thousand times more massive than it. They were so far apart that light took eight minutes to cross the gap. The light was information from a star, and it could burn your skin from a hundred and fifty million kilometres away. Sometimes the player dreamed it was a miner, on the surface of a world that was flat, and infinite. The sun was a square of white. The days were short; there was much to do; and death was a temporary inconvenience. Sometimes the player dreamed it was lost in a story. Sometimes the player dreamed it was other things, in other places. Sometimes these dreams were disturbing. Sometimes very beautiful indeed. Sometimes the player woke from one dream into another, then woke from that into a third. Sometimes the player dreamed it watched words on a screen."

"and the universe said I love you and the universe said you have played the game well and the universe said everything you need is within you and the universe said you are stronger than you know and the universe said you are the daylight and the universe said you are the night and the universe said the darkness you fight is within you and the universe said the light you seek is within you and the universe said you are not alone and the universe said you are not separate from every other thing and the universe said you are the universe tasting itself, talking to itself, reading its own code and the universe said I love you because you are love."

"Words make a wonderful interface. Very flexible. And less terrifying than staring at the reality behind the screen."

"I like this player. It played well. It did not give up."

"Take a breath, now. Take another. Feel air in your lungs. Let your limbs return. Yes, move your fingers. Have a body again, under gravity, in air. Respawn in the long dream. There you are. Your body touching the universe again at every point, as though you were separate things. As though we were separate things."

"Ceci n'est pas une title screen!"

"Not on steam!"

"Played by cowboys!"

"Who are we? Once we were called the spirit of the mountain. Father sun, mother moon. Ancestral spirits, animal spirits. Jinn. Ghosts. The green man. Then gods, demons. Angels. Poltergeists. Aliens, extraterrestrials. Leptons, quarks. The words change. We do not change."

"Innovating innovation!"

"There's <<a cat on ,my keyboard!~ [sic]"

"So. You read splash text."

"Do it all, everything!"

"Any computer is a laptop if you're brave enough!"

"Where there is not light, there can spider!"

"Potatoes gonna potate!"

"We are the universe. We are everything you think isn’t you. You are looking at us now, through your skin and your eyes. And why does the universe touch your skin, and throw light on you? To see you, player. To know you. And to be known. I shall tell you a story."

"Back to the shadow."