Bright Temple - Liao Kong's Enlightenment

Li Chengjie glanced at Gao Chen and said bluntly, "Don't know."

Gao Chen was startled, then gave a bitter smile. "Even Senior Brother doesn't know, so who are we supposed to ask?"

Li Chengjie did not answer, but looked toward Master Lakong.

Master Lakong sat cross-legged on a prayer cushion, prayer beads pinched in his hand, his expression calm, as though the discussion just now had nothing to do with him.

"Master Lakong," Li Chengjie said, "if it were you, Master, and you wished to comprehend the Law of Water, how would you comprehend it?"

Master Lakong opened his eyes and looked at Li Chengjie. After a moment of silence, he said slowly, "Benefactor Li, this old monk's cultivation level is low, and I have never thought about comprehending laws. However, since Benefactor Li has asked, this old monk will try to speak of it."

He paused, his gaze falling on a basin of clear water in the corner of the Buddhist Hall.

It was purified water used as an offering to the Buddha, changed every day, so clear that one could see the bottom. The surface of the water was as still as a mirror, reflecting the Buddha statue's inverted image.

"Water was something this old monk often saw when I was in the Mortal World. Rivers, lakes, and seas, rainwater and dewdrops—it is everywhere."

Master Lakong said slowly, "What is water? In this old monk's view, water is first and foremost gentle. It has no fixed shape. Placed in a round vessel, it is round; placed in a square vessel, it is square. It does not contend, nor does it vie with all things.

When it meets a stone, it goes around it. When it meets a dam, it stops. It always seeks the lowest places to travel,