Chapter 4: Who is me? Consciousness spirit, primordial spirit

After five o'clock, the tourists on the Golden Summit all went down the mountain, and the originally lively mountain top became cold and clear.

The empty valley was secluded, birds returned to their nests, and in the distance, clouds steamed and mist surged, faintly revealing the undulating mountains, which truly had a taste of transcending the world and avoiding the world.

Li Yi was already fast asleep from exhaustion.

Zhang Fan rested for a while and then strolled around the mountain alone. It had to be said that wanting to enjoy such a private booking in a 5A-level scenic spot, even in the off-season for tourism, was a pipe dream.

"Hmm!?"

Just at this moment, Zhang Fan caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that not far away, under a towering tree, there was an old man wearing Daoist casual clothes, bending over and arching his back, one hand pointing backward, standing still in such a strange posture.

"Is this practicing martial arts!?" Zhang Fan's eyes lit up.

He had heard that there were indeed many Daoist priests practicing in many famous Daoist mountains. Although they wouldn't possess the power to fly, escape the earth, or subdue demons and monsters like in movies and TV shows, they could still prolong life and strengthen their physique.

"This is meeting a high-level master..."

Zhang Fan's heart moved slightly, and he hurriedly stepped forward, walked to the side of the old Daoist priest, and asked humbly: "Daoist, are you practicing martial arts?"

"Finally someone came... young man, I twisted my waist, hurry and help me up..."

"..."

Zhang Fan curled his lips, but still stepped forward to help the old Daoist priest. The latter rubbed his old waist, leaned against the big tree, and sat cross-legged slowly.

"Getting old."

"Daoist, you rest first."

Zhang Fan was faintly disappointed, responded casually, and turned to leave.

"Young man, tourism, or seeking the Dao?"

Just at this moment, the old Daoist priest's words made Zhang Fan stop in his tracks.

"Seeking the Dao? Seeking what Dao? In this day and age, is there still anyone going into the mountains to seek the Dao and practice?" Zhang Fan revealed a look of curiosity.

"Seeking longevity through cultivation since ancient times, who doesn't want that." The old Daoist priest smiled.

"Li Changsheng..." Zhang Fan revealed an awkward smile. Having received nine years of compulsory education, he naturally wouldn't believe that there was true longevity in this world.

As for cultivation, it was at most a method of strengthening the body.

"Daoist cultivation might be different from what you think."

The old Daoist priest seemed to see through Zhang Fan's thoughts and broke it in one word.

"Is there anything different?"

"One word to remember: Stillness." The old Daoist priest whispered.

Once this was said, Zhang Fan became even less interested. He had heard in many health-preserving chicken soup articles that one must be calm and peaceful in life to get rid of troubles.

"There is a secret to cultivation hidden inside." The old Daoist priest grinned.

"What secret?" Zhang Fan asked subconsciously.

"Young man, how are your studies?" The old Daoist priest changed the subject and suddenly asked a question that had nothing to do with it.

"Not great."

"Have you ever been diligent and hardworking?"

"This... I have thought about it..." Zhang Fan curled his lips, but the damn late-stage procrastination was indeed an incurable disease.

"Everyone knows that being diligent and hardworking will make one better, but when it comes to the moment, there is always a voice saying, let's start tomorrow..."

The old Daoist priest muttered, as if saying it to Zhang Fan, and also as if saying it to himself.

"The you who tells you to be diligent and hardworking... is it you? Or is the you who tells you to start tomorrow... the real you?"

"This..." Zhang Fan was stunned, and immediately revealed a strange expression: "Who is me?"

"Heaven gives birth to all things, there is a distinction between innate and acquired... people are the same..."

"Primordial spirit is innate, consciousness spirit is acquired."

"The so-called consciousness spirit is the knowledge, experience, laws, etc., formed by acquired learning..." The old Daoist priest grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Living in this world, it seems that you are the one in charge, but in reality, it is the consciousness spirit that is in charge. The Buddhist sect calls it the seventh consciousness, the Manas consciousness..."

"It floats on the seven emotions, indulges in the six desires, and all the bad habits of being lustful and angry come from the consciousness spirit..."

It will automatically divide the things it encounters into good, not good, and neither good nor bad.

People will be greedy and anxious about good things, and fearful and repulsive about bad things. Various thoughts fly around, thereby producing different emotions, affecting people's behavior. The consciousness spirit consumes people's essence, energy, and spirit for a lifetime.

Zhang Fan thought thoughtfully, it was indeed so. He understood many principles, but when it came to actually doing them, he always found various excuses for himself. Such contradictions gathered in one body, and he didn't feel anything wrong while in it.

But now...

The consciousness spirit is like a warlord who is arrogant and domineering, occupying one side, unable to be controlled, bullying the isolated monarch above, which is the innate primordial spirit. Over time, the status of monarch and subject will be reversed.

"Daoist cultivation for longevity has a saying: if you want a person not to die, you must let a person die."

The old Daoist priest's words sounded again: "The key to it is to extinguish the consciousness spirit and preserve the primordial spirit."

Zhuangzi said, just born just die, just die just born.

Once a person is born and comes into contact with the acquired, the consciousness spirit is born, and the primordial spirit enters silence. But if the consciousness spirit dies, the primordial spirit is reborn, which is the principle.

"Many Daoist classics hide the mysteries of cultivation, but ordinary people can't see through them."

The old Daoist priest looked at Zhang Fan's thoughtful appearance and continued: "In daily life, the consciousness spirit is extremely difficult to detect. Only when one is deep in suffering, illness, and poverty is it most manifested."

"Why?" Zhang Fan asked, puzzled.

"Because people only have the most distracting thoughts when they are deep in suffering..." The old Daoist priest explained.

For example, if someone breaks up, she will have countless thoughts, dwelling on the past, anxious about the future, producing pain, anger, anxiety, grievance, and various other emotions. Emotions affect behavior, and some even go crazy and commit suicide because of this...

Or for example, you want to quit masturbating, but there is always a voice saying do it, do it.

This is the consciousness spirit making trouble.

The old Daoist priest whispered in a low voice: "Since ancient times, all great masters of alchemy have suffered major setbacks before they were delivered and understood how to become immortals."

"The alchemy books say, mortals seeking immortality fall into the red dust; they must pass two trials to hear the Dao..."

Only in the trial of love and the trial of life and death are people's thoughts the most chaotic, and emotional fluctuations the most intense...

This is also when the consciousness spirit is the most restless.

One thought arises after another, delusional thoughts fly around. If you want to kill the demon, you must first see the demon.

At this time, if you can guard the center and enter stillness, subduing the chaotic thoughts, it is like consuming the power of the consciousness spirit. As one grows and the other wanes, the primordial spirit is gradually born.

"So the word 'stillness' is the key to practicing nature cultivation." The old Daoist priest said lightly.

"The world says that Daoist classics are all empty thoughts, just false, big, and empty, but in reality, there is a methodology inside..."

"In the five thousand words of the Dao De Jing, the methodology is just six words..."

"Reach the extreme of emptiness, guard the stillness firmly... when the body and mind are empty and still to the extreme, not a single thought arises, and the consciousness spirit returns to stillness... you will be able to see many things that eyes cannot see. When that heavenly light shines through..."

"You will be able to see the primordial spirit and truly begin to cultivate longevity."

The old Daoist priest lowered his voice, appearing extremely mysterious.

"It's a pity, the pace of life for people now is too fast. Let alone cultivating longevity, those with high pressure, chaotic thoughts, will also have various anxiety disorders, depression... even mental illness can be created..."

As he spoke, a look of compassion for the world appeared on the old Daoist priest's face. The red dust is becoming more and more turbid, this is the end of the Dharma for cultivation, and it is also the sadness of people like them.

"Daoist, how to practice this word 'stillness'?" Zhang Fan couldn't help but ask.

"Young man, you finally asked the point."

The old Daoist priest grabbed Zhang Fan's wrist, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a terrifying essence flashed.

"Zhenwu Mountain Stillness Cultivation Class, discounted price 5680, four days and three nights, including a set of Daoist casual clothes and a Tai Chi sword..."

"..."

"Sign up now, and I'll give you a discount of three hundred yuan."

"..."

Not afraid of a stranger's sudden concern, just afraid of the air suddenly becoming quiet.

"That... what... Daoist, I have something to do..."

Zhang Fan turned and left, only wishing his parents had given him two fewer legs. He never dreamed that he would encounter a scammer selling courses on the mountain.

"Young man..." The old Daoist priest looked at Zhang Fan's departing figure and couldn't help but shake his head.

Just at this moment, two young Daoist priests walked over from a distance. When they reached him, they bowed deeply to the old Daoist priest.

"Patriarch, the two Celestial Masters have been waiting for a long time."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 5 =====