Thousand Miles of Bright Moonlight

Chapter 134: Change in Plans

The other end of the corridor echoed with the sound of footsteps. Yuanjue came over. Seeing the scene in the courtyard, he softly chided Banruo, telling him to concede.

Banruo's mouth remained shut.

In the awkward stalemate, Yaoying coughed twice, slowly emerging out of the cool corridor. She smiled at everyone: "The summer heat is unbearable. It is rarely pleasant here."

The word "pleasant" has a deep meaning. Several monks were stunned and pressed their palms together before walking away without speaking any further.

Banruo stared at the monks' backs with a face full of indignation.

Yuanjue cusped his fist at Yaoying, who waved her hand to indicate that it was not a big deal. She swept a glance at Banruo: "You know you cannot beat them. Why don't you concede?"

Banruo gave a light hum and stuck out his chest: "They have disrespected the king. I will never concede to them!"

Yuanjue scolded him in a low voice: "Since you lost the argument, you have to concede! The king's reputation does not come from you winning a debate."

Banruo was speechless, grievance flashing across his face.

Yaoying's eyebrows lightly knitted: "How did they disrespect the Venerable Master?"

It was better if she hadn't mentioned it. When she did, Banruo's eyes grew even redder.

"They are simply disrespectful to the king!"

He pointed to the direction the monks left and snarled, slowly telling the cause and effect.

These days, the monks in the temple often gathered to discuss the matter of the forged scriptures and then would mention the Sanskrit version Tumoroga translated.

Yaoying asked, "Do they not approve of his translation?"

Banruo's eyes widened: "The king is proficient in Sanskrit. How could they not approve of his translation!"

The corners of Yaoying's mouth twitched.

Banruo glared at her several times and continued, "They said the king was well-versed in the scriptures and could have accomplished more, either by writing or interpreting, but the king did not, and he is delaying his practice."

It turned out that the monks in the temple thought that Tumoroga was gifted and knowledgeable. A senior monk had predicted that he would become a great talent in this generation for Buddhism, but he could not single-mindedly concentrate on studying the scriptures. Not only distracted from managing the secular affairs of the Royal Court, he sometimes even led troops to war. He also relied on the regent who condoned cruelty and viciousness. He added to the sin of killing and squandered his wisdom by not being able to accumulate merit by promoting Buddhism and receiving karmic rewards.

Yaoying was thoughtful.

The monks' words hit on a question that was lingering in her mind.

There were many different sects of Buddhism, and people from different regions had different interpretations of the sutras. For the purpose of spreading their personal ideas, they arranged a set of precepts of their own theoretical ideas based on Buddhist teachings. Consequently, different branches and sects arose, such as the Zen, Tiantai, Three Treatises, Yogacara, and more in the Central Plains.

For a monk who believed in the universalization of all sentient beings, he must hope that he could write down what he has comprehended and gained in his life into scriptures to establish a sect to guide the people and help them get out of the sea of worldly suffering and reach the other shore.

Tumoroga had long had fame and was a noble prince. With his identity and status, why hadn't his views and ideas been compiled and circulated around the world?

He was famous in the Western Regions during his lifetime, but after his death, he was like a wisp of smoke before the Buddha, leaving no trace.

Nothing was left behind.

That day, Yaoying sat beside him and watched him translate the Chinese scripture on the spot. Judging from the reactions of the other monks, not only did he translate quickly, but he also translated so smoothly that the monks believed that there was indeed an original Sanskrit version.

She believed that he could have set out to write a doctrine on the scriptures long ago if he had wanted to.

After the age of thirteen, he broke away from the nobles' control and grasped real power. No one dared to stop him from practicing.

Yaoying pondered for a long time and felt that there was only one explanation that could barely make sense: Tumoroga had too much responsibility on his shoulders, and he was so committed to saving all the people that he naturally had no time to document his views on the scriptures.

Apparently, the monks felt the same way, so they murmured and complained that he did not live up to their expectations and wasted his wisdom.