Dharma and the Officer walked in deep silence through the stairs and corridors leading to the detention center. On the way, Dharma struggled with his inner thoughts. ‘Maybe finally it’s time to get out of this smelly, lonely cellar’ he thought. He hesitated for a moment but then recovered his composure and continued to walk down corridor
At the end of the corridor, a room appeared, closed by large stone doors. As they stepped inside, the guest from the Temple came into view. The old monk was seated at a large table in the room, in a state of deep meditation, awaiting their arrival.
As soon as he sensed Officer and Dharma enter, the monk suddenly opened his eyes and scrutinized the pair. Officer and Dharma also quietly took their places at the table. Then, the Officer, after greeting the monk respectfully, got straight to the point.
“Sir.” he said in a determined tone, “This prisoner I have brought with me claims to be from the Temple. Can you confirm this?” His words interrupted the silence in the room and attracted the monk’s attention.
“Of course,” The monk said.
There was a definite assurance in his tone. The old monk’s calm gaze held a deep wisdom. Then, pointing to the small hand mirror he had brought with him, he continued, “This mirror is called the Mirror of the Soul. Looking into it is like traveling into someone’s inner world. A real Buddhist with a truly pure soul will only find peace and serenity by looking into the mirror. Because his soul has already been washed and purified in the holy waters of the temples.”
The small mirror he placed in the center of the table, covered with an embroidered cloth, looked like an ordinary object, but in fact, it held a deep secret. As the monk gently placed the mirror on the table with his hands, the room took on an atmosphere of mystery.
“But,” Monk’s voice deepened for a moment as his eyes focused on the mirror. “When a murderer, a liar, or a brute looks into a mirror, there will be nothing left of him. He will be a kind of living dead, like a body that breathes but has lost its soul…” The monk’s words echoed around the room, each word plunging the listeners into deep thought.
Officer glanced at the hand mirror on the table and couldn’t help thinking: ‘Is this one of those otherworldly artifacts?’ He was sure it was the first time he had ever seen anything like it. Thanks to this artifact, the case would be solved quickly. ‘What a helpful thing!’ Because if what the monk said was true, one look in the mirror from the prisoner next to him would have confirmed the truth or lie of all the accusations he had previously made.
Noticing the Officer’s gaze on the artifact, the old monk laughed. “Ha, ha. If you are that curious, you can pick it up and examine it. But remember, don’t open the piece of cloth. And even if you do, don’t look directly into the mirror.”
The Officer was surprised. Could he really pick it up and examine it? He looked at the old monk and saw that the monk didn’t seem to mind. Well, then, it wouldn’t hurt to touch it, even if he didn’t open it.
But as he was reaching for it, the prisoner next to him was already reaching for it and taking it in his hands. Interestingly, he was examining the hand mirror with a more respectful expression than his own.
Just as he was about to get angry and take the mirror, he saw the prisoner begin to peel the embroidered fabric like a banana peel.
Stunned by what he saw, he almost cursed in front of his esteemed guest from the Temple, but he recovered himself and turned angrily to the prisoner and began to shout, “YOU! What do you think you’re doing?”
But the prisoner next to him didn’t seem to care. He continued to peel the mirror, humming rhythmically. The Officer was about to move and take the mirror from the prisoner when he heard the calm words of the old monk.
“Let him open it,” said the old monk. “That’s why I brought the mirror here. What difference does it make if he looks in it now or later?” He didn’t seem interested in who looked first but instead seemed to find it amusing that this criminal had the absurd courage to pick up the mirror and try to look in it.
As much as the Officer wanted to take the mirror in his hand and examine it, he couldn’t argue with the old monk’s words. After all, he was right. The prisoner would eventually look in the mirror. Of course, usually, the Officer planned that they would only use the mirror as a threat. The criminal would see such an artifact, get scared, and confess his crimes. The story would go on like this… But how could he have known this asshole would be so callous?
“Open sesame, open.” Dharma had almost opened the mirror.
The Officer had already closed his eyes to be on the safe side and was waiting for the screams he would hear.
And in a way, he did. Suddenly, an agonized shout filled the room. It was the voice of the mahout next to him.
“NOOOOOO!”
The voice was indeed in great pain, but the shouting sounded a bit strange. Whatever, thought the Officer. The case seemed to be solved. The stupid man had received his punishment by looking in the mirror. But what he heard next almost made him vomit blood.
“GREAT BUDDHA, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY HAIR?” Dharma tried to fix his hair by looking in the mirror, but it was too late. After a full day in the jungle and in the sea water, plus two days in a dirty cell, it was no surprise that his hair looked like a hobo’s.
“?” Officer couldn’t comprehend what he was hearing. The old monk looked equally bewildered.
“IS THIS THE END OF ALL THE EFFORT AND BATTLE I FOUGHT IN THE TEMPLE TO PROTECT THIS HAIR? NOOO!” Dharma shouted out in pain. If one looked carefully, one could almost see that he was about to cry.
The Officer’s head began to spin. He asked, speaking in a tone trying to understand what had just happened. “H-hey, why did nothing happen to you? How!”
While Dharma was writhing in pain, he answered this question with astonishing simplicity
“How? The answer is obvious, isn’t it? Because I wasn’t lying. You know, like I said before to you, I was born and raised in the Temple.”
The old monk, who had remained silent and calm throughout the whole conversation, couldn’t stand it any longer and shouted, “NONSENSE!”
Dharma looked at him, not understanding. “What nonsense?”
The old monk continued, “Since when does the great Temple allow monks trained in the Temple to behave like this? Your appearance, your gestures, your demeanor, in short, everything is against the ascetic customs of the Temple!”
The old monk couldn’t accept it. Everything about the person in front of him was officially against what he believed in, but still, when he looked in the mirror, nothing happened. What was going on? Even he had doubts that he would come out of that mirror intact, but there was no way that this young man, who lived a third of his age, could be in such a state and not be heard of in the Temple! No, wait…
A terrible guess arose in the old monk. After realizing his own words, he turned to the Officer in surprise and asked: “Hey, who did this man introduce himself as from the Temple?” His voice trembled. He wished he had not made such a mistake. He could not be that person. It couldn’t be!
The Officer immediately came to his senses and reviewed the information in his mind. “Well, if I remember correctly, this person introduced himself as ‘Dharma’ from the Temple.”
‘Dharma’ Hearing this name, the old monk realized his big mistake. He immediately stood up and bowed respectfully to the young man he had just looked at with suspicion. “This old man did not recognize the person in front of him. Please forgive me, Master Dharma.”
Dharma put the mirror down on the table in frustration. “Whatever, can I leave now?”
‘What’s going on?’ The Officer experienced too much in one day. Why was the old monk who had not believed the man before him just now bowing respectfully to the young man? Was this person not only from the Temple but one of its important figures?
The old monk was in a state of great fear and stress. The young man before him was among the few holiness-born people in the faith community. If ‘he was, it made sense why the rules did not apply to him.
Luckily, Master Dharma had more significant concerns at the time, so he didn’t seem to overthink his disrespect.
The old monk turned to the Officier and said, “E-ehm. This is one of the young geniuses and important figures of our Temple. He could not have committed the crimes you have listed. The fact that he looked in the mirror is proof of that.”
His gaze seemed to say that the Officer should not prolong the incident any further.
The Officer had realized the mistake he had made. If word got out that he was treating important figures of the Temple in such a way, it would not be surprising if his head fell off while walking down the street. So, he did not make a big deal out of it. “A- I see…Since he is a member of the Temple and his crimes are nothing more than slander, there is no reason for Master Dharma to stay here any longer. You can leave at any time.”
The Officer went to Dharma and unlocked the handcuffs with the key in his hand.
“Oh, this is definitely better,” Dharma said as he rubbed his wrists.
Then, he clasped both hands together and began to use his power without warning.
The old monk noticed this and thought Dharma was attacking them as punishment, so he closed his eyes and waited for the attack.
“Nothing happened?” The old monk was surprised. He thought Dharma would attack to punish him for his disrespect, but nothing happened.
“Is the exit this way? “The Dharma was already at the door and preparing to leave, as if he had just done nothing.
The Officer said helplessly, “Y-yes, sir.” He indeed had a near-death encounter today. And it was good that he hadn’t acted stupidly in the cell and gotten on this monk’s nerves.
After Dharma and the old monk had left the building, the old monk couldn’t help but ask, “Sir, why didn’t you let us know you were coming? We would have done our best to welcome you… And also… Pardon my question, but why did you come from the central plains to this godforsaken place? To my knowledge, there is nothing worth coming here for.”
The old monk was curious. Why had he come to the city in such a ‘troubled’ manner without informing the esteemed guests? Was there something he had missed and hadn’t heard from the Headquarters?
Dharma spoke as she stood in front of the building as if he was waiting for something. “Ah, the truth is that the old bastards didn’t tell me there was a branch of the Temple here either… that shocked me too. To send me away while you guys are here… Even though it’s ridiculous, orders are orders, so there’s nothing to do.”
At that moment, a mouse came out of one of the building’s nooks and crannies and approached Dharma, who picked it up, petted it, put it on her shoulder like a bird, and continued.
But this time, his tone was serious and dark. “As for the reason why I came… Let’s say I’m not really here for a good cause. We will discuss the rest in the Temple; it’s not a good place to discuss these things outside.
The old monk realized the seriousness of the situation. If someone from the main Temple was coming here, it could not be small. ‘Something big was going on behind the curtain,’ he thought.
Then, they both made their way to the Temple.
