New Journey to the West
Buddhist Sin Tak College , Yeung , Ching Tung - 15
I can feel an itch on my arms . What is it ? I slowly open my eyes . Two sturdy men are holding my arms , one on the left and one on the right , dragging me on a bridge . “ Men ” shouldn ’ t be the right word to describe them . They don ’ t look like human beings . Human beings don ’ t have a horse ’ s head . But who are they ? Wait , haven ’ t I died already ? Where am I ?
I shake my arms and try to get rid of them . But to my surprise , they are way too strong , I can barely move my arms . “ Cough , cough .” The smoke from the nearby fire stimulates my throat . Suddenly , the two “ men ” stop . Stifling my fear , I finally decide to look up . In front of me is a temple made of red bricks . In fact , everything in this place is made of red bricks . The word “ hell ” pops up in my head immediately . Red bricks , fire everywhere , horse-head men , what else can this place be ?
A tall , dignified man appears in front of me all of a sudden . I can ’ t help but to swallow hard because of the man ’ s imposing manner . The man is in good shape , even though he looks like he is middle aged . He must be the Yama .
The man glares at me . The fierce look in his eyes makes me swallow again . I can feel his anger by the way he looks at me .
“ Chan , do you know what you have done ?” he asks in his hoarse , deep voice .
Feeling a shiver , I mutter in fear , “ killed a man ...” I keep my head down , hoping to avoid eye contact with him .
“ This is not your first time , Chan .” He sighs and turns around . I look up in confusion .
Not my first time ? What does he mean ? The guy who raped my girlfriend is the only one I killed . He deserved to die anyway .
“ You have accumulated way too much karma .” He frowns and shakes his head . “ In order to atone your sins , you will reincarnate as a monk named Xuanzang together with your memories from your former life . Your mission is to travel from China to India and bring a Buddhist scripture back for the sake of Buddhism in China . You won ’ t be able to die unless you finish your mission .”
What ? Reincarnate with my former lifetime ’ s memories ? I can ’ t imagine how life will be like living with those painful memories . Why am I sentenced to such a brutal punishment ? Because I killed a rapist who deserved to die ? “ But why …” the man snaps his fingers before I can finish my question .
A bright white light enters my eyes , forcing me to close my eyes . After a few seconds of dizziness , I can finally open them . Ouch . My head aches . I find myself laying on a wooden bed .
“ Xuanzang , you have finally woken up .” An old voice enters my ears . I sit up on the bed and stare at the man . He is a monk , I can tell from his shaven head and what he wears – an orange kasaya . Just then I realize I literally have the same look as him – my head feels kinds of cold . I ’ m wearing an orange kasaya too .
“ How are you feeling , Xuanzang ?” the old monk looks a little worried . “ You have been in a coma for an entire week .”
“ Good .” Not good at all . My head keeps aching . I can ’ t help but to frown .