Chapter 3: Longshu

The rain stopped, and the insects began to move about in the dense forest once more. The most numerous here were venomous creatures like centipedes, spiders, and scorpions. There were also snakes, toads, and so on. These fellows all treated the other creatures in this forest as prey, preparing to begin hunting for their dinner. Meanwhile, a young man named Deva was traveling along a small path in this dense forest. Although his pace was hurried, he had to frequently distract himself to observe the surrounding environment, so as not to be harmed by the venomous creatures. After he had bypassed one venomous creature's nest after another, he finally reached the end of the dense forest. Deva was very excited; at this moment, he was finally about to see the person he had always wanted to meet. That person who called himself the Everything-Knowing One—Longshu—was now in the Garan before him. Deva straightened his clothes and said to the disciples guarding the gate: "My name is Deva. Because I heard of the great name of Venerable Longshu long ago, I have traveled ten thousand miles to come here, wishing to engage the Venerable in a debate. If I lose, I am willing to offer my head in gratitude. Please, convey this message."

The gatekeeper glanced at Deva, smiled slightly, and then entered the Garan. When he returned, his hand held an extra bowl of water. The gatekeeper brought that bowl of water before Deva, and said nothing more. Seeing this, Deva dropped a needle into the bowl, and also had no further words. After a long while, one could only hear someone inside the Garan call out: "Young man, you may enter."

Deva fished the needle out of the bowl, drank the water in the bowl in one gulp, and stepped into the Garan. He saw that the scenery inside this Garan was quite different from that of the dense forest earlier. Although it had just rained heavily, there was not the slightest scent of rainwater left, nor were there any venomous creatures or the like. The most eye-catching thing was none other than the large tree within the Garan; it was hard to imagine how long it must have taken to grow so thick and tall. On the branches of that large tree, an old man lay quietly, as if he were asleep, yet also as if he were not. Deva walked to the base of the large tree, sat cross-legged, looked up, and asked the old man on the branch: "What kind of truth do you expound?"

Longshu said: "I expound the profound meaning of Dependent Origination and Emptiness as spoken by the Buddha."

Deva said: "What is Dependent Origination and Emptiness?"

Longshu said: "All things in the world neither have birth nor death. They are neither eternal nor will they be severed and disappear. They are neither identical nor are they different. Understanding such a truth, one can know the essence of all things and reach the truth of reality."

Deva said: "Is such a statement not self-contradictory? All things in the world have birth and death; how can you say there is no birth and death?"

Longshu said: "You believe that all things have birth; then what is it that gives birth to all things?"

Deva said: "All things are produced from the Extreme Micro. The Extreme Micro is the smallest unit of matter; it is eternally existent and does not change. When numerous Extreme Micros combine together, an object is produced. Once the Extreme Micros disperse, the object also disappears."

Longshu said: "According to what you say, you are actually agreeing with my view that all things are not produced. Because no matter how the Extreme Micros are combined, they are essentially still Extreme Micros; nothing new has been produced. It is just like a child playing with building blocks; no matter how they are combined, they are still just blocks. How can you say that the Extreme Micros can produce an object?"

Deva said: "The Extreme Micro actually produces new objects. Just as combustible material produces fire, and water produces various living bodies. The changes in the Extreme Micro also produce new things."

Longshu said: "If, as you say, the Extreme Micro produces new things—just as combustible material produces fire and water produces various living bodies—then fire should be able to exist apart from the combustible material. Just as after a mother gives birth to a son, the two are separate individuals; if the mother dies, the son will not disappear along with her. If the Extreme Micro also produced other things, then the Extreme Micro and the things produced by the Extreme Micro would be independent of each other, and the changes in the Extreme Micro would not affect the things produced by the Extreme Micro. Your statement that the dispersion of the Extreme Micro leads to the disappearance of the object is therefore incorrect."

Deva said: "Even so, on what basis do you believe that all things in the world have no true production?"

Longshu said: "All things in the world rely on the changes of causes and conditions to change. Just like fire that relies on combustible material, and various living things that rely on water. Fire determines its own state based on the amount of combustible material. If there is much combustible material, the burning will be more vigorous; if there is little combustible material, it will restrict its burning; if there is no combustible material, it will extinguish. These things that change according to causes and conditions do not have an independent individual entity themselves; they can only change as the causes and conditions that produce them change. If combustible material truly gave birth to fire, then fire would have an independent self-entity and could burn on its own without relying on combustible material, and it could burn through the entire world in an instant. Therefore, any thing that changes as other things change has no true self-entity produced from within it. There is nothing in the world that is produced without relying on other things, so all are produced by causes and conditions. And whatever is produced by causes and conditions, its nature is none other than empty."

At that time, Bodhisattva Longshu then spoke a Verse: "The phenomena produced by causes and conditions, I say, are emptiness; they are also merely false names, and also the meaning of the Middle Way."

Deva said: "If all things have no birth, then should they have extinction?"

Longshu said: "There is no extinction; only if there is birth can there be extinction. Since all things produced by causes and conditions were never produced in the first place, how could there be extinction? Since there is no beginning, there will be no end." Deva said: "Non-birth and non-extinction are now clear; I now ask about non-permanence and non-cessation?"

Longshu said: "The essence of all things in the world is neither eternal nor will it pass away."

Deva said: "All things in the world are not eternal; just like spring departing and autumn arriving, or birth, aging, sickness, and death—this is correct. But why do you say that all things will not pass away?"

Longshu said: "For all things in the world, the beginning of every thing is accompanied by the end of another thing. It is only according to the perspective of the observer that there are such distinctions as beginning and end. Passing away is actually a beginning; in such changes, there is no true subject that has passed away. Just as I said earlier, there is nothing that is truly produced from causes and conditions, so there is no true passing away."

Deva said: "Non-permanence and non-cessation are already understood; I now wish to ask about non-identity and non-difference?"

Longshu said: "All things are neither identical nor are they different."

Deva said: "That all things are not identical is easy to understand. Just like flowers, grasses, trees, birds, and beasts—each has its own appearance, and all are different. Yet why do you say that all things are not different?"

Longshu said: "All things are connected to their causes and conditions, just like sentient beings and water. They appear to be two things, but if sentient beings were to leave water, life could not be maintained; in reality, there is no individual entity for sentient beings apart from water. Therefore, it is said that all things produced by relying on causes and conditions are not different entities from their causes and conditions. All things appear to be independent, but there is nothing that is not produced by relying on causes and conditions, so in total, they are not different entities. It is just like a person and every cell within their body. Because there are cells, there is a person, and because there is a person, cells are cells. If cells age, the person will age; they are causes and effects for each other. For all things produced by relying on causes and conditions, the cause and the effect are neither one nor different. Since the effect produced is not real, its cause must also have no real entity. Because the cause is not different from the effect, and the effect is not different from the cause, all things and the causes and conditions that compose them are essentially empty."

Deva said: "If that is the case, there is nothing in the world that is not produced by relying on causes and conditions; does that not mean there are no things with a true self-entity?"

Longshu said: "That is so. Worldly people are attached to saying what is produced from what, or saying what is composed of what; in the ultimate sense, these are all a Play on Words attached to names and forms."

At that time, Bodhisattva Longshu then spoke a Verse: "Neither born nor extinguished, neither permanent nor ceased. Neither identical nor different, neither coming nor going. Able to speak of these causes and conditions, skillfully extinguishing all Plays on Words. I bow my head in homage to the Buddha, the first among all who speak."

Deva suddenly stood up, bowed his head in homage to the old man on the tree, and said: "I came to find you today with the intention of debating you. But only now do I know what true wisdom looks like. Please accept me as your disciple."

Not long after, Deva obtained the true transmission of Longshu's Prajna Madhyamaka and became Longshu's most excellent disciple.

(End of chapter)