The Undying Dharma Lamp

During the Huichang era of the late Tang dynasty, a great persecution of Buddhism swept across the land. Temples were burned, scriptures scattered, and monks and nuns forced to return to secular life. The novice monk Zhiyan takes off his robes, changes into common clothes, and becomes a copyist at the Sanwei Bookshop in Wuben Ward. By day, he copies account books for a silk shop, carefully measuring out ink for every coin he earns. By night, beneath an oil lamp in the storeroom, he uses trembling hands to piece together scriptures damaged by insects and water. “Where is the Buddha?” Once a clear question, it grows vague and painful amid the pressure of making a living and the collapse of faith.

Yet even in this troubled age, a glimmer of light does not go out.