Chapter 4: Who Am I? Discerning Mind and Original Spirit

After five o’clock, all tourists on the Golden Summit descended the mountain, leaving the once-bustling peak quiet and empty.

The empty valley echoed with stillness; birds returned to their nests. In the distance, mist and clouds swirled, faintly revealing rolling mountains—truly carrying a hint of transcendence and seclusion.

Li Yi had long since collapsed into a deep, snoring sleep.

Zhang Fan rested for a while, then wandered alone through the mountains. He had to admit: in a 5A scenic area, enjoying such solitude—even during off-season—was a fool’s dream.

“Hmm!?”

At that moment, Zhang Fan’s peripheral vision caught an old man beneath a towering tree, dressed in ordinary Daoist robes, hunched over with one hand pointing backward, standing utterly still in this bizarre posture.

“Is he practicing cultivation!?” Zhang Fan’s eyes lit up.

He had heard that many famous Daoist mountains indeed housed cultivators; though they didn’t possess the powers of flight, teleportation, or demon-slaying like in films, they could extend life and strengthen their bodies.

“I’ve met a master…”

Zhang Fan’s heart stirred; he hurried forward and approached the old Daoist, humbly asking: “Master, are you practicing cultivation?”

“Finally, someone comes… Young man, I twisted my waist—help me up, quick…”

“…”

Zhang Fan rolled his eyes but still stepped forward to support the old man. The latter rubbed his aching lower back, leaned against the tree, and slowly sat cross-legged.

“Getting old, huh.”

“Master, rest for now.”

Zhang Fan felt a faint disappointment, gave a vague reply, and turned to leave.

“Young man, are you here for tourism—or for the Dao?”

At that moment, the old Daoist’s words made Zhang Fan halt.

“The Dao? What Dao? In this day and age, still someone climbing mountains to seek the Dao and cultivate?” Zhang Fan’s expression turned curious.

“Since ancient times, who doesn’t want to cultivate immortality?” the old Daoist chuckled.

“Immortality…” Zhang Fan offered an awkward smile. Having endured nine years of compulsory education, he naturally didn’t believe immortality was real.

As for cultivation, it was at most a method to strengthen the body.

“Daoist cultivation may be different from what you imagine.”

The old Daoist seemed to see through Zhang Fan’s thoughts and spoke plainly.

“How so?”

“One word: stillness.” The old Daoist whispered.

At these words, Zhang Fan lost interest again. He’d heard this in countless wellness platitudes—life requires calmness to resolve troubles.

“But this holds the secret of cultivation,” the old Daoist grinned.

“What secret?” Zhang Fan asked instinctively.

“Young man, how’s your studies?” The old Daoist abruptly changed the subject.

“Not good.”

“Have you ever studied hard?”

“Well… I’ve thought about it…” Zhang Fan grimaced. Unfortunately, his terminal procrastination was incurable.

“Everyone knows hard work leads to improvement—but when the moment comes, a voice always says: ‘Start tomorrow.’”

The old Daoist droned on, as if speaking to Zhang Fan, or perhaps to himself.

“Which one of you is truly you—the one who tells you to study hard… or the one who says ‘start tomorrow’?”

“This…” Zhang Fan froze, then wore a strange expression: “Who am I, really?”

“All things under heaven are divided into innate and acquired. Humans are no different…”

“The Original Spirit is innate; the Discerning Mind is acquired.”

“The Discerning Mind is formed from acquired knowledge, experience, patterns, and so on…” The old Daoist grinned, revealing yellow teeth.

“Throughout life, it seems you are in control—but in truth, it is the Discerning Mind that rules. The Buddhist call it the seventh consciousness: the Manas consciousness…”

“It rides on the seven emotions, indulges in the six desires—all bad habits like lust and anger stem from the Discerning Mind…”

It automatically categorizes every experience as good, bad, or neutral.

People cling to and anxiously desire the good; they fear and reject the bad. Thoughts swarm, generating emotions that influence behavior. The Discerning Mind consumes one’s essence, energy, and spirit throughout life.

Zhang Fan pondered—it was true. He understood many truths, yet when acting, he always found excuses. This contradiction lived within him, and he never noticed anything amiss.

But now…

The Discerning Mind was like a tyrannical warlord, seizing territory, growing too powerful to control, bullying the isolated sovereign—the innate Original Spirit. Over time, the roles of ruler and minister reversed.

“Daoist cultivation of immortality has a saying: ‘To avoid death, one must first kill someone.’”

The old Daoist spoke again: “The key is to destroy the Discerning Mind and preserve the Original Spirit.”

Zhuangzi said: “When something is born, it dies; when it dies, it is born.”

Once a person is born and enters the acquired world, the Discerning Mind arises—and the Original Spirit falls into stillness. But if the Discerning Mind dies, the Original Spirit is reborn—that is the principle.

“Many Daoist scriptures hide the secrets of cultivation—but ordinary people cannot see through them.”

The old Daoist, watching Zhang Fan’s thoughtful expression, continued: “The Discerning Mind is nearly impossible to perceive in daily life—only when one is plunged into suffering or illness does it become most apparent.”

“Why?” Zhang Fan asked, puzzled.

“Because only in deep suffering do thoughts become most chaotic…” the old Daoist explained.

For example, someone heartbroken generates countless thoughts—obsessing over the past, anxious about the future, producing pain, anger, worry, resentment—emotions that drive behavior, even leading to madness or suicide…

Or, you want to quit masturbation—but a voice keeps saying: “Go ahead, do it.”

That’s the Discerning Mind at work.

The old Daoist spoke softly but firmly: “Throughout history, all great alchemists achieved enlightenment only after major setbacks.”

“The alchemical texts say: ‘To seek immortality, a mortal must pass two gates…’”

Only the emotional gate and the death gate trigger the most chaotic thoughts and strongest emotional fluctuations…

And this is when the Discerning Mind is most agitated.

A single thought arises, and wild thoughts swarm. To slay the demon, you must first see the demon.

At such a moment, if you can maintain stillness and quiet, subduing all chaotic thoughts, you weaken the Discerning Mind. As it fades, the Original Spirit grows.

“Thus, the word ‘stillness’ is the key to cultivating nature.” The old Daoist said calmly.

“Everyone says Daoist scriptures are empty philosophy—just grand, hollow words—but they actually contain methods…”

“The five thousand words of the Dao De Jing contain six words of method…”

“Attain utmost emptiness; hold firm to stillness… When body and mind reach utter emptiness and stillness, not a single thought arises, and the Discerning Mind returns to quiet… then you will see what eyes cannot perceive. When that heavenly light passes through…”

“You will see your Original Spirit—and truly begin cultivating immortality.”

The old Daoist lowered his voice, sounding profoundly mysterious.

“Too bad—modern life moves too fast. Not even cultivating immortality—people under pressure, with scattered thoughts, develop anxiety, depression… even madness.”

As he spoke, a look of compassion for the world crossed the old Daoist’s face. The dust of the mortal realm grows ever murkier—this is the end of the Dao, and the sorrow of those like him.

“Master, how do you cultivate stillness?” Zhang Fan couldn’t help asking.

“Young man, you’ve finally asked the right question.”

The old Daoist seized Zhang Fan’s wrist, his eyes narrowing, revealing a startling gleam.

“True Warrior Mountain Stillness Retreat: discounted price 5,680 yuan, four days and three nights—includes a set of Daoist robes and a Taiji sword…”

“…”

“Sign up now, I’ll give you a 300-yuan discount.”

“…”

Don’t fear sudden concern from strangers—fear sudden silence.

“Uh… Master, I’ve got something to do…”

Zhang Fan pulled away and hurried off, cursing his parents for giving him only two legs—he never imagined he’d encounter a scammer selling courses on a mountain.

“Young man…” The old Daoist watched Zhang Fan’s retreating figure and shook his head.

At that moment, two young Daoists approached from afar. When they reached him, they bowed deeply to the old man.

“Master, the two Tianshi have been waiting a long time.”

(End of Chapter)