The Dharma Sea of ​​the Green Snake

Chapter 39 Asking
"As you can imagine, there are indeed a group of 'people' in this world who are beyond the ordinary..."

Seemingly caught in a certain level of memory, Chan Master Lingyou, who knocked on the wooden fish again, remembered something about his youth.

At that time, like Pei Wende now, he was curious about everything in this world, and ignored all laws and regulations. He was once called a "crazy monk" by others.

"Alchemist?"

"Mage?"

"Warlock?"

"Qi trainer?"

"Cultivator?"

"This is what ordinary people call us..."

Accompanied by Chan Master Lingyou's muttering, a world of practitioners that is very different from the common world is revealed in Pei Wende's eyes.

"As for the master's abilities, most of them come from the secret cultivation branch of Tianzhu, which is the line of ascetics who pay attention to subduing demons and crossing the sea of ​​suffering."

Silently listening to Zen Master Lingyou's narration, Pei Wende realized that the "practice world" in his master's mouth was a bit different from the "cultivation of immortals" he imagined.

In this real world of cultivation, there are no sword immortals flying to the ground, going in and out of the dark world, and there is no Buddha who dreams for thousands of years and becomes enlightened in a dream.

Perhaps thousands of years ago, there were indeed those existences in this world that could be called "immortal gods and Buddhas".

But in today's practice world, there are some practitioners who exist only attached to thousands of people, those who seek detachment but cannot obtain Taoism.

——Acquire a good skill, and sell yourself to the emperor's family from then on.

This sentence is also applicable to real practitioners, even more applicable than ordinary martial artists and scholars.

In the past, Yuan Tiangang changed his fate against the sky and predicted the next 300 years of Li Tang Dynasty's history, but the result still did not prevent the birth of "Empress" Wu Zetian.

Tang Wuzong exterminated the Dharma, tried to replace the Buddha with the Tao, and sought the way of longevity, but in the end it led to continuous disasters and evil spirits in the land of China.

All of the above all reflect the insignificance and powerlessness of practitioners, and fully illustrate the cruelty of this real world.

Practitioners may be able to possess power beyond ordinary people, but as long as they still have the attribute of "human", they cannot get rid of the natural constraints from human society.

"I know that you have been practicing martial arts with Huiji recently."

"Actually, in a sense, this is also a branch of practitioners, but those who can truly enter the Tao with martial arts are a minority after all."

In a broad sense, everything in the world can be called Tao, and the only difference is the end of the "Tao" and the "scenery" along the way.

In a narrow sense, usually only those who possess spells and seek longevity are regarded as true practitioners, and the way they practice is regarded as the way of practice.

Master Lingyou does not deny this view.

After all, the current way of practice is the result of thousands of years of exploration by the predecessors. It is the closest to the Dao and the most effective way of practice.

But Zen Master Lingyou didn't want Pei Wende's vision to be limited to the existing methods of practitioners, so when he mentioned this point, he emphasized the principle of "everything can be a way".

"Entering the Tao is the dividing line between practitioners and ordinary people. Once enlightened and entering the Tao, even if you are just a blacksmith, you will have your own 'supernatural powers'."

Hearing the sound of strings, he knew the elegant meaning, and Pei Wende immediately reacted.

"Is the legendary Paoding Jieniu the butcher's 'supernatural power'?"

Seeing Pei Wende's understanding, Chan Master Lingyou immediately nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes, no matter what a person who entered the Tao did before, there will be differences from ordinary people after entering the Tao."

"And the so-called 'practice' is to reproduce the path that the predecessors have opened up, through continuous learning and comprehension, to achieve or even surpass the realm of the predecessors."

This is also the reason why the way of practice is so difficult, because real practitioners are fearless pioneers who are determined to surpass their predecessors and benefit future generations.

At least in this day and age, it is the lifelong pursuit of any aspiring practitioner to bring forth the new and surpass the predecessors.

"Wait, something seems wrong?"

Frowning suddenly, Pei Wende thought of those ghosts in Mulian Temple.

They don't seem to be the "Taoists" that Zen Master Lingyou said, but they are also different from ordinary people.

"Aren't all practitioners able to 'enter the Tao'? How can those ghosts in Namulian Temple use supernatural powers?"

"Those ghosts don't have supernatural powers, and all their changes are external manifestations of 'spells'."

Shaking his head with a smile, he corrected the mistakes in Pei Wende's statement. Since he decided to let the other party really set foot in the world of practice, it is naturally impossible for Zen Master Lingyou to let him make such common-sense mistakes.

"Spells are a way to communicate with the ghosts and gods of the heavens and the earth, and supernatural powers are the proof of a successful practice. The two should not be confused."

In fact, don't say that Pei Wende himself has already realized this point.

Even if he didn't realize this, Zen Master Lingyou would explain the difference between "spells" and "supernatural powers" to the other party in detail later.

"As long as you can gather your energy and concentrate your mind, draw amulets and chant incantations, even ordinary people can use so-called 'spells'."

"But supernatural powers are different. It is the proof that the practitioner has cultivated to a certain level, and it is also the evidence of the unity of body and spirit."

In layman's terms, magic is to borrow the power of spells, use one's own "inner gods" to communicate with "outer gods", serve gods and ghosts, and let heaven, earth and ghosts and gods do things for you.

And supernatural powers are the "inner gods" that practitioners strengthen themselves, and the "superpowers" that appear after practicing to a certain extent, which are much more difficult than normal spells.

"But remember, regardless of supernatural powers or spells, they are just the 'scenery' on your path of practice, not the 'purpose'."

Speaking of this, Zen Master Lingyou deliberately paused to emphasize, using what Pei Wende himself had just said.

Because in his life, he had seen too many cultivators commit endless murders in pursuit of the power of spells and supernatural powers, he naturally didn't want his apprentices to fall into the same fate as those people.

"At any time, you must keep in mind your original intention of practicing!"

If it's just for those supernatural powers and spells, ordinary people don't need to practice at all.

Because those abilities that appear due to practice can be achieved in other ways.

This point is also the consensus of practitioners - if you want to make a fire, you can use flint and steel, if you want to cure a disease, you can go to see a doctor, and if you want to kill people, you can use a bow and sword.

In comparison, practicing for years and years purely for a certain ability is a bit of a waste of money.

"If you put the cart before the horse in pursuit of supernatural powers and spells, then no matter what path you practice, it will be just a heretical path in the end."

Faced with Zen Master Lingyou's repeated exhortations, Pei Wende naturally did not dare to be careless.

But after hearing these theories from the other party, he suddenly felt an inexplicable curiosity.

"Old monk, why did you want to practice in the first place?"

—Recommendation ticket—/—Monthly ticket—

(End of this chapter)