As soon as the Abbot finished speaking, he leaned on both hands and pressed his forehead against the golden brick floor, swearing that should there be any false words in what he said, he would enter the hell of perpetual suffering after death without the possibility of reincarnation.
Among Buddhists, this was considered a heavy oath.
The Emperor scrutinized the Abbot, asking, "Is there anything else?"
The Abbot shook his head, "That's all I know, Your Majesty. I have reported everything that I should."
The Emperor asked, "What about transporting the mountain stones? I heard about fifty carts, as you just said it was because the temple has been unsettled recently, that you thought of bringing those mountain stones back to the temple to build the Buddha's platform?"