Life and Death Cycle

In the 30th year of the Resonance Era, Qi Diao Yanfei discovered a strange region near a space-time node. Time there did not flow linearly, but swirled like a vortex. In this region, the boundaries between life and death blurred, and the echoes of the dead intertwined with the omens of the coming.

"This is the 'cycle of life and death,'" a visitor from the Styx galaxy explained. "When time and space are highly integrated, different stages of life appear simultaneously. Here, you can talk to your deceased loved ones and foresee your future descendants."

The news spread quickly, attracting countless people seeking to reunite with the deceased. However, Qi Diao Yanfei noticed that many visitors became obsessed after entering the spiral area - some tried to change the death of their loved ones, some became obsessed with talking to the dead and ignored the living, and some fell into fear after foreseeing their own death.

“Life and death need to be balanced,” she told Tashi Phuntsok, “just like light and darkness, existence and nothingness.”

Tashi Phuntsok sensed the energy flowing in the swirling area. "The laws here are still unstable. We need to guide visitors to correctly understand the true meaning of life and death."

They decided to establish a "School of Life and Death" at the edge of the spiral zone to teach the complete cycle of life. Qi Diao Yanfei, drawing on his experience as a celestial burial master and combining his understanding of life and death across time and space, created a new philosophy of life and death.

For the first class, she brought a dying flower and a newborn baby.

"Look at this flower," she whispered to the students. "Its withering is not the end, but makes way for new life. Look at this baby. Its birth is not the beginning, but the continuation of countless choices."

The students from different civilizations fell into deep thought. A crystal lifeform asked, "But, after consciousness disappears, do we still exist?"

Tashi Phuntsok took over the question: "Remember what we learned at Xingchen Academy? Energy is indestructible, but forms can be transformed. Death is not the end of consciousness, but the release of consciousness."

To allow students to have a deeper experience, they led them into the shallower layers of the gyration zone, where they saw the different stages of their lives: the innocence of childhood, the passion of youth, the maturity of middle age, and the wisdom of old age, all existing simultaneously.

"Look," Qi Diao Yanfei pointed at a student who appeared both young and old, "your essence isn't any one stage, but the sum of all these experiences. Death is just the beginning of another stage."

However, not all visitors accept this view. One day, a group of visitors from a mechanical civilization come with a special request: they hope to use the technology of the spiral area to achieve immortality for all civilizations.

"We've calculated," the representative of the mechanical civilization said in a cold electronic voice, "that if we can prevent death, the efficiency of our civilization will increase by 73.4%."

Qi Diao Yan Fei did not refuse directly, but took them to visit an autumn forest. Golden leaves fell one after another, covering the ground with a thick carpet.

“Look at these leaves,” she said. “If they never fell, new leaves would have no room to grow. The beauty of life lies in its finiteness.”

The mechanical representative retorted, "But we are not organic life. We can continually improve through upgrades, without needing to make room for new versions."

Tashi Phuntsok smiled and said, “Then tell me, when was the last time you made a real innovation?”

The mechanical representative fell silent. After retrieving the data, it had to admit: since the pursuit of immortality, the speed of their civilization's progress has indeed slowed down.

"Because death not only means an end, it also means renewal." Qi Diao Yanfei said softly, "Without an end, there is no real beginning."

This conversation triggered a profound reflection within the mechanical civilization, and ultimately, they abandoned their plans for immortality and instead began studying how to make each "life cycle" more fulfilling.

However, the challenges posed by the vortex of life and death extend far beyond this. As the number of visitors increased, fragments of the deceased's consciousness began to become entangled in the vortex, unable to continue their journey. These fragments of consciousness lingered in the area like a fog, affecting the experience of new visitors.

"They are trapped between life and death." Qi Diao Yanfei sensed those confused minds, "They need someone to guide them forward."

She decided to go deep into the core of the whirlpool area and perform an unprecedented soul-transferring ritual. Tashi Phuntsok wanted to go with her, but she refused.

"This time I must go alone," she said, "just as every living being must face death alone."

With the blessings of the students at the School of Life and Death, Qi Diao Yanfei stepped into the core of the vortex area. The scene there was shocking: the birth and death of countless lives were played out simultaneously like a movie, joy and sorrow, beginnings and endings, encounters and separations, all these opposites coexisted harmoniously.

She found the trapped fragments of consciousness. Some were unwilling to leave because of their attachment to life, some were afraid to move forward because of their fear of death, and some were stuck here because of unfulfilled wishes.

Qi Diao Yanfei didn't force them to follow her lead. Instead, she sat down and began to recount her own understanding of life and death across time and space. She described how, as a sky burial master, she understood death as a part of life; how, as a soul-ferrying master, she helped souls find peace; and how, as a time traveler, she witnessed the cycle of life and death in countless civilizations.

Gradually, the fragments of consciousness began to gather around her. When a consciousness that was reluctant to leave because of the loss of its loved one approached, she whispered:

"Letting go is not forgetting, but remembering in another way. Your lover has not disappeared, but has just taken on a new form. Just like raindrops falling on the earth, they seem to disappear, but in fact they turn into flowers and bloom again."

The fragment of consciousness glowed faintly, then dissipated with relief, continuing its journey.

Similar conversations repeated themselves throughout the spiraling area. With patience and wisdom, Qi Diao Yanfei helped one consciousness after another understand the true meaning of life and death. In the process, her own understanding deepened.

When the last fragment of consciousness dissipated, a miraculous transformation occurred within the vortex. The vortex of life and death was no longer chaotic, but instead formed a harmonious cycle. The deceased passed away peacefully, the living cherished the present, and the possibilities of the future blossomed in every choice.

When Qi Diao Yanfei returned to the School of Life and Death, the students saw that her image had changed - she appeared young, middle-aged and old at the same time, as if encompassing all stages of life.

“I understand now,” she said to the waiting Tashi Phuntsok. “Life and death are not opposites, but different stages of the same cycle. Just like the inhalation and exhalation of breath, they are all part of life.”

Tashi Phuntsok held her hand, his eyes full of understanding: "And we are forever connected in this cycle."

Their realization spread throughout the universe through resonant networks, triggering a new round of awakening. Civilizations began to re-examine their concepts of life and death: some changed their pursuit of immortality, some began to celebrate the finiteness of life, and some created new rituals to commemorate the cycle of life and death.

Most touchingly, many civilizations began to share their wisdom on facing life and death. Plant civilizations taught the "beauty of withering," aquatic civilizations shared the "philosophy of tides," and even mechanical civilizations developed "restart rituals" to mark the end of each life cycle.

After stabilizing the area of ​​the cycle of life and death, Qidiao Yanfei and Tashi Phuntsok built a special monument there, not to commemorate a specific life, but to celebrate the cycle of life and death itself.

The monument is engraved with wisdom on life and death from various civilizations, with a central sentence extracted from the Biography of Tsangyang Gyatso:

“Don’t fear death, don’t let life down, as long as this moment is the most real.

Life and death are as natural as breathing, and love is that eternal breath."

One day, Dawa received a special message through the resonance network. In the holographic image, he stood in a civilization that had just experienced the awakening of life and death.

"Father, Mother," he said with a smile, "Here, understanding the cycle of life and death, they created an unprecedented art form—'Momentary Eternity,' expressing infinite beauty within finite time and space."

Qi Diao Yanfei nodded with satisfaction: "This is the true meaning of the balance between life and death. Only by recognizing the finite can we create eternity."

In the days that followed, the School of Life and Death welcomed more students. Qi Diao Yanfei and Tashi Phuntsok no longer taught directly, but instead guided each life to find its own wisdom of life and death.

They found that when one truly understands and accepts death, life becomes more fulfilling and beautiful, just as knowing that night will inevitably fall makes one cherish the brightness of day more.

On a quiet evening, two old men stood together on the edge of the area where life and death were intertwined, watching the harmonious dance of life and death.

"Remember when I first started as a sky burial master?" Qi Diao Yanfei whispered, "Back then, I thought death was the end, it was separation."

Tashi Phuntsok gently continued, “And now we know that death is change, a preparation for reunion.”

She leaned on his shoulder, watching the life constantly flowing in the rotating area. "In the infinite time and space, we chose the finite each other. This is perhaps the most beautiful paradox between life and death."

Under the starry sky, life and death revolve like an eternal poem. Every life is its unique rhythm, and every life and death is the rhythm of the universe's breathing.

And love is the power that transcends life and death, connecting all beginnings and endings, and illuminating the complete cycle of life.