Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 313 Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Violet

Lu Beigu only asked one question.

"—Then, Zen Master, what exactly is the emptiness of light?"

How does Qisong know what the emptiness of light really is?
He could only chant the sutra: "This is just as the Diamond Sutra says, 'The past mind is unattainable, the present mind is unattainable, and the future mind is unattainable.' The emptiness of light is also like this."

"—Does that Zen master actually know what the emptiness of light is?"

"The emptiness of light is unmoved and transcends coming and going."

It seemed like there was an answer, but it seemed like there was no answer.

Clearly, Qi Song couldn't explain the problem, but even though everyone else could see it, Lu Beigu didn't intend to delve any further.

Continuing to delve deeper would embarrass Qisong, but it would also lead him into Buddhist concepts, where he would engage in debates in his area of ​​expertise, ultimately yielding no results.

"Hey"

Lu Beigu sighed, seemingly feeling helpless.

"Therefore, the Zen master believed that this 'double-slit interference' could not prove that 'emptiness is also a phenomenon produced by consciousness,' because no matter how one observes it, the Zen master believed that this light was a 'false phenomenon' produced by the thought of 'peeping,' not the emptiness of light, and the original light pattern was also not the emptiness of light. So it is both right and wrong?"

"Of course, I have already made that clear."

Qi Song nodded and replied.

Hearing this, although Qi Song did not admit defeat, most of the onlookers frowned. They did not understand many profound principles and philosophical concepts, but they understood the principle of "seeing is believing".

The light patterns were right in front of him, but this Ming Cult master just wouldn't admit the result, stubbornly refusing to admit it, which was truly infuriating.

However, their anger is of no use.

Because unless Lu Beigu can use extremely meticulous logic to obviously prove that the other party does indeed have a fundamental error.

Otherwise, as long as the other party doesn't admit it, then they haven't lost.

"And the Zen master could not prove whether the emptiness of light exists, and if it does, what it is."

Just as Qi Song was about to say something, Lu Beigu waved his hand and said, "The emptiness of light, unmoving and beyond coming and going. I've already memorized it, but how can the Zen Master demonstrate this emptiness of light to everyone? He can't, can he?"

Faced with this question, Qi Song remained silent.

Because no matter what he says, he can't really demonstrate what his "emptiness of light" actually looks like.

Or rather, he has always kept it at the level of a philosophical concept, and he himself does not believe that there is a "light emptiness" that can be seen by people.

Therefore, he could only keep quiet to avoid saying too much and making a mistake.

"Then let me ask you, Zen Master, if there truly exists such a fundamental state of light, and it is a state that applies universally, can we say that it is the 'emptiness of light'?"

Faced with Lu Beigu's unpredictable tactics, Qi Song remained cautious and continued to practice silent meditation.

But by this time, Lu Beigu had already achieved his goal.

Whether Qi Song answers or admits it is not important.

Lu Beigu's purpose in attending the debate at Minxian Temple was not at all to "make Qisong admit defeat so that Zhang Zai could win".

Regarding victory and defeat, people have a scale in their hearts.

To put it bluntly, Lu Beigu didn't care whether Zen Buddhism acknowledged his victory; what he needed was to demonstrate his theories and empirical evidence to the large audience watching the debate. Then, these ideas could spread rapidly, influencing even more people.

In this way, it will spread like wildfire and be widely planted in the hearts of people all over the world.

Lu Beigu smiled and said, "Next, I will investigate things to prove the emptiness of light and show everyone what the emptiness of light looks like."

Then, he gestured to Shen Kuo again.

Shen Kuo then pulled out a strange mirror from his pocket; it was a prism.

The raw material, South China Sea crystal, was purchased by Lu Beigu himself yesterday from a shop selling rare and precious items.

Shen Kuo worked through the night to process and grind it according to Lu Beigu's request.

Lu Beigu took the crystal-clear prism from Shen Kuo. Sunlight shone through the window and landed precisely on one of the prism's edges, instantly creating a dazzling spot of light.

He stood before the optical path where the double-slit interference experiment had just taken place and spoke loudly.

"What the Zen master just said is that the emptiness of light is unmoving, transcending coming and going, ineffable and intangible. I am too ignorant to presume to fathom the profound meaning of Buddhism. However, in the Confucian school of investigating things, what we seek is nothing more than 'to investigate the principle of things.'"

Lu Beigu raised the prism in his hand, allowing sunlight to fully illuminate it, and showed it to everyone.

"This object is called a prism, and it is made of crystal. Today, we will use this prism to try to 'reflect' the sunlight and see what 'principle' we can find by investigating it thoroughly."

Before he finished speaking, Lu Beigu slightly adjusted the angle and precisely projected the beam of light refracted by the prism onto the wall that had just undergone changes in interference fringes.

A miraculous sight suddenly appeared!

The originally chaotic and seemingly flawless white light, after passing through the transparent prism, was suddenly unraveled and spread out as if by an invisible hand!
—Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple!

A clear, dazzling band of seven-colored light appeared prominently on the snow-white wall!

Inside the Zhenru Hall, gasps of surprise surged up like a tidal wave. Countless scholars instinctively stood up, craning their necks and staring dumbfounded at the rainbow that seemed to have been plucked from the sky.

The colors were so pure, so distinct, blending together yet clearly separated.

Zhang Zai's eyes widened as he stared intently at the seven-colored light band, as if a flash of lightning had struck his mind!

Lu Beigu didn't give everyone much time to process the shock.

"Please look, everyone! This is what Buddhism refers to as the emptiness of light, which is the most fundamental state of light!"

"The light we see every day is not emptiness, nor is it singular; it is composed of the seven colors of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet! These seven colors are not distinctions created by my mind, but rather the result of this prism, this instrument of 'investigating things,' which, based on the inherent properties of light, naturally separates and presents them here! This applies to everyone who uses it, and it is universally applicable!"

Lu Beigu suddenly turned around, his gaze like lightning, shooting towards the astonished Zen Master Qisong.

"The Zen master just said that before the double slits, the light appears as interference fringes, which is an illusion caused by causes and conditions. When I looked closely, the light fringes collapsed, which is also another illusion caused by the delusions of the mind. He also asserted that neither of them is the empty essence of light."

"But at this moment!"

Lu Beigu suddenly pointed to the dazzling seven-colored light band on the wall: "With the help of this prism, I have truly shown everyone the emptiness of light that the Zen master spoke of, which is 'unmoved and transcends coming and going,' or rather, the original state of light!"

"It is not nothingness! It is not singular! It is these seven colors!"

"When the seven colors converge, they become white light!"

"This is the true form of the source of light!"

(End of this chapter)