212: Chapter 212 Writing the Scriptures (Part 1)

After attaining the Dao, Chaos became quiet.

It was not that it had become deathly still, but rather that it had become gentle. The gray mist no longer churned but floated softly, like a mother's hand caressing an infant's face. The principles of the Dao no longer flew about wildly but flowed quietly like a river, neither hurried nor slow, coming from an unknown place and heading toward an unknown destination.

Lu Mingyuan sat within the Chaos, motionless.

He was not tired; he was waiting. He was waiting for his heart to become completely still, for his Dao to become completely stable. Becoming a Saint was not the end, but the beginning. Once begun, one could not be hurried. If hurried, the Dao would be unstable. If unstable, the classic would not be written well. If not written well, it could not be passed down. If it could not be passed down, the Dao would be severed. If the Dao were severed, people would have no path to walk. If they had no path, they would fear the dark.

Bai Ze crouched on his shoulder, silent. It knew what he was waiting for—he was waiting for the right moment. When the moment arrived, he would naturally move. If the moment had not come, haste was useless. The kitten lay on his lap, purring. It didn't care about timing; as long as it had a place to sleep and someone to accompany it, that was enough.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Mingyuan opened his eyes.

There was no light in his eyes, not because he could no longer see, but because it was no longer needed. The light was in his heart, his heart was in the Dao, and the Dao was in the classic. The classic had to be written; only by being written could it be passed down. If passed down, the Dao would not be severed. If the Dao was not severed, people would have a path to walk. If they had a path to walk, they would not fear the dark.

“Bai Ze.”

“I am here.”

“I am going to write the classic.”

“I know.”

“Help me.”

“How shall I help?”

“Help me remember. I fear that as I write, I might forget what I wrote before. There is no time in Chaos, but my memory has an order. If the order is jumbled, the classic will be jumbled. If it is jumbled, it cannot be passed down.”

“Very well. I will help you remember.”

Lu Mingyuan took the green lotus fragment and the axe blade fragment from his robe and placed them before him. Two beams of light, one green and one gold, reflected off each other. He then placed the oil lamp in the center, its wick flickering. The three lights converged, illuminating a small patch of Chaos before him. The light was not bright, but it was steady. It was so steady that it would not be extinguished even if the wind were stronger or the waves were higher.

He closed his eyes, spreading out a sheet of paper in his mind. The paper was vast, so large it had no boundaries. There were no words on the paper, waiting for him to write. What should the first word be? Write 'Heart'. Heart as the Mysterious Pivot; the pivot is the door's hinge. The door opens and closes, but the pivot does not move. When the heart moves, all methods arise; when the heart is still, all methods return.

He opened his eyes and reached out to write in the Chaos. As his finger brushed against the Chaos, it split apart. It was not a physical split, but a split in the principles of the Dao. In the place where the Dao split, a character appeared. The character was golden, as golden as sunlight. Every stroke—horizontal, vertical, downward-left, and downward-right—was perfectly neat.

The first character: Heart.

When the character for Heart was finished, the Chaos trembled. It was not an earthquake, but a resonance of the Dao. The principles of the Dao sensed that character and began to resonate. The resonance was not a noise, but a response. Like an echo in a valley, when you shout, it answers. Whatever you shout, it echoes back. If you shout 'Heart', it responds with 'Heart'.

The second character: Is.

When the character for Is was finished, the Chaos trembled again. This time the tremor was deeper—not a surface vibration, but one from the depths. The Dao was asking: What is the Heart? It is the Xuan Shu. What is the Xuan Shu? It is the door hinge. What is the door hinge? It is the Heart. Heart as the Mysterious Pivot, the Xuan Shu is the Heart. Heart and pivot are one and the same.

The third character: Mysterious.

When the character for Mysterious was finished, the color of the Chaos changed. From a murky gray, it turned into a deep gray, as dark as the night sky. In the night sky, there were stars, and the stars were twinkling. Every star was a principle of the Dao, and every principle was glowing. The light was not bright, but it existed. Existence itself is meaning.

The fourth character: Pivot.

When the character for Pivot was finished, a point appeared in the Chaos. The point was tiny, like the tip of a needle. Yet it was heavy, so heavy that the entire Chaos seemed to press down upon it. That was the pivot, the hinge. The hinge does not move while the door opens and closes. When the pivot is motionless, all methods naturally return. When all methods return naturally, it is not just any return, it is that All Methods Return to the Origin. The Origin is the heart, the heart is the pivot, and the pivot is the Dao.

Four characters: Heart as the Mysterious Pivot.

Lu Mingyuan stopped and looked at these four characters. They floated in the Chaos, shimmering with golden light. Each character was about ten feet square, as large as a house. Yet they did not seem large, because the Chaos was even larger. It was large enough to hold countless characters, large enough to hold the entire world.

“Heart as the Mysterious Pivot,” Bai Ze recited once. “Is this the general outline?”

“It is the general outline, and yet it is not. The outline consists of these four characters, but there are words behind them. The words are not in the characters, but in the heart. If they are in the heart, there is no need for characters. If they are not in the heart, no amount of characters will help.”

Bai Ze nodded. It understood; the classic was not written, it grew from the heart. If it grew in the heart and was put on paper, it was a classic. If it was not in the heart and was put on paper, it was merely words.

Lu Mingyuan continued to write.

The fifth character: Myriad.

When the character for Myriad was finished, countless points appeared in the Chaos. They were not chaotic, but orderly. Every point was a life, and every life had a heart. Heart connected to heart, forming a web. Web connected to web, forming the Dao. Dao connected to Dao, forming Chaos.

The sixth character: Methods.

When the character for Methods was finished, those points began to move. It was not random movement, but movement with a pattern. Like the stars in the sky rising in the east and setting in the west. Like the rivers on the earth flowing from high to low. Like the transition of the four seasons—birth in spring and growth in summer. That was the Law, the Law of all things, the Law of heaven and earth, the Law of the Dao.

The seventh character: Naturally.

When the character for Naturally was finished, the moving things paused for a moment. It was not a stop, but a return to the self. Where does the Law come from? It comes from the self. The self is the source, and the self is the destination. There is no need to seek externally, no need to search outside. The self is the Dao, and the Dao is the self.

The eighth character: Return.

When the character for Return was finished, everything moved toward the center. The center was that point, the point as small as a needle's tip. The point was the pivot, the pivot was the heart. All methods return to the heart, and the heart returns to all methods. It is not a matter of what returns to what; they were originally one. One is not a number; it is the Dao. The Dao is not a thing; it is the heart.

Four characters: All Methods Return Naturally.

Adding the previous 'Heart as the Mysterious Pivot', there were eight characters: Heart as the Mysterious Pivot, All Methods Return Naturally.

Lu Mingyuan looked at these eight characters. He did not smile, nor did he nod. He simply watched them, as one watches their own child. A child just born is small and weak. But he will grow up, grow tall, and become strong. Strong enough to hold up the heavens and stand firm upon the earth.

“The general outline is finished,” Bai Ze said.

“It is finished.”

“Just eight characters?”

“Just eight characters. The Dao is not in quantity, but in the heart. If the heart is there, eight characters are enough. If the heart is not there, eighty thousand characters are useless.”

Bai Ze fell silent. It thought of those thick scriptures with their thousands of words and grand expositions. Yet what was truly useful might only be a few sentences, or even a few characters. A few characters were enough; enough was all that was needed. Anything more was a burden.

Lu Mingyuan did not stop. The general outline was finished, but there was still the main text. The main text was to be written in seven volumes: the Heart Pivot Volume, the Law Pivot Volume, the Dao Pivot Volume, the Art Pivot Volume, the Artifact Pivot Volume, the Tribulation Pivot Volume, and the Transcendence Volume. Only when the seven volumes were finished would the Classic of Myriad Phenomena and the Xuan Shu be complete.

He took a deep breath and began to write the first volume.

The Heart Pivot Volume.

Preface: Heart as the Mysterious Pivot, All Methods Return Naturally. Returning is not leaving, but coming back. Coming back is not returning, but seeing. Seeing is not looking, but awakening. Awakening is not thinking, but acting.

He wrote row after row of golden characters in the Chaos. Every stroke and line carried the principles of a Saint's Dao, the insights of the seven paths, and every step he had taken from Heyin City to the present.

What is the heart? The heart is not flesh, nor spirit, nor soul. The heart is the pivot, the hinge of a door. The door opens and closes, but the pivot does not move. Yet the pivot is connected to the door, and the door is connected to heaven and earth. The heart is that pivot. When the heart is motionless, all methods naturally return. When the heart moves, all methods are naturally born.

Where is the heart? The heart is not inside, not outside, and not in the middle. The heart is where the action is. When walking, the heart is in the feet. When eating, the heart is in the hands. When reading, the heart is in the eyes. When writing, the heart is in the brush. The heart is in action, not in stillness.

How large is the heart? The heart is large enough to contain heaven and earth. The heart is so small it cannot hold even a grain of sand. Size is not in the heart, but in the person. As large as the person is, so is the heart. A person is not their body, but their breadth of mind. When the mind is broad, the heart is large. When the mind is narrow, the heart is small.

Writing to this point, Lu Mingyuan paused. He thought of a person: Zhao Sanniang. She had never been educated and did not know what the Dao was or what cultivation meant. Yet her heart was vast—vast enough to give her only oil lamp to a stranger. It was vast enough that she did not ask where one came from or when one would return, only asking if the lamp was still lit.

Her heart was the Dao.

He continued to write.

How does one cultivate the heart? It is not by cultivating the heart itself, but by cultivating one's walking. By walking the path beneath one's feet well, one will naturally know where the heart is. The path is the manifestation of the heart, and the heart is the source of the path. Without the heart, there is no path. Without a path, one cannot see the heart. Heart and path are one and the same.

Writing here, he remembered Xuanweizi. The old man who had taught him the Classic of Purity and Tranquility in the ancient temple of Heyin City, the Master who had accompanied him through countless days and nights on Zhongnan Mountain. He had said: “Cultivation is walking. Walk the path beneath your feet well, and you will naturally know how to walk thereafter.”

The Master's words were the classic.

The Heart Pivot Volume consisted of a thousand words—a thousand golden characters floating in the Chaos. Every character glowed; the light was not bright, but it existed. Existence itself is meaning.

Lu Mingyuan stopped and looked at those characters. They were dense, like ants. Yet they were not jumbled; every stroke was perfectly clear.

“The Heart Pivot Volume is finished,” Bai Ze said.

“It is finished.”

“What will you write next?”

“The Law Pivot Volume.”

Lu Mingyuan did not rest but continued writing. There was no time in Chaos, so there was no need for rest. He would rest when tired and write when he was not. He was not tired because his heart was not tired. If the heart is not tired, the hands will not be tired. If the hands are not tired, he could write forever.

The Law Pivot Volume.

Preface: Law is born from the heart, the heart is born from the Dao, the Dao is born from Chaos, and Chaos is born from nothingness. Nothingness is not the absence of anything, but infinite possibility. Possibility is not reality, but a seed. When a seed is planted, watered, and fertilized, it can bloom and bear fruit.

He wrote the second volume in the Chaos. Word by word, perfectly neat.

What is the Law? The Law is the method, the path, and the tool. To go from this shore of the river to the other, one needs a boat. The boat is the Law. To go from this side of the mountain to the other, one needs a road. The road is the Law. To go from mortal to Saint, one needs cultivation. Cultivation is the Law.

How many kinds of Law are there? Countless kinds. As there are countless kinds of people, there are countless kinds of Law. What suits A might not suit B. What suits B might not suit C. There is no high or low in the Law; there is only enlightenment or delusion in the person. If deluded, even the best Law is useless. If enlightened, even the poorest Law can be used.

Where does the Law come from? It comes from the heart. The heart is the source of the Law, and the Law is the manifestation of the heart. If the heart is different, the Law will be different. On the same path, different people will have different feelings. With the same Law, different people will have different results. This is not the fault of the Law, but the difference between people.

The Law Pivot Volume consisted of a thousand words. Combined with the thousand words of the Heart Pivot Volume, two thousand golden characters floated in the Chaos. There were gaps between the characters, and within those gaps, Chaos flowed. Chaos flowed between the characters like water flowing between stones. The stones do not block the water, and the characters do not block the Dao.

Bai Ze looked at those characters, feeling an indescribable sensation in its heart. It had read many classics—Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian. But it had never read a classic like this. It was not esoteric or obscure. It was simple, direct, and clear. It was like walking—step by step, perfectly clear.

Lu Mingyuan stopped and rubbed his wrist. It was not that he was tired, but a matter of habit. He was used to copying books, used to writing, used to leaving marks on paper. But Chaos was not paper, and the characters were not ink. The characters were the manifestation of the Dao's principles, the lifeblood of a Saint.

“Rest for a while,” Bai Ze said.

“No need. I am not tired.”

“Your heart might not be tired, but your hands will be. If your hands are tired, the characters will become crooked. If the characters are crooked, the classic will not be upright. If the classic is not upright, it cannot be passed down.”

Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment and nodded. He lowered his hands, closed his eyes, and rested. It was not sleep, but relaxation. Relaxing the body, relaxing the Meridians, and relaxing the mind. Only when one is relaxed can one be firm. Only when firm can one write. Only when written can it be passed down.

The kitten stood up from his lap and stretched. It walked over to the golden characters and tilted its head to look at them. It could not understand them, but it thought they looked beautiful. The characters were glowing, and the light was flowing. As it flowed, it entered the kitten's eyes. There was light in its eyes, and in that light was the Dao. The Dao was in the cat's eyes, and the cat was within the Dao.

Lu Mingyuan opened his eyes and looked at the kitten. He smiled—a smile that was very light, very faint, and very warm.

“Bai Ze.”

“Yes.”

“Look, even the cat is reading the classic.”

“It doesn't understand.”

“It doesn't need to understand. It only needs to see. By seeing, a seed is planted. Once a seed is planted, it will sprout one day.”

Bai Ze did not speak. It looked at the kitten, then at the characters, and then at Lu Mingyuan's smile. It suddenly understood what was meant by 'teaching without discrimination'. It was not about teaching everyone the same thing, but about giving everyone the same opportunity. Once the opportunity is given, whether one can grasp it depends on oneself. If you cannot grasp it, do not blame others. If you do grasp it, you have succeeded.

Lu Mingyuan stood up and walked a few steps in the Chaos. He stretched his muscles and relaxed his eyes. His eyes were not tired, but they had been looking at golden characters for too long. He needed a change of color, a change of mood.

The Chaos was still the same Chaos, murky and gray. But he had grown accustomed to it and found it beautiful. Gray was not dirty; it was pure. There was no interference from colors, only the Dao flowing. The Dao could not be seen, but it could be felt. Feeling it was enough.

He walked back, sat down, and continued to write.

The third volume, the Dao Pivot Volume.

Preface: The Dao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Dao. 'Can be spoken of' does not mean it cannot be said, but that it cannot be said completely. If it is said completely, it is no longer the Dao. Only that which cannot be fully expressed is the Dao.

What is the Dao? The Dao is the path, the law, and the Origin. The path is walked by people, the law belongs to heaven and earth, and the Origin belongs to all things. The three are different, yet they are one. One is not a number; it is a whole. A whole is not merely the sum of its parts, but the sum of its parts plus one. That 'one' is the Dao.

Where is the Dao? The Dao is in excrement, in rubble, in plants, and in the hearts of men. It is everywhere, yet it cannot be grasped. Not being able to grasp it does not mean it is not there. It is because it is so present that it is omnipresent. Because it is omnipresent, it cannot be seen. Not being seen does not mean it is absent. It is because it is too present.

How does one see the Dao? By walking. By walking and walking, one will eventually see the Dao. The path is the manifestation of the Dao, and the Dao is the source of the path. To walk is to see, and to see is to walk. If you do not walk, you will never see it. If you walk, you might not see it. But if you stop walking, you will certainly never see it.

The Dao Pivot Volume consisted of a thousand words. Combined with the previous two thousand, there were now three thousand golden characters. There were more and more characters, yet the Chaos did not feel crowded. Because characters are not physical objects, they are the principles of the Dao. The principles of the Dao do not take up space; they only occupy the heart.

Lu Mingyuan lowered his hand and looked at these three thousand characters. They floated in the Chaos, forming a long Dragon. The Dragon was long, so long that its tail could not be seen. Yet it was not frightening, because it was very gentle. It was as gentle as a river, flowing softly.

With three volumes finished, four remained. He was in no hurry and wrote slowly. There was no time in Chaos, and he had plenty of time. He was not hurried, not agitated, and not attached. He wrote slowly, steadily, and gently.

The oil lamp burned before him, its wick flickering. The light was weak, but it illuminated every character he wrote. The characters were in the light, and the light was in the characters. Character and light were one; the classic and the Dao shared a single source.