137: Chapter 137 First Debate
"Who else wants to ask?"
Lu Mingyuan's voice echoed through the Zixiao Palace.
No one answered.
Those lights were still shining quietly.
But in that silence, there was something.
It was the kind of quiet that precedes a storm.
Then, a person stood up.
It was Guangchengzi.
He looked at Lu Mingyuan on the stage, and his gaze was no longer as gentle as before.
It was a sharp gaze, like a sword.
"Little friend, this poor Daoist has a debate for you."
Lu Mingyuan cupped his hands.
"Please, speak."
Guangchengzi took a step forward.
"You said just now that all laws share the same source and that there is no high or low in the Dao. This poor Daoist cannot agree with that statement."
In the Zixiao Palace, everyone's attention focused on them.
The first debate had begun.
Guangchengzi said:
"My Chan Sect speaks of following Heaven and responding to men. To follow Heaven is to follow the Heavenly Dao. What is the Heavenly Dao? It is order, it is rules, it is the hierarchy of superior and inferior, and it is the laws governing the movement of all things."
He paused.
"Where there is order, there is high and low. Where there are rules, there is superior and inferior. These are the principles established since the beginning of Heaven and Earth. The sun, moon, and stars each have their place. The mountains, rivers, grass, and trees each rest in their lot. Ruler and subject, father and son—each keeps to their own Dao."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"You say there is no high or low in the Dao. Then let this poor Daoist ask you—can the sun and moon be equal to a firefly? Can the great rivers be equal to a stream? Can the Heavenly Dao be equal to the human heart?"
This question was very heavy.
Heavy like a mountain.
It weighed down upon the Zixiao Palace.
It weighed down upon Lu Mingyuan.
Lu Mingyuan stood there, pressed by that question.
He did not dodge it.
He simply thought for a moment.
Then, he spoke.
"Senior Guangchengzi, let me ask you a question."
Guangchengzi nodded.
"Ask."
Lu Mingyuan said:
"Between the sun and moon and the firefly, which is brighter?"
Guangchengzi said:
"Naturally, the sun and moon."
Lu Mingyuan asked:
"But when the firefly shines, where are the sun and moon?"
Guangchengzi was stunned for a moment.
Lu Mingyuan said:
"When the firefly shines, it is night. The sun and moon are not in the sky. At that time, the firefly is the light in the night. Without the firefly, the night would be black."
He looked at Guangchengzi.
"The sun and moon have their brightness. The firefly has its brightness. The hours they shine are different, and the places they shine are different, but they are both shining. They are both adding a bit of light to this world."
Guangchengzi was silent for a while.
Then, he asked:
"Then what about the great rivers and the streams?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"The rivers are large, and the streams are small. But the streams converge to form the rivers. Without those small streams, there would be no great rivers."
Guangchengzi asked:
"And the Heavenly Dao and the human heart?"
Lu Mingyuan looked at him.
"The Heavenly Dao is high, and the human heart is low. But the Heavenly Dao must pass through the human heart to descend. Without the reception of the human heart, no matter how high the Heavenly Dao is, it has nothing to do with this world."
He took a step forward.
"Senior Guangchengzi, you speak of order. I believe in it. You speak of rules. I believe in them. You speak of the hierarchy of superior and inferior. I believe in that too."
He paused.
"But what is order, rules, and hierarchy for? It is to allow all things to rest in their proper place and keep to their own Dao. It is not to create a divide of high and low, to make people crawl on the ground and let Heaven trample over them."
He looked at Guangchengzi.
"The sun and moon are high, but they shine upon us. The rivers are large, but they nourish us. The Heavenly Dao is high, but it—it waits for us. It waits for us to receive it with our hearts, and to walk it with our paths."
A blanket of silence fell over the Zixiao Palace.
Then, someone spoke.
It was Yuanshi Tianzun.
He looked at Guangchengzi.
"Guangchengzi, what else do you have to say?"
Guangchengzi was silent.
For a very long time.
Then, he suddenly smiled.
That smile was different from his previous sharpness.
It was a helpless, relieved smile.
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Little friend, you have won this debate."
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
"It was not a win. It was a debate."
Guangchengzi raised an eyebrow.
"A debate?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"A debate is not for winning. It is to make the truth clearer. You questioned me, and I answered you. I answered, and you thought. You thought, and you understood. Once you understand, the truth becomes clearer."
He looked at Guangchengzi.
"So, there is no winning or losing. There is only understanding."
Guangchengzi looked at him for a long, long time.
Then, he suddenly gave a deep bow.
"I have been enlightened."
He turned and walked back to his seat.
After a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
He did not turn around.
"Little friend, you truly understand the Dao of the Chan Sect."
He continued walking forward.
"But understanding is one thing, and practicing is another. You must continue to walk your path. Walk until the day when even we can no longer understand you."
He returned to his place and sat down.
As he sat, the light on his body changed.
It was no longer that sharp sword-light.
It was a gentle, inclusive light, like the glow of dusk.
In the Zixiao Palace, the sound of discussion rose again.
Someone said, "Guangchengzi conceded."
Someone said, "This is only the first debate; there are many more to come."
Someone said, "This kid has some real skill."
Lu Mingyuan stood there, listening to the discussions.
He did not speak.
He just looked in the direction where Guangchengzi had sat down.
Looking at that old man.
The head of the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect.
The teacher of the Yellow Emperor.
A person who had lived for an unknown number of millennia.
He suddenly understood one thing—
Debating is not to prove oneself right.
It is so that both parties can get closer to the Dao.
Yuanshi Tianzun's voice rang out.
"The first debate is concluded."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
In his gaze, there was something.
Something increasingly complex, increasingly inscrutable.
"For the second debate, the Jie Sect shall question."
He looked down from the stage.
"Duobao, you come."
Duobao stood up.
He walked to the edge of the stage and looked at Lu Mingyuan.
His gaze was different than before.
Before, it was bitter, relieved, and grateful.
Now, it was serious.
It was the seriousness of wanting to have a proper debate.
"Little friend, this poor Daoist has a debate for you."
Lu Mingyuan cupped his hands.
"Please, speak."
Duobao asked:
"You said just now that as long as one stands, there is a way to live. But this poor Daoist wants to ask—what if the person standing has stood in the wrong place?"
Lu Mingyuan was taken aback for a moment.
"Stood in the wrong place?"
Duobao nodded.
"Yes. Standing in the wrong place. Standing where one should not stand, standing in a place of certain death, standing in a place with no vitality. If one stands there, is there still a way to live?"
In the Zixiao Palace, everyone looked at Lu Mingyuan.
Waiting for his answer.
Waiting to see how this young man would handle this debate from the Jie Sect.
Lu Mingyuan stood there, under the weight of those gazes.
He did not panic.
He just thought for a moment.
Then, he spoke.
"Senior Duobao, I will answer you."
He looked at Duobao.
"Even if one stands in the wrong place, one must still stand."