Free The Temple Mount Code by Charles Brokaw Page A

rose.
    The walls looked natural in most places. The original builders had taken advantage of the existing cave system. Some of the other rooms contained scars from tools when they had been widened and deepened. Oil lanterns filled the rooms with a golden glow.
    ‘I am Brother Shamar. Please sit.’ A wizened old man waved at the small rugs adorning the smooth stone floor around him. He wore an orange saffron robe and sat cross-legged with an easy grace. Age had wrinkled his face so much that it looked like a raisin. Still, his dark eyes looked full of life and mischief.
    Lourds and Hu introduced themselves. The audience was semiprivate. Rory and the BBC crew filmed from the doorway and used only the natural light coming from the oil lanterns hanging on the wall and the fireplace behind the old monk.
    ‘Why have you come to our temple?’ Shamar’s excellent English had a British accent.
    ‘Seeking knowledge.’ Lourds sat cross-legged and felt the heat from the fireplace melting into his body. The cold that had leached into his bones seemed like it was finally leaving.
    ‘You’re not here to investigate our faith, Professor Lourds. Your soul is too restless to travel quietly through this life.’
    ‘No, we’re not here about your faith. We came hoping to get information about this temple.’
    ‘What do you wish to know?’
    ‘First, let me give you some information.’ Lourds brought out the picture of the tortoiseshell map and explained how he’d found it and how they’d located the temple.
    ‘An impressive story.’ Shamar seemed genuinely interested. ‘I had no idea of the temple’s history. It was already here when the first monks arrived. Our histories record no origin of this place.’
    ‘It was like this?’
    ‘Much as you see it now. Few changes have been made. Ours is a simple faith. We live within the world as it is and don’t seek to change it to fit our desires. Monks come here to strip away the cares and concerns of the outside world so that we might become better teachers when we reenter that world. Our time here is spent in study and mastering our spirits.’
    ‘Why is it called the Temple of the Scholar’s Rock?’
    ‘The temple was named so in honor of the many scholar’s rocks found here.’
    ‘Uh, Professor Lourds.’
    Lourds peered over his shoulder at Rory.
    ‘Maybe you could explain what a scholar’s rock is. You know, for the audience back home?’
    ‘Young man.’ Shamar lifted his voice.
    ‘Yes, sir?’
    The monk smiled beatifically. ‘Would you care to join us?’
    ‘Uh, no. I’m good right here. Thanks.’
    ‘If you would learn something, you must go to the feet of one who knows and talk, not bellow from the shadows.’
    Rory scratched his head, then came forward reluctantly and sat cross-legged on one of the rugs.
    Lourds answered the question. ‘A scholar’s rock is also known as a viewing stone. They’ve been around for a long time, but they were brought to prominence in the Song Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty defined the four main visual qualities of a scholar’s stone: thinness, openness, perforations, and wrinkling. I’ll give you the Cantonese words for those things later.’
    ‘What do you do with a scholar’s stone?’
    Shamar laughed.
    Lourds smiled. ‘Well, you appreciate it.’
    Rory’s brow furrowed. ‘Appreciate it? A rock? This isn’t like a pet rock, is it? You aren’t after having me on, are you?’
    ‘No, not at all. Generally a scholar’s rock is used for decoration in a garden. They have interesting shapes, holes, and perforations. The texture of the rocks is smooth. The smoother the better. The preferred method of getting them is simply finding them, but sometimes artisans helped nature along by cutting stones into interesting shapes and immersing them in running water or a lake so the sharp edges would wear away.’
    Rory’s brow furrowed. ‘That would take years.’
    ‘Of course it took years. But the texture was prized. A lot of