A monk asked Master Dasui, “When the fire rages at the end of all eons and the whole universe is destroyed, is this destroyed or not?”
Dasui responded, “Destroyed.”
The monk then said, “Then this goes along with that?”
Dasui said, “This goes along with that.”
The monk asked Master Longji, “When the fire rages at the end of all eons and the whole universe is destroyed, is this destroyed or not?”
Longji said, “Not destroyed.”
The monk said, “Why is this not destroyed?”
Longji responded, “Because this is the same as the universe.” (Book of Serenity, Case 30)
That which is timeless, which transcends all the individual things of the universe and passing time, is also manifesting and playing out as all those individual things and passing time. So, in one sense, when all the separate things and passing time come to an end, the timeless ends too. Where they go, the timeless goes. However, from another perspective, because that which is timeless and transcends all things is not just the things and passing time, it is not destroyed. We might say that, as the waves rise and fall, appear and vanish, it is the sea rising and falling, appearing and vanishing. Yet we can also say that the sea does not vanish with the wave. Thus, the vanishing is unvanishing, and the unvanishing is vanishing.