Chapter 5: White Bone Contemplation

Ye Qin closed his eyes; although there were shadows of the sun and moon in his mind, they were very rough, just a vague outline, merely an insubstantial appearance.

He slowly opened his eyes, and the snake's forked tongue trembled uneasily.

"What's going on? Why can't I fully enter meditation?"

Ye Qin strove to calm his mind, yet he kept feeling restless, completely unlike before, that profound and wondrous meditative state.

Whether his consciousness or his soul, both entered a deep-level space, hard to be affected by the outside world, thus enabling him to forget himself and have a sudden insight into a cultivation opportunity.

But now the feeling is completely opposite; although there are shadows in his mind, they seem more like a superficial imagined state.

"Where exactly is the problem?"

"Although the sun and moon are commonplace, this ordinary thing is actually extraordinary."

"As the saying goes, 'Heaven and earth are dark and yellow, the universe is primordial wilderness. The sun and moon wax and wane, the constellations are arrayed. Cold comes, heat goes; autumn harvest, winter store.'"

"The four seasons cycle endlessly, embodying the great Dao of heaven and earth, the Dao of nature, the Dao of the four seasons; they seem ordinary, yet actually contain an unfathomable, infinite variety of changes."

"Just like the sun and moon, hanging high in the azure sky each day, they seem within reach, but are actually far away at the horizon."

"Merely because we are accustomed to seeing them every day, we take them for ordinary."

"Upon understanding this principle, Ye Qin suddenly realized, 'Before, I had gone astray; for me now, contemplating all things is still somewhat difficult.'"

"In other words, what qualifies a mere snake to contemplate the great sun and bright moon?"

"Thus just now he could not completely free his mind of distractions and enter the state of contemplation."

"Because what he saw and understood were all superficial and insubstantial, lacking a firm foundation."

"Having just said one must stay grounded and take steady steps, he hasn't even learned to walk—how could he run?"

"Ye Qin felt somewhat troubled, 'It seems there's nothing else suitable for contemplation.'"

"But at that moment, a flash of white caught his peripheral vision; looking at the white bone nearby, Ye Qin fell into contemplation."

"The great sun and bright moon are too distant and profound; mountains and rivers are too mighty. I am merely a small snake now, insufficient to contemplate such mighty things, because my vision is limited and I cannot perceive them fully."

"So I can contemplate things close at hand—a tree, a blade of grass, even a white bone!"

"Ye Qin's heart gradually grew excited; he felt he had found the right direction."

"One ought to know oneself; to found a cultivation method and immediately wish to contemplate the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers is nothing short of daydreaming."

"Fortunately, he remembered a Buddhist meditation method called 'White Bone Contemplation,' which might be suitable here."

"Thanks to his fondness for miscellaneous reading and good memory, he was not unfamiliar with White Bone Contemplation."

"The ready-made skeleton available for his contemplation was truly an opportunity delivered to his door."

"Inspired by the Yellow Emperor's Yin Fu Inner Classic beside the skeleton, Ye Qin embarked on the path of cultivation; this is his affinity with the white bone, and now, using White Bone Contemplation again, it seems fate had long been sealed."

"Everything stems from the skeleton; calling it Ye Qin's guide is not an exaggeration."

"If we truly have affinity, I hope you will lend me your strength to succeed in contemplation; if I later gain the ability, I will surely bury you with proper rites."

"Ye Qin gazed at the skeleton before him, settled his mind and breath, his gaze gradually emptied; Buddhist sounds drifted faintly, appearing and disappearing once more."

"This time he quickly entered the state, but the feeling was different from before."

"That chaotic space did not appear, nor the living gray mist; he felt something was missing."

"Could this be a special state? Not every attempt succeeds in entering it?"

"This thought flashed through Ye Qin's mind, then he quickly dismissed distractions and stopped thinking so much."

"The human body has a total of 206 bones, which can be divided into skull, thoracic bones, vertebral bones, limb bones, and pelvis; they are the source of human movement."

"Each bone serves a different function; even the smallest bone has its role and occupies a place in the body."

"The flesh decays, but only the white bone endures, lasting hundreds or even thousands of years without disappearing."

"Ye Qin's gaze moved downward from the skull, then to the chest, where twenty-four ribs were staggered yet orderly arranged, followed by the vertebral bones."

"To see more clearly, he straightened his body; his black, slender snake form resembled a upright branch."

"Had he not worried about giving offense, Ye Qin would likely have coiled around it to examine it more closely."

"Contemplation has no special secret."

"Only talent and patience."

"Those of mediocre aptitude waste time and effort yet see nothing; those of outstanding talent experience the opposite."

"Ye Qin clearly belongs to the latter."

"'White Bone Contemplation, also called Bone-Viewing Contemplation. One should first observe the forehead of the body, flesh rotted away, leaving only white bone. Progressively from narrow to wide, imagine at the head, flesh rotted away, white bone visible; even the whole body, only white bone is seen.'"

"Ye Qin did the opposite."

"The white bone before him already lacked flesh; its skin had long rotted away in the river of time, leaving only this pile of bones floating on the water."

"The mountain cave was dim, with nothing to use for timing."

"It seemed as if only a few seconds had passed, yet also like an entire century; the concept of time became blurred at this moment."

"At first glance, he felt only the gleaming white bone, with nothing different."

"However, the White Bone Contemplation records that in later stages of meditation, a hallucination like a red pearl appears, and all anomalous changes begin from this point."

"This thought had just arisen."

"In Ye Qin's mind, an image of a bead also emerged; as time passed, these bones actually began to emit red light."

"Within the white bony framework—namely, the position of the hair-producing palace—a red bead appeared at some unknown time, flickering in and out."

"The bead was wholly red and lustrous, small yet exceedingly hot, continuously emitting light and heat like a rising sun."

"The red light gradually enveloped the entire skeleton; countless red threads wandered through the white bone, not missing any joint crevices, soon spreading throughout the body and radiating outward."

"Even Ye Qin's own body became enveloped by it."

"The three thousand great worlds, pervading emptiness throughout the Dharma realm."

"Light returns to emptiness, shines back upon the inner white bone; the inner white bone emits light, empowering the outer white bone, illuminating the Dharma realm everywhere."

"The white bones, set off by the red light, constitute what is called the 'White Bone Flowing Light Contemplation'."

Red light spread over everything, countless threads intertwining, like blood flowing gently, as if something were using it as nourishment, growing wildly.

Soon Ye Qin saw a thin, faint membrane, based on the red light, covering the pure white jade-like bone.

The fastest growth was at the two toes, countless threads, continuous and unbroken.

While elsewhere it remained a transparent film, there it had already turned flesh-colored, constantly wriggling, and then joined together.

(End of chapter)