So that the Bazaar may Remain Uncluttered, the Master now Speaks Here

[Talmann]

But you have people paying for "Nothing" as you call it. I would call this hypocritic.

[The Master]

No, the Master offers the wisdom which will set one on the proper path to Nothing, which is not to be confused with mere nothing as you have. For nothing is only meaningful relative to something. Nothing is but an imperfect way by which the Master conveys that which Illumination will reveal, for it escapes all descriptions bound by the limitations of the Miasma. It is what lies beyond the duality of nothing and something.

The Master also still waits for the Phable which has been promised, and is disappointed that it is not forthcoming, false as it may be.

[Union]

I don't get you Master, are you a nihilist?

[The Master]

The Master relates a tale.

Xiao Yi, beset by bitter and cold winds, sought shelter in the hot springs. The waters were warm and soothing, and he was content. But as time passed his body grew accustomed and soon the waters were tepid and unsatisfying. Desperately he yearned for greater warmth, but when he attempted to seek it out the winds bit ten times as cruely. Thus he was torn between his desire and the that which he had sought to escape.

There can be no pleasure without pain, no good without evil, for they mean nothing if not relative to one another. To escape pain we must escape pleasure, to escape evil we must escape good. We must seek the Nothing, or Emptiness.

[Solnath]

In English, he dislikes the fact that differences in entropy bind everything to everything else. As he cannot stomach some things, he wishes to be apart from everything, hence in Nothing.

[The Master]

Precisely. The faster we pursue pleasure the faster pain inevitably pursues us. To break this cruel pattern we must escape to Emptiness and Nothing.

For those curious, the Master offers his wisdom in the form of the Zhao Ching, available at a mere 5 tai or even for nothing for those of the Temple.

[Solnath]

However, I am curious as to what is so "bad" about pain and other nasty things. Differences breed change and change breeds progress. To play the game and win or not to play at all and never win or lose?

[The Master]

The Master is glad to see that Solnath has accepted the inevitable coexistence of joy and pain, and has not been led astray by false promises of eternal pleasure in false paradises. What Solnath chooses to do with this wisdom, the Master cannot force.

The Master is however at the same time saddened to see that Solnath would associate with the Church of Pha. The Master can assure you that there is no substance to the faith. When the Master last engaged in debate with the Church's proponents, they were reduced to mere cries of "shut up" and petty insults while the Master held his ground and skillfully defended Zhao Huo Dao.

[Solnath]

The Master fails to notice that Soly joins Phadom seeking a community, not a faith, for Soly knows that faith is empty. It is exploration of new illusions, to pass time before others understand.

[Khem]

hmm lets get this straight. the master is a coward, seeking to avoid pain by avoiding its counterpart. and he is upset by the communal psuedo faith of the temple of Pha....?

[Union]

The only way to escape pain and enter true Nothing, death is the only perfect measure. No amount of "Nothing" philosophy can escape that fact, but only a method of easing the wait into the true Nothing (Death).

Or can it be your reciting the essence of Tao? Not to achieve true Nothing but the balance of yin and yang, where the end equation is equal to zero. Zero pain resulting and zero pleasure resulting. To achieve not nothing but perfect balance, where one side of the equation is equal to the other side. 1+-1=0 <Is this your Nothing? Equal measure of both pain and pleasure? Or is your philosophy to to minimize the magnitude of balance, hence to achieve 0.0000001+0.0000001=0? To minimize the magnitude of the equation so as to approach zero (Nothing)?

[Solnath]

In the context of pain and pleasure, 1 + (-1) = 0 should be stated as |1| + |-1| = 2, 'cause even the bad things in life rock.

[The Master]

The Master's fears for the wellbeing of Solnath are assuaged. Though they may be misguided, the Master holds a respect for at least some of Pha's constituents.

The Master does not understand this talk of cowardice. The Master would refute you with the statement that his acceptance of the fact that we must either live with both joy and sorrow or all together leave existence as we know it, rather than clinging to the vain hope of false paradises, demonstrates more bravery and fortitude of spirit rather than craven intent.

Death is not Nothing and Emptiness, for death is but the binary counterpart of life. Nor does this prattle of numbers hold, for it is absolute. The Miasma abhors the absolute. If we find ourselves at 0 we seek 1, and should be maintain 1 it becomes the new 0, forcing to attain 1 again and again. The faster we pursue 1, the faster -1 pursues us. Neither value is set, they are relative. This is the essence of the tale that the Master only so recently related. To break the endless and futile chase we must empty ourselves.

[Solnath]

Embrace i!

[Union]

Haha, I think I'll be better off without the head clutter, I'm sticking with my Taoism.