Bodhi tree

When Xia Yunchong loses his Undefeatable Dao, LC offers some self-help advice. LC questions whether it was ever possible to be undefeatable. Xia says no, and LC says exactly, he should not care about the undefeatable dao. LC and Xia then have the following dialogue:

"On the other hand, just like you, I maintained an undefeated record against the same realm. But I never meticulously did anything to maintain that record. Even if there came a day when I was defeated, it wouldn't matter. Because what I seek is not to be undefeated, but to protect the people by my side. Victory or defeat means nothing to me," said Long Chen.

"Let me tell you a story from my childhood. It came from a drunk bald man bragging near the city gates. He said this: the body is like the Bodhi tree, while the heart is like a mirror. It must be constantly and diligently wiped to prevent dust.

"Back then, I didn't know what that **Bodhi tree** was. But that person said that it was a kind of legendary tree of wisdom. It is a symbol of wisdom and comprehension. You can be likened to that. Your Undefeatable Dao is like that Bodhi tree.

"You carefully grew it, defending it, afraid of any little bit of damage. But do you think if the Bodhi tree is damaged, a person would become an imbecile? Without the Undefeatable Dao, will you become a coward?" asked Long Chen.

"Then that baldie said this: the Bodhi had no tree, and the mirror had no back. Neither existed, so where did the dust come from?"

Hearing Long Chen say such a thing, Xia Yunchong's entire body shook. He looked at Long Chen in shock, seeming to grasp hold of some crucial thing.

"Whether or not the Bodhi tree truly exists is something no one knows. It is just a metaphor for your Undefeatable Dao. For example, you planted a Bodhi tree and it grew with you, making you feel like the Bodhi tree made you smarter, wiser, capable of comprehending ten thousand Daos. Now that you've lost the Bodhi tree, you have no direction. You don't know how you're supposed to exist without the Bodhi tree.

"But without the Bodhi tree, your wisdom is still there. Without your Undefeatable Dao, your undefeatable heart still exists. You simply blinded yourself to its existence," said Long Chen.

"Being undefeatable isn't something you have to maintain all the time. That would just be a mental illness. Could it be that when we drink, you always have to drink more than me? That you always have to eat more than me? Could it be that when it comes to pissing, you have to make sure you can piss further than me?" asked Long Chen.

"Um... no..." said Xia Yunchong awkwardly.

"Since there's no need for that, why bother about temporary losses or wins? Being undefeatable isn't something constant. There is only one time you must be undefeatable: when the things you care about are threatened. Because at that time, if you are not undefeatable, you will lose the most precious existence in your life. That kind of pain isn't something we can bear. So when we are undefeatable, it is because we must be undefeatable, because we have no choice but to be undefeatable," said Long Chen.

## Trivia

* For details of the bodhi tree metaphor, read about Dajian Huineng (6th patriarch Chan Buddhism).