Faithful to Buddha, Faithful to You — Introduction

Original Title: 不负如来不负卿 (Bù fù rúlái bu fù qīng)
Title Translation: Faithful to Buddha, Faithful to You* (see the end for notes)
Author: 小春 Xiao Chun
Genres: Chinese historical fiction, time travel, romance
Length: 2 volumes – 100 chapters
Publication year: 2007
Ratings: PG to 18+ depending on the chapter
Support the Author: Yesasia (Taiwanese version), Tiki (Vietnamese version)

Synopsis:
Beyond the earthly realm were Buddha and the Dharma. In the earthly realm were feelings of love. Camel bells rang the song of the West, about a love story that journeyed along the Silk Road over a thousand years ago…

After a couple of failed experiments with the time machine, 21^st Century historian Ai Qing finally succeeds in her 3^rd attempt. Unfortunately, she lands five hundred years later than the researchers desired and finds herself stranded in a desert during the Sixteen Kingdoms era. By chance or fate, she gets to meet the famous Buddhist translator monk Kumarajiva when he is thirteen. The two of them strike up a friendship, where she teaches him Chinese in return for his knowledge of Sanskrit and Tocharian.

The second time they meet, ten years have passed for him but only mere months for her. He is now a renowned monk and the head of a monastery. Ai Qing is a historian. She knows very well what is in store for him in the future: A life filled with great achievements in Buddhism, not without obstacles, but nevertheless a great future to be had. And yet…as she watches the different sides of him unfold before her eyes, she discovers a mortal man full of warmth and emotions underneath the kasaya robes. In this battle of heart versus mind, which will emerge victorious? Standing between them is not just the distance of thousands of years, but also chaos and war, and his pious heart to Buddha.

“Ashamed that my feelings have dirtied the holy path,
I remained afraid of the alluring beauty after entering the mountain.
In this world, how can one fulfill both
Faithful to Buddha, faithful to you.” *
– Tsangyang Gyatso, the 6^th Dalai Lama

A reader’s introduction by ha_noi_buon (quoted in the official Vietnamese version of the novel)

[T/N: First paragraph omitted]
“The author is someone with an extensive knowledge and a profound outlook, so when you read the novel, it’s as if you are there with the characters and experiencing all their ups and downs. The connection is so deep that you get choked with emotions, your tears fall without you knowing, and your heart clenches tight in pain like never before, only to be basked in a golden sweetness of joy later on.

My advice for anyone interested in reading is to not pick it up. Not because it isn’t a great read, but because you need a strong heart to withstand the pain and the longing together with the characters.

If I were to compare the characters’ emotions to that of a desert, then the everyday emotions I have experience for more than 30 years are just specks of sand.”

[T/N: ha_noi_buon then shared a poem, a more well-known one by Tsangyang Gyatso, which got me interested in the novel.]

To Meet, or Not to Meet
Whether you meet me or not
I remain here
Neither glad nor sad
Whether you miss me or not
Affection remains here
Neither coming nor going
Whether you love me or not
Love remains here
Neither waxed nor waned
Whether you accompany me or not
My hand remains in yours
Neither holding on nor letting go
Come into my arms
Or let me reside in your heart
Serenely in love
Silently in joy

Warnings:
The novel deals with delicate issues of religion, one of which is whether love and sex should or can exist along with piety to Buddhism. The author also takes some liberties with history. The events and figures remain the same, but her interpretation is more fluid. This might be uncomfortable for some, but if you can keep an open mind, I promise you will find how beautiful and profound this novel is.

About the author:
小春 Xiao Chun (this is a penname; I couldn’t find her real name in Chinese)
Xiao Chun graduated with a degree in English as a foreign language and later on obtained an MBA. She used to be a director of a business listed in the Top 500 Companies of China, and is currently a CEO of a foreign business with headquarters in Ningbo, China.

Life motto: read thousand books, travel thousand miles, hear thousand stories.
Her biggest dream in life is to travel to all corners of the world.
She has left a footprint in almost every country in Africa and Asia, in every famous landmark, forest, and mountain summit across the world.

Disclaimer:
小春 is the copyright holder of the novel 不负如来不负卿. My English translation is based on the official Vietnamese translation by Lương Hiền. All I own is the English translation, which is free, voluntary, and only meant to help promote the novel, not for commercial gain.
DO NOT RE-POST my translation anywhere else and DO NOT RE-TRANSLATE.

Please support the author by buying the books, if you can: Yesasia (Taiwanese version), Tiki (Vietnamese version)

CHAPTER INDEX
Part I: Early youth
Ch. 1-2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7-8
Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | Ch. 13 | Ch. 14

Part II: At that time, we were young
Ch. 15-16 | Ch. 17 | Ch. 18 | Ch. 19 | Ch. 20
Ch. 21 | Ch. 22 | Ch. 23 | Ch. 24 | Ch. 25 | Ch. 26
Ch. 27 | Ch. 28 | Ch. 29 | Ch. 30 | Ch. 31
Ch. 32 | Ch. 33 | Ch. 34 | Ch.35-37 (skipped) | Ch.37-38

Part III: Wind and rain, let’s overcome it together
Ch. 39 | Ch. 40 | Ch. 41 | Ch. 42-43
Ch. 44 | Ch. 45 | Ch. 46 | Ch. 47 | Ch. 48
Ch. 49 | Ch. 50 | Ch. 51 | Ch. 52 | Ch. 53 | Ch. 54
Ch. 55 | Ch. 56 | Ch. 57 | Ch. 58 | Ch. 59

Part IV: The years in Liang Province
Ch. 60 | Ch. 61 | Ch. 62 | Ch. 63 | Ch. 64 | Ch. 65
Ch. 66 | Ch. 67 | Ch. 68 | Ch. 69 | Ch. 70
Ch. 71 | Ch. 72 | Ch. 73 | Ch. 74 | Ch. 75
Ch. 76 | Ch. 77 | Ch. 78 | Ch. 79 | Ch. 80

Part V: The glory of Chang’an
Ch. 81 | Ch. 82 | Ch. 83 | Ch. 84 | Ch. 85
Ch. 86 | Ch. 87 | Ch. 88 | Ch. 89 | Ch. 90
Ch. 91 | Ch. 92 | Ch. 93 | Ch. 94 | Ch. 95

Part VI: Faithful to Buddha, faithful to you
Ch. 96 | Ch. 97 | Ch. 98 | Ch. 99 | Ch. 100

Translation approach: See this separate post

Translation notes:
The English title is not an official one but one I borrowed from this blog post: http://www.books.shushengbar.com/?p=5697

The title of this novel(s) came from the poem you saw in the last part of the summary. The poem is referenced in chapter 55 of volume 2. The author of the poem is not Xiao Chun but the 6^th Dalai Lama of Tibet – Tsangyang Gyatso (I’ll cover him and other history tidbits in another post). Noted, this was only the last part of the full poem by the Dalai Lama.

Here is the original in Chinese:
曾虑多情损梵行， 入山又恐别倾城，
世间安得双全法， 不负如来不负卿。

The translation in Vietnamese by Lương Hiền (translator of the official version):
Tự thẹn đa tình đoạn kiếp tu
Nhập thiền khôn xóa bóng hình xưa
Thế gian ai vẹn đôi đường cả
Không phụ Như Lai, không phụ nàng.

The English translation (originally from the blog post linked above, with slight modification):
Ashamed that my feelings have dirtied the holy path,
I remained afraid of the alluring beauty after entering the mountain.
In this world, how can one fulfill both
Faithful to Buddha, faithful to you.

如来 and Viet equivalent Như Lai actually means Tathāgata, a Pali and Sanskrit word; Gautama Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama, founder of Buddhism) uses it when referring to himself in the Pāli Canon.
Source: Wiki
I could have used Tathāgata in the English title, but it would leave readers unfamiliar with Buddhism confused and lose the general meaning.

卿 is an old pronoun used to address a court official/consort by an emperor, or from husband to wife. A gender-neutral term in Chinese, merely reflects the difference in status.
Viet equivalent is actually “khanh”, but Lương Hiền the translator opted for “nàng”, which is gender-specific, used by a male to address his lover/wife (female), an archaic endearment term. It does seem more fitting in terms of meaning and context since the male lead is not an emperor.
I could have used the archaic “thee” for the English title, but it sounds a bit jarring with Buddha (East meets West kind of thing). Since Ai Qing taught Rajiva Chinese using modern terminology first, and they addressed each other rather familiarly like peers, I find the modern “you” fitting.