Chapter 46: Meditation

The content of the booklet was simple: only a few diagrams of meditation and breathing, and a few pages of commentary on the heart method, briefly explaining how to regulate breath, halt breath, enter stillness, cast off distracting thoughts, and achieve the state of meditative absorption where self and object are forgotten.

After glancing at the few diagrams and lines of text, Ye Yuyan hesitated.

"Do you find it too simple?"

Mo Hua nodded, then asked, "Mr., is this just a beginner's meditation method?"

"No," Mr. Zhuang denied, "all the insights and cultivation methods for meditation are in this small booklet."

Seeing Mo Hua's confusion, Mr. Zhuang continued:

"Meditation is simple, naturally—it is simple. But it is also extremely difficult. The simplicity lies in the fact that all the key points of this method are right here in these diagrams and these few pages of insights—clear at a glance. The difficulty lies in the elusive, intangible nature of the human mind: you cannot simply will yourself into stillness or into forgetting self and object."

Mo Hua pondered silently, and Mr. Zhuang went on:

"For example, worldly desires—how many people truly see through them, even if they claim to? Some truths seem simple; those who understand them grasp them at a glance, while those who don't will never understand them in a lifetime—and those who don't understand often believe they do."

"This meditation method is the same. If you can truly enter stillness and cast off distractions, you will learn quickly. But if your mind is heavy and tangled in distractions, no matter how hard you try, you will never learn it."

Mo Hua suddenly understood, then frowned: "Then if I cannot cast off distractions, does that mean I cannot learn it?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled. "It's not as hard as you think. After years of practice, I've distilled one simple insight for entering stillness—just one phrase…"

"Let your heart follow nature without deceiving yourself."

"Let your heart follow nature without deceiving yourself…" Mo Hua murmured silently.

"All things in the world are what they are. Your own mind is the same—whether restless, calm, cruel, depressed, upright, or base, even if it's the worst, you must accept it openly, without lying to yourself."

"If you can achieve these two things, your heart will be like still water and a clear mirror—you will, at least to some degree, enter stillness."

Mo Hua felt a sudden insight, and began flipping through the "Meditation Method." After a while, he suddenly asked curiously:

"Mr., when meditation is mastered at a high level, does it have any special uses?"

"No. Meditation has always been only for entering stillness and restoring spiritual awareness. Even at advanced levels, it merely speeds up how quickly you enter stillness and recover your spiritual awareness. And the longer you practice, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll get better."

Mo Hua froze. "Can you actually get worse the more you practice?"

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua with deep meaning. "You're still a child. What you've seen, heard, thought, and imagined is still simple—your distractions are few, so entering stillness may come easily. But when you grow older, after seeing more of this world's affairs, your distractions will multiply, your worldly desires will grow, and trying to enter stillness then won't be so simple."

Mo Hua suddenly understood.

Then he thought: actually, his own experiences weren't so few—he had memories from another life.

But upon closer thought, in that other life he was only in his twenties, with little real experience; in this life, he had only ten years. Combined, his age across both lives was still far younger than Mr. Zhuang's, and his experience and knowledge were incomparable. Calling him a "child" wasn't wrong.

Mo Hua asked curiously again: "Then, Mr., how does your current meditation method compare to before?"

Mr. Zhuang paused thoughtfully. "I began around age ten, memorizing all kinds of formation theories and learning nearly all first-rank formations. Then I started meditation. At first, I learned quickly, and as a youth, I kept improving—after finishing a formation, just a cup of tea's worth of meditation would fully restore my spiritual awareness."

"In my youthful arrogance, my mind was unsettled, so meditation stopped progressing. Later, after suffering upheavals and turmoil, I never calmed my heart—so my meditation method regressed instead of advancing."

"Now, many things have grown distant to me… and this meditation method is no longer useful…"

Mr. Zhuang sighed, then snapped back to reality, realizing he had spoken too much. Seeing Mo Hua still listening with rapt attention, he tapped Mo Hua's forehead. "Study well."

"Oh," Mo Hua finally focused, quieted his mind, and began carefully studying the Meditation Method.

The key to the meditation method lies in casting off distractions, clearing the mind, and entering the state of forgetting self and object.

Mo Hua followed the method in the "Meditation Method," sat quietly, thought of nothing, and gradually entered a state of stillness.

Once in stillness, he truly felt his body lighten, as if freed from the cage of flesh; his heart opened wide, and the spiritual awareness he had expended drawing formations slowly returned, recovering faster than before.

But Mo Hua's state of stillness was shallow; after less than a cup of tea's time, his mind stirred slightly, and he exited stillness.

Mr. Zhuang, who had been sitting with eyes closed, opened them and said:

"For your first time, reaching this level is quite good. Once you master it, after drawing formations, just meditate to enter stillness—and you'll achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"Thank you, Mr.!"

Mo Hua was overjoyed. Previously, he could only practice formations on the tablet in his spiritual sea, and his daytime progress was slow. Now that he had learned meditation, his spiritual awareness could recover quickly. Even if his foundation couldn't match that of the clan disciples, diligence could compensate for lack of talent—he might not be far behind others in the future.

Mo Hua then asked: "Mr., I understand meditation. But what you mentioned earlier—the Observation Method—what is that?"

Mr. Zhuang reclined lazily on his bamboo chair. "Guess—what is the Observation Method used for?"

Mo Hua thought, then said: "Meditation restores spiritual awareness. So is the Observation Method used to strengthen it?"

"Correct," Mr. Zhuang nodded. "In the cultivation world, there are no methods to cultivate spiritual awareness. In ancient times, the great cultivators created the Observation Method to enhance spiritual awareness."

"Isn't the Observation Method a kind of cultivation method?"

"The Observation Method is a simplified, unstable method to increase spiritual awareness—but it is not a cultivation method," Mr. Zhuang said.

"Spiritual energy can be perceived, used to activate spiritual artifacts, and channeled into Dao techniques, with discernible pathways. But spiritual awareness is different—human spiritual seas have no meridians, so you cannot trace the movement of spiritual awareness. Therefore, there is no stable way to cultivate it."

"The only way to rapidly enhance spiritual awareness is observation. Observing patterns, characters, or ancient artifacts imbued with Dao principles or powerful spiritual awareness can, to some degree, merge with them, gradually strengthening your awareness."

"But this Observation Method varies by person—different people achieve different results. Even among great clans, the observation images available for practice are extremely rare, so the method is not widely spread in the cultivation world and cannot be promoted like cultivation methods as a stable training system."

"Observation Method…" Mo Hua murmured.

Mr. Zhuang hesitated, then his expression grew slightly serious.

"The Observation Method can strengthen spiritual awareness, but you should avoid using it. Even if you do use it, remain cautious—do not rely on it completely."

Mo Hua frowned. "Is it because my talent is insufficient, and I'll suffer backlash?"

Mr. Zhuang shook his head. "It has nothing to do with talent. Observation images reflect the spiritual awareness and understanding of Dao of others—in other words, what you observe is someone else's 'Dao,' or perhaps the 'Dao' of non-human entities. Once your spiritual awareness sinks into them, the consequences can be terrifying."

Mo Hua's heart grew cold.

Mr. Zhuang waved his hand. "These things are still too early for you. Just focus on learning formations. You may never even encounter an observation image in your lifetime."

After speaking, Mr. Zhuang had Mo Hua practice the Meditation Method several more times. As dusk fell, he told Mo Hua to return home.