都喝采道 The Whole Court Cried Bravo
那國王聽說，十分歡喜。滿朝官都喝采道：「好個『惟道獨稱尊』，『惟道獨稱尊』。」長老見人都讚他，不勝羞愧。國王又叫光祿寺安排素齋，待那遠來之僧出城西去。三藏謝恩而退。那国王听说，十分欢喜。满朝官都喝采道：「好个『惟道独称尊』，『惟道独称尊』。」长老见人都赞他，不胜羞愧。国王又叫光禄寺安排素斋，待那远来之僧出城西去。三藏谢恩而退。
逐句解 Line by line
The king, hearing this, was thoroughly delighted.
Nine characters, and the argument is decided — not on its merits but on which answer the listener wanted.
The officers of the whole court cried their applause: "Well said, only the Way has been called honoured! Only the Way has been called honoured!"
喝 is hè, to shout, in 喝采 — to call out approval, which is what an audience does at a performance. They are not agreeing with an argument; they are cheering a line, and they repeat it because it scanned well.
The elder, seeing everyone praise him, was overcome with shame.
不勝羞愧 — not able to bear the shame. It is the only thing Tripitaka feels here, and it is worth noting what it is not: he is not angry, and he does not answer back.
The king further ordered the Court of Imperial Entertainments to lay on a vegetarian meal, to see the monk from far off out of the city westward.
The 光祿寺 guāng lù sì was a real ministry of the Ming state, responsible for banquets and sacrificial provisions. Being fed and shown the gate is a polite dismissal, and it is also — as the next block will reveal — the reason the party is still inside the walls when the order comes to arrest them.
Tripitaka gave thanks for the favour and withdrew.
Six characters, and he leaves the argument lost, the rescript stamped and his life in more danger than when he came in.
The debate is settled by applause. Nobody in the hall weighs the two speeches; the king likes the second answer better, and the court cheers the line that scanned best. It is the most cynical thing the chapter does and it is done in twenty characters.
Tripitaka's shame is the detail worth sitting with. He has just told a court that drawing on the female to supplement the male is nonsense and that drugs for long life are empty words, both of them true and both aimed at what is killing the man on the throne. He was answered with a joke about backsides, and the room applauded the joke. What he feels is embarrassment.
The order for the farewell meal is the trap closing, though nobody in the room knows it. The king means it kindly. It is the reason the pilgrims will still be in the city when the Royal Father-in-Law works out what he wants next.