Life: A Black and White Film (一生一世，黑白影画)

Prologue - Who First Awakens from the Great Dream? The Life I Have Led Only I My

Prologue — Who First Awakens from the Great Dream? The Life I Have Led Only I Myself Know

"Who first awakens from the Great Dream? The life I have led only I myself know."

"Oh?" He was surprised. "Venerable Lama, you have read the story of the 'Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage'?"

The venerable old monk continued, "Life is like a dream. Only you know the things you have done, be they good or bad. Am I correct in my interpretation?"

"That is correct." He lowered his lids slightly, concealing behind his eyelashes the glint in his eyes.

"Many of the stories you all have are very interesting." The venerable old monk looked at him. "Young person, as this line says, whether you did evil or good in your past is something only you know. Why are you here? When shall you leave? These are things you need not tell me."

The venerable old monk smiled.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation has been taken without consent of the translator.

The surroundings fell into silence.

Cheng Muyun sat for a short while and then rose to his feet, leaving the old monk's side. Alone, he passed through door after low door, walking along section after section of a stone pathway that was sprinkled with sunshine, until at last he stepped in through the doors of a meditation hall.

The monasteries here were always dimly lit. Inside, sunlight was practically unseen.

There was only the light of butter lamps.

Butter lamps ()

Young lamas were all sitting on knee-high platforms, silently chanting, and behind them were hundreds of thangkas and wall paintings. All around, there were corridors that were two persons wide. This was a remote place, and only in the best times of the afternoon would there occasionally be backpackers coming in. The backpackers and the young monks seemed as if they existed in two different worlds, and in the dim yellow light cast by the butter lamps, they peered at and surveyed each other.

Only he lowered his eyes, brushing past these few travelers.

In the eyes of these travelers, he, with a red dhonka garbing his upper body and a maroon zhen wrapped over it, was merely a lama who was already in adulthood, and his only difference from those young lamas was his age.

He stepped out of the main hall and carried on walking, following the stone path.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation has been taken without consent of the translator.

Cheng Muyun.

Why did you come here? Why did you persuade the old lama to let you hide here under the identity of a monk?

The answers to all these only you know.

You once walked back up from the pit of hell, crossing mountains of daggers and seas of flame before you could stand here in this place. If everything in this world is merely an illusion, then all those people who have all along wanted to take your life and all those people who have all along wanted you to save their lives, when will they dissipate away? ...<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation has been taken without consent of the translator.

All of a sudden, a golden light flashed in front of his eyes.

Reflexively, he turned his head to the side to look. Beside that line of prayer wheels, there was a girl wearing a white sun hat. Her right hand slid over the row of prayer wheels as she murmured something in a quiet voice only she could hear.

Prayer wheels

Cheng Muyun, with the sun behind him, watched the entire time as she drew nearer in front of him. His entire body maintained a guarded state that was poised and ready to spring at any moment. The sharp blade that he carried for protection slid from his arm down to his palm. The girl finally finished spinning the last prayer wheel. When she lifted her head and noticed him, she gave a very friendly smile and, bringing her palms together reverently, bowed to him in a respectful, ceremonial greeting. "Good after-midday, lama."

Her accent was very strange, and her word choice was even stranger, like a foreigner who was learning Chinese.

However, her facial features looked Chinese.

Pagodas stood numerously like a forest. Chants of mantras resonated endlessly.

Cheng Muyun, his back to the sun, slowly brought his palms together, the blade concealed between his hands, and gave a slight nod in her direction. His motions carried no sound, not even the noise of clothing rubbing against itself.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation has been taken without consent of the translator.

This was the Cheng Muyun that Wen Han saw in their first meeting.

At the time, she had thought that he truly was a lama. Later, she learned the truth... She still felt that Cheng Muyun had the greatest enlightenment and understanding—the greatest Buddha-nature—in a man that she had ever seen. But he was also like a snake. In Nepal, there is a type of snake that has a slender neck, facial pits beside its mouth, and a red tail, and it often wraps itself deep into the densely growing branches. To her, Cheng Muyun was like such a snake—a coiled snake sleeping soundly and alone.

No evil could come near to him. No fear of gods or demons did he hold.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation has been taken without consent of the translator.

Lama means "teacher" or "guru." Strictly speaking, it is used to refer to a respected spiritual teacher, but has come to be used as an honorific for Tibetan monks in general.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the story is told of how Liu Bei thrice visited the thatched cottage of Zhuge Liang, hoping to persuade Zhuge Liang to be his strategist. After two unsuccessful visits where he does not even get to see Zhuge Liang, on the third visit, the man is home but sleeping, so Liu Bei patiently waits for him to rouse. This story is what is known as the "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage." The line, "Who first awakens from the Great Dream? The life I have led only I myself know," is quoting from the poem that Zhuge Liang says when he awakens. In the poem, the Great Dream is referring to life, that it is merely like a dream, an illusion. But how many people truly understand this and know the life they have led as well as the world as it is?

酥油灯 "su you deng." Butter lamps are a ritual item of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries. Traditionally, clarified yak butter was burned but nowadays, vegetable oil or vegetable ghee is commonly used.

A thangka is an art form of Tibetan Buddhism. It is used to record and depict a Buddhist message or philosophy. It is a multi-layered scroll consisting of a painting (or sometimes embroidery) mounted on textile and then covered with silk to protect it.

A dhonka is one of the garments making up the basic monastic robe of a Tibetan monk. It is a wrap shirt with cap sleeves, generally a maroon colour or maroon and yellow accented with blue piping.

A zhen is one of the garments making up the basic monastic robe of a Tibetan monk. It is a maroon wrap for everyday wear that is worn on the upper body.