At the Lankavatara Dharma Assembly, Ananda is ensnared by the love spell of the maiden Matangi. The Buddha saves him with a golden radiance, then reveals a startling karmic bond: this infatuation has endured for a hundred lifetimes! He was a general, and she was a princess of an enemy kingdom; their love and their national enmity burned together. He was a top scholar, and she was a marquis's daughter; a mistaken marriage stained the execution grounds with blood. He was a Daoist scion, and she was a fox demon; beneath a heavenly tribulation, they turned to ashes together... Ten cycles of reincarnation, ten identities, ten heart-wrenching romances. Whether remembered or forgotten, the fated attraction in their eyes never changed. At last, after the Buddha had explained all the causes and effects, the two suddenly attained enlightenment and reached sainthood together. To free the mortal world from the anguish of infatuation, these sages, who had endured a hundred lifetimes of tribulation in love, became Dao companions and returned to the mortal realm. Using their own tribulations of love as a mirror, they guide those of us in the modern city who are trapped by love...
This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Please do not imitate.
