Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul

What is real? What exactly is real...?

Li Chang'an was lost in thought. After pondering for a long time, he shook his head and shook off those bad thoughts.

He felt that although he realized his current self was an illusion, he could not deny everything and fall into nihilism.

On the contrary, we should see clearly how this illusion works, because only by seeing it clearly can we avoid being held hostage by it.

Why are so many people tired? Because they have to conform to the mirror image, becoming slaves to life, and that's why they're tired.

If you realize that the self is an illusion, then you no longer need to bind yourself to a mirror image, no longer need to exhaust yourself to maintain a persona in society, and no longer need to seek a sense of existence from external feedback.

Once you get rid of these things, you will undoubtedly be free.

But then Li Chang'an had another question: although he was free, if he no longer needed external mirrors to confirm his identity, how could he see himself?

Li Chang'an looked at the baby, who was still staring at the mirror, waving his little hands and feet.

Li Chang'an turned the mirror so that the baby couldn't see it.

The baby, who was playing happily, suddenly started crying.

Seeing this, Li Chang'an suddenly had his answer.

That is to accept your incompleteness and return to the stage of looking in the mirror.

When an infant looks in the mirror, their self-awareness is incomplete, and their bodily experience is fragmented.

This fragmented experience is the most authentic state. The mirror merely provides him with a complete illusion, an illusion that serves as a form of concealment.

True growth is not about forever chasing after that mirror image, but about having the courage to return to that broken reality, find your truest self, accept your truest self, preserve your natural instincts, protect the essence of life, and not let external things damage or implicate your physical form and nature.

Enlightenment and realization of one's true nature!

Guaranteed Authenticity!

These words were like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the fog in Li Chang'an's mind.

At the same time, his consciousness began to rise. His soul did not leave his body, but his consciousness detached from his physical body and gazed at himself from a strange perspective.

This perspective reminded Li Chang'an of the moment he died in his previous life. His consciousness rose, and he stared down at his own body and the scene of medical staff coming in and out to save him.

From this perspective, Li Chang'an discovered that he could see his complete self without needing a mirror.

"You can't see the true face of Mount Lu because you're in the mountain yourself." When you raise your perspective and break free from the limitations of body and soul to see yourself from a different angle, Li Chang'an gained many new insights.

He saw all sorts of details about his body and soul.

Previously, he could only sense the flow of Qi, but could not see the meridians and acupoints; it was an eternal darkness.

Now, he can see the Qi directly, as well as the appearance of the meridians and acupoints throughout his body, and various subtle details.

Not only his body, he could even see the chaotic thoughts in his mind.

Some thoughts were what he was thinking, and some he wasn't thinking about, but they kept swirling in his mind.

Just then, Li Chang'an noticed that the baby on his lap was about to fall off his legs because he was no longer supporting the baby.

With a thought, his consciousness returned instantly, and he grabbed the baby, picked him up, and handed him to his aunt.

"Auntie, I'm a little tired and want to go back to rest."

The aunt quickly took the child, smiling, "Go on, go on!"

Li Chang'an entered the room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and recalled his previous state.

"My grandfather said I have a talent for 'observation,' and what I just saw was a kind of observation, wasn't it?"

He wanted to re-enter that state, but didn't know how.

After thinking for a moment, he got a mirror and placed it by his bedside, then looked at himself in the mirror.

Gradually, he found that the image in the mirror was becoming less and less like himself, and more and more unfamiliar.

He had experienced this feeling before, and many others have too. At this point, many people become afraid and dare not look in the mirror any longer.

However, Li Chang'an had lived two lives, experienced all aspects of the mortal world, and overcome life-and-death challenges, witnessing the great terror between life and death. Now, having embarked on cultivation, he had even experienced a sudden enlightenment and understood himself, so naturally he would not be frightened by such a scene.

He continued to stare at the mirror, trying to see the difference between his reflection and the image he had seen during his earlier epiphany.

After watching for a long time.

"Is this really me?"

Li Chang'an rubbed his temples, realizing that looking at himself in the mirror was actually quite a mentally taxing task.

Then, his head lolled to the side, and he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Li Chang'an woke up on time.

In the past, he would practice standing meditation for a while before eating. But now that he has a new method, he no longer practices standing meditation, but instead sits on the bed and circulates energy through the body.

Grandpa said that cultivation was not allowed yesterday, but he didn't say it wasn't allowed today.

After entering a meditative state, Li Chang'an found himself back in that dreamlike state, his consciousness seemingly suspended in mid-air, staring at his meditative self.

But at the same time, he can also perceive everything about himself.

This is not an out-of-body experience, but rather a state of examining oneself from a higher perspective.

In this state, Li Chang'an can not only discover some physical defects, but also see all sorts of chaotic thoughts in his mind.

He couldn't interfere with his physical defects, but he could deal with the distracting thoughts in his mind.

He suppressed those distracting thoughts, and then he found himself even more at peace.

As the level of stillness increases, the speed of Qi circulation naturally increases as well.

Previously, it took almost 15 minutes to complete a small circulation, but in this state, the speed has doubled, and a small circulation can be completed in about seven minutes.

He also noticed that after each small cycle of Qi was completed, part of the refined Qi would remain in the Dantian, while another part would flow to the nearest acupoint.

"This should be a perfectly normal phenomenon!"

Compared to this, Li Chang'an was more concerned about the increased speed of Qi circulation brought about by this state.

"That's doubled! That's outrageous!"

He couldn't help but wonder how this state came about.

Was it because of a previous epiphany?

Or was it my great-grandfather who said I was better at observing the Dharma?

Or perhaps it's because of the state between life and death...

He thought this way because he felt that this state was very similar to the state he experienced during his previous life and death.

Li Chang'an's time travel wasn't a matter of closing his eyes on one side and opening them on the other.

He experienced a complete transition between life and death.

This transition period is 49 days.

During those forty-nine days, he experienced seven changes, and he also saw his family burning incense for him on the seventh day after his death, the second seven days after his death, the third seven days after his death, and so on until the seventh seven days after his death.

He spent those forty-nine days in a dull, dazed state, as if in a dream, his memories jumbled and disorganized.

After a moment's thought, Li Chang'an concluded that perhaps several of them were true.

He didn't dwell on the matter too much, but instead suppressed the distracting thoughts that kept arising in his mind and focused on circulating his Qi.