CHAPTER 438: 340. LET GO 2

But now, Chen Ji didn’t give Wuzhai the opportunity to ask questions at all. He pulled Wuzhai into the scripture debate, making him the one to question, just by borrowing a small matter.

Wuzhai twiddled the Buddha beads in his hands, stopping at one of them, and calmly said, "To answer the benefactor’s question, can an evil person who slaughters a city still become a Buddha? The ’Guanyin Xuan Yi’ says, ’An evil person ceases doing good, but doesn’t lose the goodness of their nature; a Buddha ceases doing evil, but doesn’t lose the evil of their nature. Benefactor, an evil person merely commits evil deeds, but it doesn’t mean there is no grain of goodness in their nature. The Buddha disciplines himself to not do evil deeds, but it doesn’t mean there is no grain of evil in his heart.’"

Chen Ji quickly responded, "The Buddhist Sect says that good deeds have good results, and evil deeds have evil results. If an evil person can become a Buddha, where is the karma?"

Wuzhai calmly replied, "Becoming a Buddha is self-enlightenment and sudden enlightenment, not a reward and rebirthed virtue in this ten-direction world, and a Buddha is no more impressive than a person. Benefactor, becoming a Buddha is not a reward for virtue."

Shen Ye quietly said, "Marvelous!"

Before Qi Zhaoning could grasp the profundity of this response, Chen Ji no longer sat kneeling. Instead, he leaned on the bamboo mat with his left hand, sitting slanted, teasing, "Bodhisattva, since I inherently possess the Buddha nature, why must I cultivate further?"

Wuzhai twiddled another prayer bead and answered, "Buddha nature is like hidden gold in a mine, though obscured, it is inherently complete. Our cultivation is merely the process of unearthing the Buddha nature."

Chen Ji picked up a piece of Zhuangyuan Cake and stuffed it into his mouth, "Since the Buddhist Sect says that all dharmas are empty, where does that gold in the mine come from?"

Wuzhai twiddled another prayer bead, "Benefactor, you are being paradoxical. Hidden gold in the mine is just a metaphor; Buddha nature is the potential for enlightenment, not a physical entity, and it is not different from emptiness."

Chen Ji sat up straight with a smile, "Since all dharmas are empty, and beings are without ego, why do Buddhas still aim to save all beings? Aren’t they treating people in a dream?"

Everyone had a renewed sense of focus.

It’s the topic of no ego again.

In the debate at Lu Hun Manor, the term ’no ego’ almost became a mental hindrance for Wuzhai. Now that Chen Ji brought up ’no ego’ again, Wuzhai had to muster all his mental reserves.

As time ticked slowly by, Qi Zhaoning softly asked his elder brother, "What do these discussions mean? Why isn’t the Bodhisattva saying anything?"

Qi Zhenwu frowned and said, "Silence!"

Everyone in Pellucid Tower held their breath, knowing the scripture debate had reached a critical point.

Wuzhai closed his eyes and twiddled more than ten prayer beads before slowly answering, "The benefactor asks why Buddhas aim to save all beings. The ’Huayan Sutra’ states, ’With a mind transcending the world, perform worldly acts.’ Before transcending, one must fully engage with the world, knowing the emptiness while consciously being part of it."

Chen Ji laughed heartily, "Since there is no ego, who saves all beings, who accumulates merits to cycle through samsara, who transcends to become a Buddha?"

Wuzhai abruptly opened his eyes.

Everyone’s expression turned solemn; Bodhisattva Wuzhai had been defeated by this question at Lu Hun Manor before. This question directly challenges the foundation of the Buddhist Sect’s gathering of believers and is fundamentally unanswerable.

Shen Ye sighed lightly, "One question debating ten thousand teachings, it seems Brother Chen aims to suppress the Buddhist Sect for three hundred years with this question."

Qi Zhaoning stared ahead blankly, as if Li Changge and Bodhisattva were right in front of him, and as if the real Four Dreams of Bianliang were also in front of him.

Past, present, future.

Like illusions and shadows, like dewdrops and lightning.

Yet at this moment, Wuzhai fondled the Buddha beads and smiled to answer, "Benefactor Chen Ji, greed, hatred, and ignorance constitute the ’self.’ Everyone desires silver coins for ’me,’ beauties for ’me,’ power for ’me,’ and these are the stumbling stones to awakening. Doing good and virtuous actions is about giving those things we’ve attached ourselves to away, cutting them off from ourselves. Benefactor, the Buddhist Sect teaches people to accumulate merits and perform virtues not for gaining blessings in reincarnation, but to sever greed, hatred, and ignorance, achieving no ego and the emptiness of all dharmas."

Shen Ye, who had been recording the scripture debate, looked up, stunned. His pen halted in the air; after months of not seeing Wuzhai, he had patched this question!

No wonder Wuzhai dared to face Chen Ji so calmly; who knows how long he had been waiting for this day.

Everyone turned to look at Chen Ji.

Qi Zhaoyun softly said, "Zhaoning, this time, Li Changge is going to lose."

In the silence, Chen Ji slowly stood, crossed the red carpet, and stood in front of Wuzhai’s desk.

Candlelight in Pellucid Tower cast his shadow upon Wuzhai, who could only look up.

Chen Ji calmly asked, "What is no ego?"

Wuzhai, neither happy nor sad, fiddled with the prayer beads, "The past mind is unattainable, the present mind is unattainable, the future mind is unattainable."

Chen Ji asked again, "Why cultivate no ego?"

Wuzhai answered again, "All actions are impermanent, all dharmas are without self, nirvana is tranquility. Benefactor, only by releasing the attachment to self can one see through the truth of this world. When ’self’ is no longer a fixation in your heart, others’ insults, slights, or slanders won’t trouble you."

Shen Ye wrote heavier and heavier.

The teachings of the Buddhist Sect are a continuous process of supplementation, from dependent origination to no ego, from emptiness to Alaya Consciousness, each generation adding to the doctrine to make it impregnable.

This time, Wuzhai was flawless, becoming more and more harmonious.

The thought of ’no ego’ had no flaws.

But in the next moment, Chen Ji displayed a faint smile, "Who is debating no ego with me?"

Wuzhai froze in place.

Who is debating no ego? I.

Qi Zhenzhuo questioned, "What does it mean, why is Wuzhai silent again, has he been debated down again?"

"Marvelous," Shen Ye took a deep breath, smiling as he explained, "Last time, Brother Chen jumped out of the topic of no ego, directly challenging the Buddhist Sect’s core of attracting believers. Now Wuzhai has thought of a way to deal with it. So Chen Ji once again transcends the notion of no ego, directly confronting the behavior of seeking debates: if there is no ego and no form, if all dharmas are empty, then debating scripture for victory is also an obsession, a distracting thought, which needs to be eradicated."

"Over the years, Wuzhai gained a formidable reputation through the debate between Buddhism and Daoism, capturing Dao Court assets, debating Dao Court to widespread lament, deviating far from the true meaning of the Buddhist path. If he truly cultivates no ego, he should not debate, nor compete."

"If Wuzhai insists on no ego, it proves all his actions over the years were fundamentally wrong. Each time he debates with someone, it adds another layer of error."

"Brother Chen intends to cut off Wuzhai’s path of cultivation."

Lin Chaojing bowed his head in contemplation for a moment, "No, the debate between Buddhism and Daoism is about reasoning, the more reasoned the debate, the clearer the truth."

Shen Ye laughed, "Let go of the obsessions, you follow your wrong, I follow my right. Why debate? Why win?"

Behind the desk, Wuzhai’s face shifted multiple times.

At times like a fierce Vajra, at times like a gentle Bodhisattva; human appearance, self appearance, all sentient beings appearance, longevity appearance, alternating in succession.

Human appearance, attachment to others.

Self appearance, attachment to oneself.

All sentient beings appearance, attachment to all beings.

Longevity appearance, attachment to life.

At this moment, Chen Ji looked down at Wuzhai and softly said, "Let go."

Though not loud, it was a sudden awakening like a blow to the head.

In an instant, Wuzhai suddenly bent over and spat out a mouthful of blood, staining his Moon White Kasaya red. The faint glimmering halo behind him gradually dimmed.

In the resplendent Pellucid Tower, the candles danced without wind and half were instantly extinguished, while the koi in the broad pool scattered into the distance.

Shen Ye’s face changed, "Bodhisattva has declined in realm."

Wuzhai’s cultivation focused on the path of debate: the more he debated, the more he won, the higher his cultivation realm became. Now having been mentally defeated, he couldn’t even stabilize his cultivation realm.

Shen Ye stood up to support Wuzhai, but Wuzhai raised his hand to stop him, slowly supporting himself up.

Facing Chen Ji, he put his hands together in gratitude, "Thank you, Buddha, for your enlightenment. This humble monk will return to Yuanjue Temple to cultivate Silent Meditation and cease debating scripture."

Shen Ye sighed, "Why must you, Bodhisattva?"

Wuzhai gave no answer, merely wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and rose to walk out.

Arriving with a spotless Moon White Kasaya, departing with a heart clouded with dust, he shouldn’t have come tonight.

Qi Zhenzhuo watched Wuzhai’s departing figure and turned back in confusion, "Why did Brother Shen Ye say ’why must Bodhisattva’?"

Shen Ye explained, "At the end, Wuzhai Bodhisattva said, ’Thank you, Buddha, for your enlightenment,’ which appears to elevate Chen Ji to the height of Buddha, but in fact, implies that it was Buddha pointing out his cultivation errors through Chen Ji, not that ’Chen Ji’ won over him. This is his way to abandon himself to recover some face for the Buddhist Sect, also considered plotting meticulously for the Sect."

The crowd remained quiet.

Qi Zhaoning turned to look at Chen Ji, with many things to ask in his heart, but couldn’t voice them for a while.

But Chen Ji, as if nothing had happened, turned and asked Qi Zhenzhuo, "Is it settled now? Can we go have a drink with the brothers of the Yulin Army?"

Qi Zhenzhuo came back to his senses, "Let’s go!"

Chen Ji led the way, with Qi Zhenzhuo following, both crossing the threshold into the moonlight.

The little monk chased after, "Wait for me!"