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A contradictory theory emerged in his mind.

This all happened so suddenly, perhaps only in an instant, with no time for the Great Zen Master to react. When two theories conflicted, the two individuals had already become strangers, just as unfamiliar as when they first met. After the master and disciple paid their final respects to the Buddha and offered the last incense, the two parted ways.

The Bodhi seed held in hand was not reclaimed by the Great Zen Master, nor was it returned by the disciple. The Great Zen Master knew that if he had asked for it, he could have gotten it back, but for someone at his level of cultivation, possessing Bodhi seeds made little difference. Rather than taking them back, it was better to leave them with the disciple to purify the trace of malice within him.