It is well known that the stability of the world’s financial infrastructure relies on the RSA encryption algorithm used by banks. This algorithm ultimately hinges on the difficulty of prime factorization. Since factorizing large numbers is a challenging task, almost impossible to accomplish manually, even computers would take thousands of years to crack a large number. Given that no one lives for a thousand years, by the time it is cracked, the information would be outdated, making our encryption systems fundamentally reliable.
The key here lies in the irreversibility of the algorithm. In other words, while encryption requires only mathematical methods, decryption necessitates brute force enumeration, which means trying each possibility one by one without any alternative. As long as we make the difficulty of this brute force enumeration astronomical in terms of time or energy consumption, and no individual or nation on Earth can afford such resources, we can assert that this encryption is secure. Bitcoin and its corresponding blockchain system are also based on this principle.
One might ask why we discuss this common knowledge. In fact, common knowledge contains general abstract principles, which is why we delve deeper. We find that all human activities are extensions of this principle. Any resolution of contradictions corresponds to a reluctance to continue consuming resources. For instance, if everyone had infinite resources and lifespans, many conflicts on Earth would persist indefinitely. Eisenhower once said, “If you cannot solve a problem, enlarge it.” The balance of politics also exhibits similar characteristics. For example, if you want to overthrow a regime and establish a new one, the simplest method is to go door to door, persuading others to oppose the status quo and support you. However, any rational person knows that if you were to do this, even without anyone trying to stop you, and assuming everyone you approached was home and listened to your persuasion, it would still take at least five hundred lifetimes to accomplish, far exceeding the lifespan of any current regime. Thus, while theoretically anyone could use enumeration to overthrow a regime, the resources or time required far exceed the maximum limits of such an event occurring, leading us to conclude that the stability of a regime can also be summarized as a form of social human encryption algorithm, which is secure.
However, where there is encryption, there is always decryption. A scientific and effective decryption action is always accompanied by the abandonment and breakthrough of brute force enumeration. For the decryptor, the real obstacle is brute force enumeration itself. We know that encryption is always a method, and if decryption can only rely on brute force enumeration, then theoretically, encryption will always be one dimension higher than decryption, making successful decryption impossible. Paradigm shifts, such as quantum computers, are emerging one after another. For instance, if someone could fully utilize the marvelous properties of quantum mechanics, they could run multiple threads simultaneously, reducing the time or resources required exponentially. Even if it still involves brute force enumeration, what would take a hundred years could potentially be completed in half an hour, which is why algorithms like RSA feel increasingly threatened.
The contradiction between encryption and decryption always exists in time and space. As we discussed earlier, all aspects of human life are entangled in cycles of encryption and decryption. Next, we will discuss the path of liberation, which is also a process of encryption and decryption.
Take the attainment of Buddhahood as an example; it is a typical encryption algorithm. After attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, Shakyamuni Buddha exclaimed that all sentient beings possess the wisdom and virtue of the Tathagata, but due to delusions and attachments, they cannot realize it. However, if he merely repeated this statement, he would not convince anyone. Therefore, having already expounded the “Avatamsaka Sutra” in the heavenly realm and delivered the first turning of the Dharma wheel in the Deer Park, he continued to speak extensively. The Buddha’s teachings over forty-nine years were incredibly open and candid, yet due to the profound nature of the Dharma, many aspects remained unsaid, belonging to the realm of secret teachings. There are numerous examples of this, which have become common knowledge; one can read the Tripitaka for more details, and I cannot enumerate them all here.
Thus, if the true nature itself is the encryption of the universe, then the teachings of the Buddha as expounded by Shakyamuni are a form of decryption. The profound nature of the Dharma, combined with its ancient origins, has become a form of ciphertext that urgently requires new keys for decryption. These keys, through historical sedimentation, have formed various sects, particularly the eight major sects in the context of Chinese Buddhism, each with its own systematic methods for deciphering the profound codes of the Dharma. To elaborate on this topic by analyzing each of the eight sects would exceed the scope of this article, so I will focus on the most representative Zen Buddhism.
Similar to the previous process, the emergence of Zen Buddhism is both a decryption of the Dharma and an encryption in itself. Just as the purpose of RSA encryption is to protect human assets from being exploited by malicious actors, the purpose of Zen encryption is to enable practitioners to truly realize the pure Dharma body, preventing those who would misappropriate the Dharma or have wild interpretations from gaining access. The phenomenon of Zen encryption is an undeniable fact visible to all. For example, consider the following cases:
To kill the Tathagata and feed him to the dogs!
What is Buddha?
– Three pounds of hemp.
What is Buddha?
– A pile of dung.
What is Buddha?
– The cypress tree in the courtyard.
These are famous Zen koans, and there are many similar situations that have become common knowledge. The first is often referred to as “killing with a single blow” or “feeding the dog,” a koan from the renowned Zen master Yunmen Wenyen, which has made Zen Buddhism and the Dharma a remarkable phenomenon in world history. No other theory, method, technology, or ideology advocates the idea of enthusiastically embracing the act of feeding one’s own teacher to dogs. Of course, many people have come forward to interpret the koans, suggesting that this is a method to strike at the delusions of practitioners, asserting that all forms are illusory, and that feeding the dog represents one’s own deluded mind. However, later masters have pointed out that those who hold such views are precisely the deluded thoughts themselves, and thus should also be fed to the dogs. The truth of the matter requires contemplation.
Therefore, through the exploration of these verbal exchanges, Zen Buddhism has naturally created a system of encryption, guiding practitioners to realize the first truth, the great mirror wisdom, and the pure Dharma realm through daily activities such as fetching water and chopping wood, as well as through silence and movement, standing and sitting. Those who can truly penetrate the koans are protected by this encryption system, just as our assets are protected by the RSA algorithm of banks.
According to our previous theory, attempting to crack this encryption system will be extremely difficult. It may be the most challenging encryption system to decipher in the world, because according to the principle of brute force enumeration, one would at least need to read through the vast collection of the Tripitaka, which is impossible to complete in a single lifetime, and one can only use one mind to read it, not distribute it among different people. Of course, this only pertains to the human Buddhist scriptures. Then, one would also need to follow the guidance in the texts, performing countless circumambulations around the Buddha statue like the Bodhisattva Sudhana in the “Avatamsaka Sutra,” or reciting millions of mantras. Based on the principles discussed earlier, this would ultimately exceed the limits of one’s lifespan and the maximum resource consumption that the Earth can sustain, thus proving that this encryption algorithm is indeed very secure.
Of course, this discussion pertains to brute force enumeration. In any situation that does not follow brute force enumeration, it is akin to our real-life cryptography: it is plaintext to oneself and ciphertext to outsiders. Only by using oneself as the key, without resorting to brute force enumeration, can one truly penetrate the “What is Buddha? – Three pounds of hemp” koan. Otherwise, one falls into the situation that Zen Buddhism has always vehemently opposed: learning the Dharma through the measure of conscious thought, leading to the saying, “After traversing three kalpas, one gains nothing,” or “Entering the great treasure mountain, yet returning empty-handed.” If a piece of information is encrypted in the Zen manner, it is nearly impossible for outsiders to decipher it unless they approach it in the Zen way. To attempt brute force decryption, one must attain the status of a Bodhisattva of the eighth ground or higher, and since one has already achieved such a holy fruit, one has inherently entered the plaintext of the information, making “decryption” a non-issue. A vivid example is Wu Zetian. Many of Wu Zetian’s historical secrets have been doubly encrypted using Zen and the Xianshou sect. Without empirical skills in these areas, relying solely on materials such as court secret histories, “Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government,” “New Book of Tang,” or “Tang Hui Yao” cannot truly decipher the plaintext.
From today onwards, I will use the above pen name; the previous one is for daily use.