“Lakşmī has come to the world!” Meiduo and Changbagela cried out in surprise at the same time.
Dorjee Tenzin smiled. “That’s right. This is a great event!”
“Dorjee Tenzin, aren’t you the guardian sentinel of Kathok Monastery? Why have you come to help Buddha Banchan look for Lakşmī?” Meiduo asked in confusion.
Dorjee Tenzin smiled, not saying anything, but a monk beside him spoke up and said, “Dorjee Tenzin has now been transferred to Vajra Mountain and become one of the eighteen monks tasked with protecting the mountain!”
Meiduo and Changbagela were overjoyed. “What great news! The mountain-protecting monks from Kathok Monastery are amazing!
“This is all thanks to the good will of Buddha. I’m just lucky to have this opportunity,” Dorjee Tenzin said neutrally.
Meiduo smiled. “How did you manage to get such an opportunity?”
Dorjee Tenzin sighed deeply. “I have to thank Li Yundong, that man of the Han people. He returned the Mahamudra Tantra of Kathok Monastery. After I took it back to Kathok Monastery, the head of the monastery was overjoyed and recommended that I visit the Buddha. The Buddha saw me and said that I had a certain talent and wisdom, so he kept me by his side and I became a mountain-protecting monk.”
“What a coincidence. Dorjee Tenzin, do you know who she is?” Meiduo smiled, gesturing to Zhou Qin beside her.
Dorjee Tenzin had already been paying attention to Zhou Qin. In his eyes, Zhou Qin’s Qi was incredibly strong and vigorous, and she was dressed like a person of the Han people. Amongst the Hans, he had only ever seen Li Yundong have this kind of powerful Qi.
He put his palms together and said, “We haven’t met. Meiduo, please introduce it to me.”
“This is Li Yundong’s disciple. Her name is Zhou Qin,” Meiduo said with a smile.
Dorjee Tenzin’s eyes lit up and he couldn’t help laughing. “Ah, so you’re Master Li’s disciple. He is a famous teacher and can teach a talented student. Your master is a famous person in the Central Plains, so it’s natural that his disciple would also be outstanding. I admire you!”
Zhou Qin had also heard of Dorjee Tenzin from Li Yundong. She smiled and returned the salute as a Taoist. “Master Dorjee Tenzin, you are flattering me. Although my master’s cultivation is good, he will be ashamed to hear the title of master.”
Dorjee Tezin smiled. “Although he is not a master yet, he’ll definitely be one in the future. What’s more, I’m ashamed that you would call me a master.”
“If you are not a master now, you will be one in the future,” Zhou Qin said with an amused grin.
After that, they all laughed.
Seeing that Zhou Qin and Dorjee Tenzin were having a good conversation, Meiduo smiled. “I remember that there was a poem in the book of Han family that said, ‘People will always meet again after parting’. I think I truly understand its meaning now. Han Sister, you don’t have to leave tonight. Let’s go drinking and singing together!”
The Tibetans were passionate and hospitable. Whenever they met a guest they liked, they would enthusiastically persuade them to stay and dance with them through the evening, eating meat and drinking wine.
Zhou Qin shook her head with a smile and refused Meiduo’s kindness. “I have to go to Kari Holy Mountain to cultivate. I will drink highland barley wine in the future if I ever get another chance.”
Meiduo’s disappointment was obvious. “Ah? Can’t you stay here tonight? Han Sister, the dark is already closing in. Do you know how cold it gets here? Don’t leave tonight. Just spend the night with me in my tent. I have a lot of things to discuss with you.”
With this, Meiduo involuntarily reached for Zhou Qin’s hand, shook it gently, and begged in a low voice.
Zhou Qin was stubborn and tough, but when she saw Meiduo begging earnestly like this, she really pitied her and could not bear to refuse her. She felt her heart soften and was about to sigh when she suddenly heard the ringing of a scripture tube not far away, and a magnetic voice boomed out, “Dorjee Tenzin, call Meiduo here with me.”
Dorjee Tenzin looked back and saw a holy lama, who was sitting on a two-humped camel, nodding to him.
Dorjee Tenzin smiled at Meiduo. “Sounds like Master Erdeni wants to see you.”
“Ah, is that Master Erdeni from Potala Palace?” Meiduo asked, slightly surprised.
Dorjee Tenzin smiled. “Yes!”
Meiduo was still startled, and her hands flew about tidying her clothes in a panic. “Why does the master want to see me?” she asked.
Changbagela looked at Meiduo with clear envy shining on his face and said, “You are so lucky to have been summoned by Master Erdeni. I’ve lived so long and have only seen him a few times from a distance while I was on a pilgrimage!”
Meiduo became more and more nervous. She tidied herself up several times, but she still felt nervous and asked Zhou Qin, “Do you think I look okay?”
Although Zhou Qin did not know the position Master Erdeni held in the minds of the Tibetans, she knew that he must be someone well-known and respectable. “Meiduo, piousness cannot be shown on one’s clothes, but from within your heart!” she said encouragingly.
Master Erdeni in the distance also clearly heard Zhou Qin’s words. He looked at Zhou Qin with appreciation and smiled, “You’re right. Meiduo, come here. I’m not a vulture. I don’t eat people.”
The monks who had been following him all began to chuckle. Meiduo’s heart shook as well, and she gathered up her courage to walk over to Master Erdeni. Blinking slowly, she curiously sized up this great master from Potala Palace.
Erdeni sized up Meiduo carefully, then nodded and smiled kindly. “Meiduo, when were you born?”
Meiduo was a little confused by the question, but she still reported her birthday obediently.
Erdeni pinched his fingers and calculated. “Meiduo, come closer,” he ordered with a smile.
She took two steps forward curiously, only to have Erdeni hand the prayer wheel in his hand over to her. He said with a kindly smile, “Meiduo, hold this. Can you move it?”
“What’s so difficult about this? Isn’t everyone able to move it?” she asked.
“Ah, so you don’t know. Do you even have any idea what’s in your hand?” Dorjee Tenzin couldn’t help but interject with a twinkle in his eye.
She blinked confusedly. “Isn’t it a mani wheel? What’s so special about it?”
Tibetans called this the mani wheel. It was a kind of prayer wheel, and every devout Tibetan Buddhist had one. Tibetans would be convinced to gain merit by turning the prayer wheel.
One rotation was equivalent to reciting the Great Collection Scripture. Two rotations were equal to reciting all the Buddhist scriptures. Those who rotated it three times could eliminate the zuizhang from their body, mouth, intentions, and sins. Those who rotated it ten times could remove the zuizhang like the Xumi Mountain King. Those who rotated it a hundred times could have the same merit as Yama.
A person who rotated it a thousand times would be able to claim Fashen; one who rotated it ten thousand times would be able to free themselves from the physical world; one who rotated it a hundred thousand times would be able to travel to the holy place of Kwan-Yin Bodhisattva; one who rotated it a million times would be able to bring peace to all living creatures living in the six paths of samsara; one who rotated it a thousand million times would be able to expel all living beings from the six paths of samsara; one who rotated it a hundred million times would have the same merit as Kwan-Yin Bodhisattva.
Although Meiduo’s words were naive, they made sense, and the monks and lamas around her all laughed. Dorjee Tenzin said, “Meiduo, the wheel in your hand belongs to Master Erdeni. Only people with great merit and strong spiritual energy can turn it. If an ordinary person were to try, they wouldn’t be able to turn it no matter how badly they wanted to.”
Meiduo was shocked. She quickly looked at the prayer wheel in her hand and saw that it was made of pure gold. The cylinder was engraved with the six-word mantra of Tibetan Buddhism. The middle of the cylinder was also engraved with mantras. Around the incantations were a lot of delicate patterns of birds and beasts. These beasts were decorated with colored paint and inlaid with corals and gems. They were far from ordinary.
She could feel that the prayer wheel in her hand was heavy. She couldn’t help raising her head and saying, “Master Erdeni, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to do it. Can I not turn it? I don’t want to make a fool of myself.”
“It’ll be fine,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Turn it.”
When Meiduo saw him smiling kindly to her, she slowly became emboldened and thought, “So be it!”
She gently shook the prayer wheel and saw that the golden chain bell on the prayer wheel slowly started to move. After a while, the prayer wheel started to turn, emitting a clear sound.
She giggled. “”Haha, I’m turning it! I must also be a person with great merits and strong spiritual energy!”
Dorjee Tenzin and the other monks were all shocked. They all looked at Meiduo with their mouths agape and couldn’t say a word. They were shocked and thought, “This is impossible. When I turned Master Erdeni’s prayer wheel, I tried my best, but the prayer wheel didn’t move an inch!”
Dorjee Tenzin looked at Erdeni and said slowly,, “Master, what’s going on?”
With a serious look on his face, Erdeni jumped down from the camel’s back and kowtowed devoutly to Meiduo, shouting loudly, “I’ve finally found you, Banda Lam!”
As soon as he kowtowed and shouted, Zhou Qin, who was not far away, was stunned. But her shock was nothing compared to that of the Tibetans. In their eyes, it was just like the explosion of an atomic bomb!
All of the Tibetans were dumbfounded. They all stared at Meiduo, who was also rooted to the spot. “No, no, it can’t be. Is Meiduo Banda Lam?” some of them stammered.
Changbagela widened his eyes so much that his eyeballs almost fell out. He couldn’t help but mumble, “This is impossible, isn’t it? Master Erdeni is making a joke, isn’t he? How could Meiduo be Banda Lam?!”
When he shouted, the other Tibetans who were friends with Meiduo all exclaimed. “That’s right, how could Meiduo be Banda Lam?”
“Master, you must be mistaken,” Dorjee Tenzin whispered to Erdeni, looking shocked.
He turned a deaf ear to him. After bowing several times, he stood up and patted off the snow on his body. He then respectfully reached out his hand to Meiduo and said, “Banda Lam, please hand the prayer wheel over to me.”
At this time, Meiduo seemed to have lost her ability to think, and she blankly handed the prayer wheel in her hand over to Erdeni.
After respectfully taking it with both hands, he turned around and glanced at Dorjee Tenzin. “Would you like to try and turn it?”
Dorjee Tenzin immediately took a step back. “Master, I have neither great merits nor strong spiritual energy. Of course, I won’t be able to move it.”
Erdeni nodded, then walked over to Changbagela. “Can you give it a try?”
Changbagela swallowed and looked at Meiduo, gritted his teeth, and picked up the prayer wheel. No matter how he tried to turn it, the prayer wheel was like a piece of pig iron, unable to be moved at all.
After shaking it for a long time, Changbagela returned the prayer wheel to Eedeni in low spirits. “Master, I can’t move it,” he said.
After that, he turned to the other Tibetans and asked, “Who else would like to have a try?”
The Tibetans all looked at one another in dismay. Two young people jumped out to have a try, but then they lost their nerve and retreated with depressed faces.
Now they truly believed that the prayer wheel in Erdeni’s hands could only be moved by those who possessed great merit and strong spiritual energy!
Facts speak louder than words. The situation at this time had proved everything. The Tibetans all looked at Meiduo with complicated expressions, then bowed and shouted reverently, “Banda Lam!”
Hearing them chatter in Tibetan, Zhou Qin couldn’t help tugging on Changbagela, who was in a daze, and asking in a low voice, “What happened? Why did you call Meiduo Banda Lam?”
“Han Sister, do you know what Banda Lam means?” Changbagela asked with a strange expression.
Zhou Qin shook her head. “Nope, that’s why I’m asking you.”
He forced a wry smile on his face and said, “Banda Lam means… Lakşmī!”
“You mean… Meiduo is Lakşmī?!” Zhou Qin asked, startled.
