Chapter 345: Let Go

Monk Wuzhai was abandoned as an infant in the Manjushri Hall of Yuanjue Temple during the winter of the tenth year of Jianing. In his swaddling clothes, there was only a string of one hundred and eight Star-Moon Bodhi beads.

At the age of three, Wuzhai could silently recite the Heart Sutra, and by seven, he was silently reciting the Madhyamika Sastra, all self-taught. He was originally considered a rare spiritual talent at Yuanjue Temple, seen only once in a century. However, he refused to take the full monastic vows, choosing instead to remain a novice monk. At twelve, he left the temple to travel, engaging in debates with Taoist scholars.

He was gone for seven years. Upon his return to Yuanjue Temple, he had already reclaimed seventeen Taoist temples and thirty-three thousand acres of fertile land for Buddhism. It was widely known in the jianghu (martial arts world) that Wuzhai had three profound questions: the first would dismantle scriptures, the second would shatter illusions, and the third would break the very heart of one's beliefs.

However, in the winter of the thirty-first year of Jianing, Wuzhai led one hundred and eight novice monks south to Luocheng. He attended a literary gathering at Luhun Villa, located at the foot of Laojun Mountain, the ancestral home of Taoism. His intention was to win a debate right there, at the base of the Taoist holy mountain.

This debate drew widespread attention.

Before Wuzhai's departure, over a hundred literati and scholars from the capital composed fervent poems and odes at Yongding Gate to bid him farewell. These included pieces such as "The Green Ox Listening to Sutras," "Farewell to Monk Wuzhai on His Southern Expedition to Luhun," and "Song of Shattering the Profound."

Yet, despite such a grand and celebrated southern journey, Wuzhai lost at Luhun Villa on the topic of "selflessness versus self" to an unknown young man.

Wuzhai returned to the capital discreetly. It was only half a month later, when storytellers in the capital began recounting the tale of Luhun Villa, that people truly understood what had transpired.

It was at this very moment that Qi Zhenwu, Qi Zhaoning, Shen Ye, and the others realized the person who had defeated Wuzhai was right there in Mingse Tower.

What's more, it was the very same person who had previously seemed to have only a superficial understanding of everything.

Qi Zhenzhuo, hearing this for the first time, widened his eyes and looked at Chen Ji, exclaiming in astonishment, "Master, why have I never heard you mention this?"

Chen Ji sincerely replied, "To say it myself would seem a bit contrived. It only appears profound and mysterious when spoken by others."

Qi Zhenzhuo was speechless.

In the main hall of Mingse Tower, everyone looked from Wuzhai to Chen Ji, momentarily speechless. The sound of the pipa had long since ceased.

Wuzhai, holding the Star-Moon Bodhi beads in his hand, looked at Chen Ji and said, "Since we've met at this literary gathering today, benefactor, would you perhaps care for another debate with me?"

Chen Ji smiled, pointing towards Shen Ye, Huang Que, and Lin Chaojing. "Monk," he said, "we are currently holding a poetry gathering. Compared to debating scriptures, I rather prefer poetry gatherings."

Lin Chaojing frowned slightly. *When did you ever like poetry gatherings? Haven't you just been eating this whole time?*

However, Wuzhai smiled faintly and said, "Poetry requires genuine inspiration to possess true spirituality. If it merely adheres to a hundred and six rhymes and tonal rules, with arbitrary themes as its foundation, then it is nothing more than a phonetic game. Would that not be 'obscuring truth with vulgarity'? Such common trifles are not worth engaging with."

Chen Ji looked innocently at Lin Chaojing. "Did you hear that?" he asked. "Not worth engaging with."

Qi Zhenzhuo lowered his head, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, and Xiaoman let out a soft giggle.

Lin Chaojing's expression darkened. He explained to Wuzhai, "Monk, no matter how we tried to persuade Chen Ji earlier, he refused to participate in the poetry gathering or write any poems, which led to us ridiculing him. Now he's trying to coax you into saying things so he can turn around and mock us. Don't fall for his trick."

Wuzhai nodded in understanding. "Ah, so that's it," he said. "However, this poetry gathering truly offers no benefit."

Chen Ji let out a hearty laugh, cupped his fists, and declared loudly, "Master Wuzhai, your insight is profound!"

Ignoring Lin Chaojing's expression, Wuzhai turned back to Chen Ji. "Benefactor Chen Ji," he said, "I wonder if you have considered my proposal since leaving Luhun Villa?"

Chen Ji picked up a piece of Zhuangyuan Cake. "What proposal?" he asked.

Wuzhai smiled as he twirled his prayer beads. "I perceive that you possess the Buddha-nature, benefactor," he said. "Are you willing to join our Buddhist order?"

Chewing on the Zhuangyuan Cake, Chen Ji replied, "Monk, you misunderstand. I do not possess Buddha-nature."

Wuzhai sincerely stated, "All sentient beings possess Buddha-nature. Even an Icchantika has Buddha-nature and can achieve Buddhahood."

Chen Ji asked nonchalantly, "If someone were to slaughter a city, killing a hundred thousand people, could that person still attain Buddhahood?"

Wuzhai's expression turned solemn; even the flickering candlelight in Mingse Tower seemed to momentarily steady. Disregarding the bewildered glances of those around him, he walked to sit cross-legged opposite Chen Ji, positioning himself behind the table that had belonged to Lin Chaojing. As he settled, his moon-white kasaya billowed around him, unfolding like a blossoming lotus.

The Persian velvet red carpet divided the main hall in two, leaving only Chen Ji and Wuzhai seated opposite each other in the otherwise empty space.

Under the brilliant candlelight, one wore moon-white monk robes, the other a black-collared robe. Both displayed no emotion, as if they were predestined adversaries.

The young monk, Luozhui Saga, suddenly remarked, "It has begun."

Only at this very moment did the onlookers realize that the debate between Chen Ji and Wuzhai had already commenced.

Wuzhai, seated cross-legged behind the table, with his Star-Moon Bodhi beads on his wrist and hands pressed together in a gesture of respect, sincerely said, "Benefactor Chen Ji, for this humble monk, the heavy snow that fell at Luhun Villa that day has never ceased; it has continued to fall, even until today."

Chen Ji seemed somewhat lost in thought before letting out a soft sigh. "For me," he said, "the heavy snow in Luocheng has also never ceased."

Shen Ye lifted the hem of his robe, found an empty table about ten feet away from them, sat down, and immediately began to write.

A curious scholar asked, "What are you doing, Brother Shen?"

Shen Ye pointed at Chen Ji and Wuzhai. "Naturally," he said, "I'm meticulously recording every detail of today's debate. Gentlemen, this is their second debate. Regardless of who wins or loses, it will certainly spread throughout the capital by tomorrow. Wouldn't it be an honor for us to have been here? When future generations read the full account of this debate, they might even remember that it was I, Shen Ye, who recorded it. My apologies, everyone, but I'm seizing this opportunity and claiming this advantageous endeavor for myself."

Qi Zhenwu scrutinized Chen Ji with a meaningful gaze.

Monk Wuzhai, when engaging in debates, was always known for his questions that could dismantle one's innermost convictions. If he were to pose the questions, he would have countless arguments prepared to decisively refute you.

Each of the one hundred and eight Star-Moon Bodhi beads on his hand, when moved, signified nine hundred thoughts arising and ceasing.

Yet now, Chen Ji had given Wuzhai no opportunity to ask questions. He simply used a minor point to draw Wuzhai into the debate, making himself the questioner.

Wuzhai twirled the prayer beads on his hand, suddenly pausing at a particular one. He calmly stated, "To answer the benefactor's question: can an evil person who slaughters a city still attain Buddhahood? The *Profound Meaning of Guan Yin* states that evil individuals cease practicing good but do not lose their inherent goodness; Buddhas cease practicing evil but do not lose their inherent evil. Benefactor, an evil person merely performs evil deeds; it does not imply an absence of goodness in their nature. A Buddha cultivates himself by refraining from evil deeds; it does not imply an absence of evil within his heart."

Chen Ji quickly interjected, "Buddhism teaches that good actions lead to good retribution, and evil actions to evil retribution. If an evil person can achieve Buddhahood, then where is the karma?"

Wuzhai calmly replied, "Attaining Buddhahood is about self-enlightenment and sudden realization; it is not a reward or positive retribution from this ten-directional world. A Buddha is also not inherently superior to a human being. Benefactor, achieving Buddhahood is not a form of good retribution."

Shen Ye murmured, "Brilliant!"

Before Qi Zhaoning could fully appreciate the brilliance of that answer, Chen Ji, no longer kneeling, leaned on his left hand against the bamboo mat, sitting obliquely as he playfully questioned, "Monk, since I inherently possess Buddha-nature, why do I still need to cultivate it?"

Wuzhai twirled a bead as he replied, "Buddha-nature is like gold hidden within a mine; though obscured, it is inherently complete. Our cultivation is merely the process of unearthing this Buddha-nature."

Chen Ji picked up another Zhuangyuan Cake and put it into his mouth. "Since Buddhism teaches that all phenomena are empty," he said, "then where does this 'gold in the mine' come from?"

Wuzhai twirled another bead. "Benefactor," he said, "that is sophistry. The gold hidden in a mine is merely a metaphor; Buddha-nature is the potential for enlightenment, not a physical entity, and it is indistinguishable from emptiness."

Chen Ji smiled and sat upright. "Since all phenomena are empty and sentient beings are without self," he asked, "why does the Buddha still strive to save all beings? Isn't that like attempting to heal someone within a dream?"

Everyone's spirits were suddenly invigorated.

It was "selflessness" again.

In the previous debate at Luhun Villa, the concept of "selflessness" had almost become a mental barrier for Wuzhai. Now that Chen Ji brought "selflessness" back into the discussion, Wuzhai had to be exceptionally vigilant.

As time slowly passed, Qi Zhaoning quietly asked her brother, "What do they mean by all this? Why has the Monk stopped speaking?"

Qi Zhenwu, however, frowned and sternly whispered, "Silence!"

Everyone in Mingse Tower held their breath, understanding that the debate had reached a critical juncture.

Wuzhai closed his eyes and twirled more than ten beads before slowly answering, "The benefactor asks why the Buddha still strives to save all beings. The *Avatamsaka Sutra* states, 'With a mind of transcendence, engage in worldly affairs.' Before achieving ultimate liberation, even knowing that all is empty, one must fully engage with the world."

Chen Ji let out a hearty laugh. "Since there is no self," he asked, "then who is saving all beings, who is accumulating good deeds to escape the cycle of rebirth, and who is achieving transcendence to become a Buddha?"

Wuzhai's eyes suddenly snapped open.

Everyone's expression likewise turned grave. Monk Wuzhai had been defeated at Luhun Villa by this very question, which directly challenged the fundamental basis of how Buddhism attracts followers, making it utterly unanswerable.

Shen Ye sighed softly. "Debating myriad principles with a single one," he remarked, "it seems Brother Chen Ji intends to suppress Buddhism for three hundred years with this question."

Qi Zhaoning stared blankly ahead, as if Li Changge and the Monk were right before her, and as if the true 'Four Dreams of Bianliang' were also unfolding before her eyes.

Past, present, future.

Like illusory bubbles, like dew, like lightning flashes.

Yet, at this very moment, Wuzhai smiled as he twirled his prayer beads and replied, "Benefactor Chen Ji, greed, anger, and delusion constitute the 'self.' People all desire money, beauty, and power to belong to 'me.' These are obstacles to enlightenment. To perform good deeds and act virtuously means to relinquish the things one is attached to, to sever them from oneself. Benefactor, Buddhism teaches people to accumulate merit and practice virtue not for blessings in a future life, but to cut off the attachments of greed, anger, and delusion, to achieve selflessness, so that all phenomena become empty."

Shen Ye, who had been meticulously recording the debate, looked up in astonishment, his brush poised in mid-air. After months, Wuzhai had actually managed to address that question!

No wonder Wuzhai still dared to calmly face Chen Ji in debate. Who knew how long Wuzhai had waited for this very day?

Everyone looked at Chen Ji.

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

In the silence, Chen Ji slowly rose, crossed the red carpet, and stood before Wuzhai's table.

The candlelight in Mingse Tower cast his shadow upon Wuzhai, who had to tilt his head back to look at him.

Chen Ji calmly asked, "What is selflessness?"

Wuzhai, without showing joy or sorrow, twirled his prayer beads. "The past mind cannot be grasped," he said, "the present mind cannot be grasped, and the future mind cannot be grasped."

Chen Ji asked again, "Why cultivate selflessness?"

Wuzhai replied again, "All formations are impermanent, all phenomena are selfless, and nirvana is tranquility. Benefactor, only by letting go of attachment to self can one discern the truth of this world. When the obsession with 'self' is absent from your heart, how could you be troubled if others curse, insult, or slander you?"

Shen Ye's brush strokes grew heavier.

Buddhist doctrine is a continuous process of refinement. From dependent origination and selflessness to emptiness, and from emptiness to Alaya-vijnana (storehouse consciousness), these are all additions made by generations of eminent monks to ensure the doctrine remains impregnable.

Wuzhai's current argument was perfectly watertight and increasingly well-rounded.

The concept of 'selflessness' now had no discernible flaws.

Yet, the very next moment, Chen Ji revealed a faint smile. "Who is debating selflessness with me?" he asked.

Wuzhai froze on the spot.

*Who is debating selflessness? I am.*

Qi Zhenzhuo asked in confusion, "What does that mean? Why isn't Wuzhai speaking? Was he defeated again?"

"Brilliant," Shen Ye said, taking a deep breath and explaining with a smile. "Last time, Brother Chen Ji stepped outside the concept of 'selflessness' to directly challenge the very foundation of how Buddhism attracts followers. Now Wuzhai has devised a counter-argument. So Chen Ji, once again stepping outside 'selflessness,' directly targeted Wuzhai's act of seeking debates: If there is no self and no form, if all phenomena are empty, then seeking to win a debate is also an attachment, a distracting thought, and should be severed."

"Over the years, Wuzhai has gained immense renown in the debates between Buddhism and Taoism, seizing Taoist properties and causing Taoist communities to lament. This pursuit has deviated significantly from the true essence of Buddhist and Taoist teachings. If he truly cultivates selflessness, he should neither debate nor contend."

"If Wuzhai insists on asserting 'selflessness,' then it would prove that everything he has done in recent years has been entirely mistaken. And for every subsequent debate he engages in, he will only err further."

"Brother Chen Ji intends to sever Wuzhai's path of cultivation."

Lin Chaojing lowered his head and mused for a moment. "No," he said, "the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism is about clarifying truth. Truth becomes clearer through debate."

Shen Ye chuckled. "If attachments are severed," he said, "you are wrong in your own way, and I am right in mine. What need is there to debate? What need to win?"

Behind the table, Wuzhai's expression shifted several times.

At times, his face was like a wrathful Vajra; at others, like a benevolent Bodhisattva with downcast eyes. The forms of person, self, sentient being, and life-span transformed in succession.

The form of person: attachment to others.

The form of self: attachment to oneself.

The form of sentient beings: attachment to sentient beings.

The form of life-span: attachment to life itself.

Just then, Chen Ji leaned down towards Wuzhai and softly uttered, "Let go."

Though not loud, his voice was like a sudden, awakening thunderclap.

In that instant, Wuzhai suddenly bent forward and spat out a mouthful of blood, staining his moon-white kasaya crimson. The faint radiance that had flickered behind him gradually dimmed.

In the brilliantly lit Mingse Tower, half the candles inexplicably extinguished in an instant, even without a breeze. The koi in the broad pond scattered in all directions.

Shen Ye's expression changed. "The Monk's cultivation realm has regressed," he stated.

Wuzhai cultivated through the path of philosophical debate; the more he debated and won, the higher his cultivation realm ascended. Now, with his mind so profoundly challenged, he couldn't even maintain his spiritual state.

Shen Ye rose to help Wuzhai, but Wuzhai raised a hand to stop him, slowly propping himself up.

Facing Chen Ji, he pressed his palms together. "Thank you, Buddha, for this enlightenment," he said. "This humble monk will now return to Yuanjue Temple to practice silent meditation and will no longer engage in debates with anyone."

Shen Ye let out a sigh. "Monk," he murmured, "why must you do this?"

Wuzhai did not reply, merely wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth, rose, and walked out.

His moon-white kasaya had been spotless upon his arrival, but his spirit was now clouded as he departed. He should not have come this night.

Qi Zhenzhuo watched Wuzhai's receding figure, then turned back in confusion. "Brother Shen Ye," he asked, "why did you say, 'Monk, why must you do this?'"

Shen Ye explained, "Monk Wuzhai's final words, 'Thank you, Buddha, for this enlightenment,' appeared to elevate Chen Ji to the status of a Buddha. In truth, it implied that the Buddha used Chen Ji as an instrument to reveal Wuzhai's errors in cultivation, rather than 'Chen Ji' himself defeating him. He is sacrificing his own standing to salvage some prestige for Buddhism, effectively doing everything calculated for the Buddhist order's benefit."

Everyone remained silent.

Qi Zhaoning turned to look at Chen Ji, her mind filled with numerous questions, yet unable to voice any of them at that moment.

Chen Ji, however, acted as if nothing had happened, turning to ask Qi Zhenzhuo, "Now that this matter is concluded, can we go drink with the Imperial Guards?"

Qi Zhenzhuo snapped back to reality. "Let's go, let's go!" he said.

Chen Ji quietly instructed Xiaoman, "The Imperial Guards are all rough soldiers. You should return to Chen Manor first."

With that, Chen Ji walked ahead, followed by Qi Zhenzhuo. The two stepped over the threshold and into the moonlight.

The young monk chased after them, calling out, "Wait for me!"