Thousand Miles of Bright Moonlight

Chapter 133: Debate

The temple master was furious, but when he heard what the several monks were arguing about, he did not reprimand them, but frowned and said, "I cannot make a decision on this matter. It has to be decided by the master."

Before Yaoying could clearly figure out what the monks were arguing about, she was sent to Tumoroga's meditation room by the temple master along with the quarreling monks.

The silvery-white flowers of the sand palm jujube trees in the courtyard had almost fallen out, littering the ground full of petals.

Tumoroga was attending to his official business in a shoulder-baring kasaya, exposing soft, shiny honey-colored shoulders.

The temple master first saluted respectfully, informing his close guards. He waited for Yuanjue to signal him to go in, and immediately took the few monks into the meditation room to report what had happened.

After listening to his report, Tumoroga raised his eyes and looked at Yaoying who was standing in front of the door.

Yaoying understood and walked in.

Tumoroga instructed Yuanjue, "Fetch paper and pen."

Yuanjue moved a small desk over, brought paper and pen, and put it on Tumoroga's right side.

Tumoroga asked Yaoying, "Can the princess transcribe the Heart Sutra that she had recited some time ago?"

He looked at her, his eyes like a pool of turquoise water, cold and gentle.

Although there was no deliberate intention to soothe, it could immediately calm people's hearts.

Yaoying settled down, nodding her head. She walked to the small desk, sat down cross-legged, and began to write silently with her pen.

The room was quiet, with only the rustling of the pen brushing against the paper.

In a short while, Yaoying finished writing silently and handed it to Yuanjue, who sent it to Tumoroga's table.

Tumoroga glanced at the paper, scanning it once before reading it again from the beginning, this time very carefully.

When he finished reading, he put down the paper.

"Does the princess have the original Sanskrit version of the Heart Sutra?"

Yaoying shook her head. Most of the original versions of the Buddhist scriptures were in Sanskrit, and there were different translations. Her dowry contained many Sanskrit versions of the Buddhist scriptures, but no Sanskrit version of the Heart Sutra.

Several monks heard this and whispered, one of them looking quite stimulated.

Tumoroga glanced at him lightly.

The monk's face turned red. He stopped arguing and lowered his head.

Tumoroga asked Yuanjue to fetch paper. He took up his pen, and began to write, with the Chinese text Yaoying had just written as a guide.

Yaoying was a little curious and her eyes fell on his pen and found that he was writing Sanskrit, which she couldn't read.

Was he directly translating what she had recited?

She looked at it for a while, and before she could understand it, Tumoroga suddenly raised his head and his line of sight met hers.

Yaoying was stunned and smiled at him, her eyebrows slightly curved, her eyes dark and shining.

Like flowers on a branch, blooming brilliantly and brightly, full of youthful pride, eyes full of trust.

She was no longer aggrieved about eating vegetarian?

Tumoroga lowered his eyes, pointed to a spot on the paper, and softly asked Yaoying about the sentence she had written from memory.

Yaoying returned to her senses and answered in a low voice.

Tumoroga hummed, raising his pen to revise the words he wrote before. In a short while, he asked again, and Yaoying answered seriously.

They spoke in Chinese. The guards and monks did not understand, and could not interject a word, but could only hold their breath and stare at them unblinkingly, observing their expressions.

Yaoying sat beside Tumoroga. He asked a question, and she answered.

She glanced at the monks who looked tense and eager, and said honestly, "Venerable Master, I don't really understand the scriptures either. Would Venerable like to find a few more people to ask?"

Tumoroga lowered his eyebrows and said, "No matter. The princess only needs to repeat the original text."

She didn't know exactly how long it took, but he finished the translation, took another piece of paper to transcribe it, and then handed it to Yuanjue.

Yuanjue handed the paper to the few waiting monks, who scrambled to pass it around and bickered again. Finally, they saluted Tumoroga, looking like they were waiting for his judgment.

Tumoroga said a few words.

Several monks paused for a long time, showing a thoughtful look, some with a flash of enlightenment, and some still a little bewildered. After a long time, they all faced Tumoroga with their hands together and withdrew.

Leaving Yaoying sitting alone in front of the table in bewilderment: what just happened?

She looked at Tumoroga and asked in a small voice in Chinese: "Venerable, I have not given you any trouble, have I? Why are they arguing over the Heart Sutra?"

Tumoroga shook his head slightly, indicating that nothing was wrong, and said, "They have not read the Sanskrit text of the Heart Sutra, and they have searched the ancient books and found no record of it, so they suspect that it is a forged sutra, leading to their arguing. It has nothing to do with the princess."

Yaoying was surprised. After a moment of thought, she said decisively, "Then I won't recite it in the future."

There were many sects of Buddhism, and the teachings of Buddhism on this side of the Western Regions were more deeply influenced by Tianzhu. It became fused with local customs and conventions, mixed with many things she did not understand, and she did not want to offend others with her unintentional actions.

Tumoroga looked down at the Heart Sutra Yaoying had just written and said, "The princess need not mind. Whether the Heart Sutra is authentic or not, is not for them to recognize. Whether or not there is a Sanskrit original, there is Buddhist truth in the scripture. Since the Buddha achieved nirvana, more than a thousand years have passed. Various sects have expounded the sutras and written a vast sea of Buddhist scriptures. Are all the ones they have not seen counterfeit?"

Yaoying suddenly realized. Just now, those monks held their own opinions regarding the origin of the Heart Sutra and asked Tumoroga for his judgment. This was the answer he gave.

No wonder those monks were convinced.