Journey to the West: Starting with Tianpeng, Mistakenly Entering the Yaochi Palace.

Summary

The passage details a philosophical debate between Du Chen and an old monk about the concept of Chan (Zen) in Buddhism. Du Chen skillfully uses the Buddhist principle of "form is emptiness, emptiness is form" to argue that Zen is ultimately about achieving a state of complete detachment and emptiness. He then tricks the old monk by making him repeat the phrase "Buddha is emptiness, emptiness is Buddha," which becomes a strategic tool to potentially help the emperor justify suppressing the Buddhist order by using their own philosophical principles against them.

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