No abstraction, no cultivation

Chapter 39: Divine Communication
"Isn't it?" Xu Shun asked.

Doesn’t God refer to the God in the temple?
"Of course it's not it." Lan Dao Ren chuckled, looked at the orange-yellow on the City God Temple, and said, "What virtue and ability does it have?"

"Don't say there is no City God. Even if there really is a City God, what can he do to me, your master?"

That's what monks are like.

What is Gou Ba City God? What is Gou Ba God? Have you ever asked about the sword in my hand?

"Then the god that Master talked about..." Xu Shun looked straight at the City God.

"Disciple, you are now in the Qi training stage. Once the foundation is built, you will be able to condense magic power. This state is called spiritual communication." Taoist Lan came to Xu Shun, stood with Xu Shun, and said.

"Do you know what the 'God' in the divine language is?" he asked again.

To communicate with God, to communicate with God, the one who is communicated with is naturally God.

So what is God?
Are they the clay carvings and wooden sculptures in this hall?

Or a god?
Xu Shun naturally knew it wasn't him. He thought for a moment and said, "Could it be 'me'?"

Since he began to practice under Master Lan for a few months, he felt that Master Lan attached great importance to "me".

Outwardly, it manifests itself as being very stubborn, doing one's own thing, and not caring about what others think.

The internal logic of action is to be very clear about the motivation, process, consequences, and what "I" think about doing this thing.

It's not the kind of thought that I do recklessly, nor is it the kind of thought that is willful and selfish.

But it’s “I” who thinks.

“I” want to do it, so “I” do it.

Don't think about others, just think about "me".

"Yes and no!" said Lan Dao Ren.

At this time, Zi Su limped into the hall. He heard Lan Dao Ren's voice, asking him to come over.

When he arrived, he saw the abbot of the City God Temple eavesdropping at the door.

The dean hesitated for a moment, but finally came.

The truth is right before our eyes, so what if we are scolded?
Zi Su ignored the dean. He knew that Taoist Lan must know that someone was eavesdropping, but Taoist Lan pretended not to know, which meant he acquiesced.

My master is actually very kind to others.

When Lan Daoist saw that his other disciple had also arrived, he continued:

"A long time ago, a senior wrote a song that explained the divine communication."

"You don't need to ask others for the elixir of life. Look at the Eight Trigrams and Nine Palaces on your palm. The Five Elements and Four Symbols are in your body. If you understand them, you will be able to understand the gods."

“God has many meanings in practice.”

"The God of the Spiritual God is not the same God as the God of the Primordial Spirit."

"The first meaning of God refers to the 'God' of the inner spirit. Hmm... This is more complicated to explain, so let's just assume it is the origin of 'I', the real 'I'. When you reach the realm of seeing the truth, you will understand the real 'I' and have a new understanding."

"I can't say too much, lest you misunderstand me." Lan Daoren continued.

"But the primordial spirit is inside, so what we are communicating with is not this 'god'."

"It's the monks themselves, the monks' own internal and external cognition."

"The cultivator accumulates spiritual energy through Qi training and builds a foundation to transform the body, just like a bug transforms into a butterfly. At this time, the cultivator's perspective will also change. Just like a bug transforms into a butterfly, flying in the sky and climbing on a tree, will the perspective be the same?"

“So, the monks will face a problem.”

"What are the heaven and earth like? What is the Great Dao like? How do you know the heaven and earth? How do you know the Great Dao?"

"What kind of cultivators do you want to become after practicing?" Zi Su interrupted at this time: "Master, isn't the purpose of cultivators to ascend to heaven and become immortals?"

"Heh..." Lan Dao Ren smiled and said, "If one day someone told you that you could become an immortal by eating shit, would you eat it?"

"This..." Zi Su didn't know how to answer.

How can you become an immortal by eating shit?
"You don't have to answer." Lan Daoren said, "Some people choose to eat shit, and they enjoy it. Not only do they eat it, they also share their eating experience. Some people refuse to eat shit, and instead look for other ways out."

"The former can be said to have a firm faith in the Tao and can swallow shit. The latter can also be said to have a firm faith in the Tao and is walking a more difficult path."

"It doesn't matter what choice they make, it's how you make it that matters!"

"The road lies ahead, how will you choose?" Taoist Lan asked.

Zisu was silent.

Does he choose to eat shit or not?
Eating shit in order to become an immortal seems~seems~not unacceptable.

That’s immortality!

Xu Shun understood what Lan Daoren said, and what he said was actually a world view. The world view affects people's values ​​and outlook on life.

If a person does not have enough food to eat all day, then the purpose of all his actions is to have enough food.

If he has eaten his fill, he will think about sex and will satisfy his desires.

If he goes a step further and his lower-level desires are satisfied, higher-level needs will arise.

What is the world like?
"who I am?
What should “I” do?
As a cultivator in the world of immortal cultivation, he didn't have to worry about food and drink, nor about the techniques, he only had to practice. In terms of material aspects, he had already surpassed everyone in his previous life.

Of course they think about these questions.

Are these questions important?
Of course it matters.

Just like the word "concept", many people sneer when they hear the word "concept", but many people live by silently following a certain concept.

They are either selfish, or highly self-interested, or selfless, or trustworthy and righteous.

There is logic behind people's actions, and "ideas" are part of this logic.

Monks also have corresponding "concepts" when dealing with themselves, and some of these "concepts" come from their teachers, and some come from their own understanding of the world.

The world looks different in the eyes of every monk.

In the same world, some people believe that human nature is inherently good, some believe that human nature is inherently evil, and some believe that human nature is neither good nor evil.

So Daoist Lan asked, "What is the heaven and earth like? What is the Great Dao like? How do you know the heaven and earth? How do you know the Great Dao?"

The key to the problem is, what kind of cultivators do Xu Shun and Zi Su want to become?
What changes need to be made to achieve this?
Is it to change yourself, smooth out your edges, and adapt to the laws of nature and the world?
Just like eating shit can increase your cultivation, should you just eat it silently to increase your cultivation and ascend to heaven sooner?

Or think about whether eating shit is right or not?
If eating shit is wrong, what should I do?

Should I compromise or stick to my own path?

Or, defeat the wrong world with your own strength?

Everything does not depend on others, but on "me".

How do I choose my path!

Just like when Xu Shun first entered society, there were some industries where one could make money quickly by just throwing away one's conscience, but Xu Shun had no choice.

The same is true for cultivators. Is there also such a "shortcut" on the path to becoming an immortal that goes against one's nature?

Everything depends on the monk himself. Once he makes the right choice, that is the monk’s own path.

It is also the beginning of the monk’s path.

(End of this chapter)