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

"Grandpa, if we're going into seclusion for a long time, what will we do about food and drink?"

Li Chang'an asked, he had never quite understood those people who would go into seclusion for ten days or half a month at a time. How did they manage to eat, drink, and relieve themselves? Did they need someone to bring them food every day?

Lu Jin smiled and said, "That depends on the level of your seclusion. If it's a shallow level of seclusion, you can just eat at the appointed time. If it's a deep level of seclusion, you'll need to bring some fasting pills to sustain your life."

"There are also fasting pills?" Li Chang'an asked curiously.

"Yes, you can buy them at medical clinics run by extraordinary people like Jishetang. Of course, you don't need the fasting pills; you can just bring the supplies in to eat and drink, as long as you take care of the excrement properly."

As they spoke, the two entered the cave.

As soon as he entered, all the sounds outside ceased. His heartbeat and breathing were amplified by the cave walls and could be heard clearly. Li Chang'an felt as if he were the only person left in this enclosed space.

"It's quite unusual inside," Li Chang'an said.

Lu Jin's voice came from the side, "Although this cave wasn't carved out with modern tools, it has been structurally designed to isolate any outside noise and absorb internal noise. It will be absolutely quiet inside."

"Of course, this will also bring absolute loneliness and amplify one's negative emotions. The first time you cultivate here, it will feel very difficult. Lu Lin didn't last long the first time."

Locking a small child in a dark room is a form of torture that most people can't endure for long. Even in prison, it's considered a form of punishment… Li Chang'an said, “Then I'll see how long I can last.”

"Since you've decided to go underground, I'll head out now."

"it is good."

As soon as Li Chang'an finished speaking, Lu Jin quickly walked out.

Then, with a loud "boom," the boulder fell, and the light at the cave entrance completely disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Jin's voice came through the stone wall:

"Chang'an, your grandfather has to leave now. You should focus on your cultivation in the mountains. There are huge boulders blocking the way outside, so no one will disturb you."

"However, if Grandpa is delayed and doesn't return in time, you'll be in big trouble..."

The sound disappeared.

"..." Li Chang'an sat in the darkness. He knew that Lu Jin was lying to him, but inevitably, some distracting thoughts still arose.

Will my grandfather refuse to open the door for me?

Could it be that Grandpa got into some kind of accident outside?

If something happens to Grandpa, the soundproofing here is so good that even if I scream my lungs out, no one will come.

Thoughts popped up one after another.

He couldn't even keep up with the transformations.

Although Li Chang'an could see thoughts, he had not reached the state of not having thoughts.

The emergence of such thoughts is actually a very normal phenomenon. It's like a person walking alone at night. Even if they desperately tell themselves that there are no ghosts in the world, they will still feel all sorts of fear and trepidation. In fact, the more they remind themselves, the more afraid they become.

"No, I can't think about it. The more I think about it, the more distracting thoughts I have. I just need to focus on it."

Li Chang'an looked around. The cave was pitch black, and there were no artificial decorations inside, not even a futon. He sat down cross-legged on the spot and began to meditate.

However, his meditative state was very poor because he wasn't wearing a watch or carrying a phone, so he didn't know the time. In addition, the pitch-black environment around him made him feel very insecure. Everything around him was beyond his control, and he felt like a mayfly that could be swallowed up at any moment.

Li Chang'an quickly used his intermediate state awareness to examine the thoughts in his mind and found that his heart was already turbulent, with various thoughts rising and falling like waves.

Previously, under his deliberate preservation and transformation, it would have been impossible for him to have so many thoughts.

"It turns out that the reason I am usually calm is not because my sexual cultivation has reached a certain level, but because I am in a safe environment. My external self, that is, my conscious mind, has not been stimulated."

"But when I'm in an unsettling environment, this consciousness immediately becomes restless, and when it becomes restless, it naturally generates far more distracting thoughts than usual."

Upon realizing this, Li Chang'an immediately understood why some people, despite cultivating very well, would suddenly lose control of their mindset under certain circumstances, leading to a drop in their cultivation level.

This is actually because the mind has not been properly controlled.

No matter how high your spiritual level is normally, when you encounter special circumstances, such as the death of your master, wife, or daughter, your consciousness will become restless and agitated.

If you cannot suppress your consciousness, it will pull you down from your current state, causing you to do things that defy common sense.

For example, even someone as highly skilled as Master Zuo was brought down after witnessing the truth behind the three realms.

Wugensheng was known as a born god, but his personality changed drastically later, and he did a series of absurd things. It is estimated that something caused his consciousness to act recklessly, which pulled him down from his original realm.

"And right now, I haven't encountered anything yet. I've only just arrived in a closed, completely dark environment, and my consciousness has already started to wander. It seems that my level is still far from sufficient."

Li Chang'an thought to himself.

Immediately, he held his breath and stopped trying to distract himself from his thoughts.

Because shifting your attention is actually a form of feedback to them.

He silently observed these thoughts in his intermediate state.

Gradually, the thoughts in his mind began to fade away because they received no feedback.

After calming down, he began to forget his surroundings and entered a meditative state, circulating his Qi in a reverse-generation state to refine his essence, Qi, and spirit.

Once he entered this state, the fear in his heart completely disappeared. Not only did it disappear, but he also felt increasingly exhilarated and began to experience all sorts of indescribable pleasures.

Although this pleasure was somewhat intoxicating, Li Chang'an's intermediate state was very clear. In fact, he was practicing in a state that was not calm enough, thus entering a state of greedy meditation.

What is greed for Zen?

This state only appears in the third stage of meditation.

In one's own world, basic meditation is divided into four levels.

The first state is called "joy and happiness arising from detachment," and entering this state allows one to experience stillness.

The second state is called "joy and happiness arising from stillness," where the feeling of tranquility is intensified.

The third stage is called "detachment from joy and bliss." As one's meditation skills deepen, one will experience the pleasure that stillness brings.

In this state, entering samadhi becomes very pleasurable. If one enters samadhi in pursuit of this pleasure, it is called greedy meditation.

Greed for Zen is essentially the same as a sorcerer's obsession with inner visions, just worded differently.

Under normal circumstances, ordinary practitioners will not be involved in the state of greed for meditation in the early stages.

Because ordinary spiritual practice does not require high levels of meditation skills, one only needs to reach the first stage of meditation, namely the joy and bliss arising from detachment, to begin.

Those most deeply involved in the practice of meditation are sorcerers, because their cultivation begins at the third level of stillness, making them most susceptible to this hurdle.

In the past, Li Chang'an would make a point of clearing his mind. When he entered meditation, his level of stillness was very high, so he had never entered a state of greedy meditation.

But this time, because he was in such a dark and unsettling environment, even though he tried his best to keep his mind calm, he was still not completely calm and thus entered the stage of greedy meditation.