Chapter 3 Dragon Tree

Chapter 3 Dragon Tree

Chapter 3 Dragon Tree
The rain stopped, and insects started to move around in the dense forest again. The most common here were poisonous insects such as centipedes, spiders, and scorpions. There were also snakes and toads. These guys regarded other creatures in the forest as prey and were ready to start hunting for their dinner. A young man named Deva was walking on a small path in the dense forest. Although he walked quickly, he had to pay attention to the surrounding environment frequently to avoid being hurt by poisonous insects. After bypassing one poisonous insect nest after another, he finally reached the end of the dense forest. Deva was very excited. At this time, he was finally about to meet the person he had always wanted to see. The man who claimed to be the all-knowing man - Nagarjuna, was now in the temple in front of him. Deva tidied his clothes and said to the disciples guarding the gate: "My name is Deva. Because I heard about the great name of Venerable Nagarjuna a long time ago, I came from afar and wanted to have a debate with the Venerable. If I lose, I am willing to thank you with my head. Please convey it."

The disciple looked at Deva, smiled slightly, and went into the temple. When he came back, he had a bowl of water in his hand. The disciple brought the bowl of water to Deva without saying anything. Deva saw it, threw a needle into the bowl, and said nothing more. After a long time, someone in the temple shouted, "Young man, you can come in."

Deva took the needle out of the bowl, drank the water in the bowl, and stepped into the temple. But the scenery in the temple was very different from that in the dense forest. It had just rained heavily, but there was no smell of rain, and there were no poisonous insects. The most eye-catching thing was the big tree in the temple. It was hard to imagine how long it took for it to grow so thick and tall. On the branch of the tree, an old man lay there quietly, as if he was asleep, but also as if he was not asleep. Deva walked under the tree and sat cross-legged. He looked up and asked the old man on the branch: "What kind of truth are you talking about?"

Nagarjuna said, “I will explain the profound meaning of the Buddha’s teaching on dependent origination and emptiness.”

Deva asked, "What is dependent origination and emptiness?"

Nagarjuna said: "All things in the world have neither birth nor death. They are neither eternal nor annihilated. They are neither the same nor different. If you understand this principle, you will know the essence of all things and understand the principle of reality."

Deva said: "Isn't this statement contradictory? Everything in the world has birth and death, how can it be said that there is no birth and death?"

Nagarjuna said: "You believe that everything has life, so what gave birth to everything?"

Deva said: "All things are produced from atoms. Atoms are the smallest units of matter, eternal and unchanging. When many atoms are combined together, objects are produced. Once the atoms are dispersed, the objects disappear."

Nagarjuna said: "According to what you said, you actually agree with my view that all things have no origin. Because no matter how the atoms are combined, they are still atoms in essence and have not produced anything new. It's like a child playing with building blocks. No matter how they are combined, they are still just building blocks. How can you say that atoms can produce objects?"

Deva said: "The atom actually produces new objects. Just like combustibles produce fire, and water produces various living things. The changes of the atom also produce new things."

Nagarjuna said: "If, as you said, atoms produce new things, just like combustibles produce fire and water produces various life forms, then fire should be able to exist without combustibles. Just like when a mother gives birth to a son, the two are separate individuals. When the mother dies, the son will not disappear. If atoms also produce other things, then the atoms and the things they produce are independent of each other, and changes in atoms will not affect the things they produce. Your statement that once atoms disperse, objects will disappear is incorrect."

Deva said: "Even so, why do you think that all things in the world have no real origin?"

Nagarjuna said: "All things in the world change with the change of cause and condition. Just like fire depends on combustibles, and all kinds of life depend on water. The state of fire is determined by the amount of combustibles. If there are more combustibles, it will burn more vigorously. If there are fewer combustibles, it will be restricted. If there are no combustibles, it will go out. These things that change with cause and condition do not have their own independent individuals. They can only change with the change of cause and condition that produces them. If combustibles really produce fire, then the fire has an independent self and can burn without relying on combustibles. It can burn the whole world in an instant. Therefore, anything that changes with the change of other things has no real self. There is nothing in the world that does not depend on other things, so it is all caused by cause and condition. And everything that is produced by cause and condition has its nature that is not empty."

At that time, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna said in a stanza: "I say that the phenomena produced by causes and conditions are empty, and are also false names, and are also the meaning of the middle way."

Deva asked, "If all things have no birth, how can they have death?"

Nagarjuna said, "There is no extinction. Only when there is birth can there be extinction. Since all things that are born from causes and conditions have never been produced, how can there be extinction? Since there is no beginning, there will be no end." Deva said, "It is clear that there is no birth and no death. Now I would like to ask about non-permanence?"

Nagarjuna said: "The nature of all things in the world is neither eternal nor perishable."

Deva said: "Nothing in the world is eternal, just like spring and autumn, birth, aging, sickness and death. This is true. But why do you say that everything will not disappear?"

Nagarjuna said: "For all things in the world, the beginning of each thing is accompanied by the end of another thing. The distinction between beginning and end is based on the perspective of the observer. Disappearance is actually the beginning. In such a change, there is no real subject disappearing. As I just said, there is no real thing that comes from cause and condition, and there is no real disappearance."

Deva said, "I already understand the meaning of not being constant but not ceaseless. Now I want to ask whether it is the same or different?"

Nagarjuna said: "All things are neither the same nor different."

Deva said: "All things are not the same, this is easy to understand. Just like flowers, trees, birds and beasts, each has its own appearance and is different. Why do you say that all things are not different?"

Nagarjuna said: "All things are related to their causes and conditions, just like living beings and water. They seem to be two different things, but if living beings leave water, their lives cannot be maintained. In fact, living beings do not exist separately from water. Therefore, all things that are produced by causes and conditions are not different from their causes and conditions. All things seem to be independent of each other, but they are all produced by causes and conditions, so they are not different. Just like every cell in a person's body. Because there are cells, there are people, and because there are people, cells are cells. When cells age, people will age, and they are mutually causal. For all things that are produced by causes and conditions, cause and effect are neither the same nor different. Since the effect produced is not real, its cause must also have no entity. Since the cause is not different from the effect, and the effect is not different from the cause. Therefore, all things and the causes and conditions that make up all things are essentially empty."

Deva said: "So, if everything in the world is born from causes and conditions, then doesn't that mean there is no such thing as a real self?"

Nagarjuna said, "That's right. People in the world are obsessed with saying that something comes from something, or that something is made of something. In terms of the ultimate truth, these are all idle arguments that are obsessed with names and terms."

At that time, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna said in verse: "Neither born nor destroyed, neither permanent nor discontinuous. Not the same nor different, neither coming nor going. He who can explain this cause and condition has well put an end to all idle arguments. I bow to the Buddha, who is the best among all the sayings."

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

Not long after, Deva learned the true teachings of Nagarjuna's Prajna Madhyamaka and became Nagarjuna's most outstanding disciple.

(End of this chapter)