139: Chapter 139, Third Debate
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Inside Zixiao Palace, that question was still echoing.
"If they die one by one, where is the way to live?"
Jieyin stood there, looking at Lu Mingyuan. His gaze was as gentle as a spring breeze in March, but within that breeze, there was something. There was the kind of earnestness that truly wanted to know the answer.
Lu Mingyuan did not answer immediately.
He stood there and thought for a moment.
Then, he spoke.
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"Senior Jieyin, I will answer you."
He looked at the old monk.
"If they die one by one, the way to live lies with—the last person standing."
Jieyin did not speak, he only watched him.
Lu Mingyuan continued:
"Before I went to The Rift, I asked Master Xuanweizi a question. I said, Master, what is the purpose of cultivation?"
He paused.
"Master said, cultivation is for walking. If you walk the path beneath your feet well, you will naturally know how to walk the path ahead."
He looked at Jieyin.
"At that time, I didn't quite understand. Later, at The Rift, I understood."
Jieyin asked:
"What did you understand?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"I understood that the person walking will die. But the path will not die. The path remains there, waiting for the next person to walk it."
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Jieyin was silent for a while.
Then, he asked:
"And what if that last person standing also dies?"
This question probed even deeper.
In Zixiao Palace, everyone held their breath.
Lu Mingyuan, however, smiled.
That smile was not one of mockery or helplessness; it was the kind of smile one gives when the conversation finally reaches the root of the matter.
"Senior Jieyin, the last person standing will not die."
Jieyin raised an eyebrow.
"Will not die?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"Yes. They will not die."
He looked at Jieyin.
"Because the last person standing is not just one person."
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Jieyin's gaze shifted slightly.
"Not one person?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"Correct. Not one person."
He took a step forward.
"As they die one by one, the person standing changes. But the act of standing does not change. Those who die hand the act of standing to those who live. Those who live hand the act of standing to the next person who lives."
He looked at Jieyin.
"By the time it reaches the last one, the person standing carries the hearts of one hundred and eighty people who once stood. They carry the hearts of those deceased Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters from the Jie Teach. They carry the hearts of everyone who fell during the Investiture of the Gods Calamity."
His voice was not loud.
But within that voice, there was something.
There was the kind of quality only found in someone who had crawled out of The Rift.
"The last person standing has everyone standing within them."
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Jieyin looked at him for a very long time.
Then, he suddenly asked:
"Little friend, have you read the Buddhist scriptures?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
"I've read a little. Not much."
Jieyin asked:
"Then do you know that Buddhism speaks of 'Emptiness and Existence are Not Two'?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"I know a little. Emptiness is not nothingness, and existence is not reality. 'Emptiness and Existence are Not Two' means that emptiness and existence are one and the same."
Jieyin nodded.
"Correct. Then this poor monk asks you—is that 'last person standing' you spoke of emptiness, or is it existence?"
This was an extremely tricky question.
If he said "existence," he would be clinging to forms, falling into a lesser state.
If he said "emptiness," then everything would come to nothing. What would those who stood, those who died, even matter then?
Everyone in Zixiao Palace looked at Lu Mingyuan.
They watched to see how he would answer.
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Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.
Then, he said:
"Senior Jieyin, that person is emptiness, and they are also existence."
Jieyin asked:
"How so?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"To say they exist, they truly do. Standing there, with flesh and blood, with heart and lungs. The hearts of those who died, within them, are real."
He paused.
"To say they are empty, they are also not just themselves. They carry the hearts of one hundred and eighty people, the hearts of the deceased Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters of the Jie Teach, and the hearts of everyone who fell in the Investiture of the Gods Calamity. They are not merely themselves."
He looked at Jieyin.
"Emptiness and existence, within them, are one and the same."
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A light appeared in Jieyin's eyes.
It was the light of seeing something interesting.
He continued to ask:
"Then this poor monk asks you again—is the 'act of standing' you spoke of emptiness, or is it existence?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"It is also emptiness, and it is also existence."
He said:
"To say it exists, there is indeed someone standing. Tie Niu is standing, I am standing, and those Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters of Senior Duo Bao are standing. This act of standing is real."
He paused.
"To say it is empty, the person standing is replaced one by one. The person standing today might fall tomorrow. The person who fell today was standing yesterday. In the act of standing, there is no one fixed person, in a fixed place, standing."
He looked at Jieyin.
"But this act of standing has never been broken. This is Emptiness and Existence are Not Two."
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Jieyin fell silent.
For a very long time.
Then, he suddenly smiled.
That smile was very gentle.
As gentle as a spring breeze.
But within that breeze, there was something.
There was the gratification of finally waiting for someone who could understand.
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Little friend, Buddhism says 'Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.' The 'last person standing' you just spoke of is form, and also emptiness. The 'act of standing' you spoke of is emptiness, and also form."
He took a step forward.
"This poor monk asked, 'If they die one by one, where is the way to live?' You said it lies with the last person standing. But the last person standing has everyone standing within them. Therefore, the way to live does not lie with one person, but with everyone."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"But everyone is not just everyone. It is those who have stood, those who are standing, and those who will stand. They do not exist simultaneously for a single moment, yet there is not a single moment where they are not present."
He paused.
"This is 'Emptiness and Existence are Not Two'."
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Lu Mingyuan stood there, listening.
As he listened, he suddenly felt something clear up.
It wasn't the kind of clarity from a sudden realization.
It was the kind of clarity that was always there, just previously unseen.
He looked at Jieyin.
"Senior Jieyin, I am reminded of something."
Jieyin asked:
"What is it?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"At The Rift, once, a Demon Tide came. The five of us, along with over a hundred Loose Cultivators, stood before The Rift. At that time, I thought, if we die, what will happen?"
He paused.
"Later, Master Fa Ming said something to me."
Jieyin asked:
"What did he say?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"Master Fa Ming said, one shouldn't fear death; what's to be feared is that after death, no one will continue to stand. But the person who continues to stand is not someone else. It is those who are standing, passing it down one by one. Whenever it is passed, that is when it continues."
He looked at Jieyin.
"At that time, I didn't quite understand. Now, it seems I do."
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Jieyin asked:
"What do you understand?"
Lu Mingyuan said:
"I understand that the person who continues to stand is not a specific individual. It is the act of standing itself. It is the breath passed down by those who have stood. It is the lamp taken up by those who will stand."
He looked at Jieyin.
"That breath, that lamp, is not in one place, yet it is everywhere. It is not in one person, yet it is in everyone. This is Emptiness and Existence are Not Two."
Jieyin looked at him, his gaze full of gratification.
"Little friend, you have finished answering this debate of mine."
Lu Mingyuan cupped his hands.
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior."
Jieyin shook his head.
"It was not guidance. It was confirmation. It was already in your heart; this poor monk only helped you put it into words."
He turned and walked toward his seat.
After a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
He did not look back.
"Little friend, Buddhism speaks of 'Not establishing words'. It is not that words are unnecessary, but that one should not be attached to them. What you just said were not words, but a path. Those who have walked it will naturally understand. Those who haven't will not understand even if it is said."
He continued walking forward.
"You have walked it. Therefore, you understand."
He walked back to his position and sat down.
As he sat, the light on him changed.
It was not a golden Buddha light.
It was a transparent, clear light, like water.
But within that water, there was something.
There was compassion.
There was wisdom.
There was the transparency of someone who had seen through emptiness and existence.
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A blanket of silence fell over Zixiao Palace.
Then, someone sighed softly.
It was Zhunti.
He looked at Jieyin, light in his eyes.
"Senior Brother, how many years has it been since you smiled like that?"
Jieyin did not answer.
He only gave a small smile.
That smile was very light.
Light as a breeze.
But within that breeze, there was something.
There was the joy of finally waiting for someone who could understand.
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Yuanshi Tianzun's voice rang out.
"The third debate is concluded."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
In his gaze, there was something.
Something increasingly inscrutable, yet increasingly appreciative.
"The fourth debate, the Ren Teach shall question."
He looked down from the platform.
"Xuandu, you come."
Xuandu stood up.
He walked to the edge of the platform and looked at Lu Mingyuan upon it.
His gaze was very indifferent.
Indifferent as the clouds of autumn.
But within that indifference, there was something.
There was the earnestness of wanting to ask a true question.
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Little friend, this poor Daoist has a question."
Lu Mingyuan cupped his hands.
"Please speak."
Xuandu asked:
"You just debated 'Emptiness and Existence are Not Two' with Ancestral Master Jieyin and answered very well. This poor Daoist wishes to ask—are those paths you walked, those places you stood, and those things you did 'Action', or are they 'Non-Action'?"
In Zixiao Palace, everyone's gaze fell upon Lu Mingyuan once more.
Waiting for his answer.
Waiting to see how this young man would handle this debate from the Ren Teach.
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Lu Mingyuan stood there, under the weight of those gazes.
He did not panic.
He only thought for a moment.
Then, he spoke.
"Senior Xuandu, I will answer you."
He looked at the Daoist.
"The path I walked, the place I stood, and the things I did—they were Action, and also Non-Action."