The content in the booklet was straightforward, containing just a few diagrams on entering a ditative state and so pages of ntal techniques that briefly explained how to regulate, stop breath, and enter ditation, and how to abandon miscellaneous thoughts to achieve a state of self-forgetfulness.
Mo Hua looked over the few diagrams and lines of text in the booklet, seemingly wanting to say sothing but hesitating.
"Does it seem very simple?" he asked.
Mo Hua nodded, then asked, "Sir, is this just a basic thod of ditation?"
"No," Mr. Zhuang denied, "All the insights and practices of the ditation technique are in this booklet."
Seeing Mo Hua's confusion, Mr. Zhuang further explained:
"The ditation technique is simple in that all the key points are laid out in these diagrams and pages of insights, clear at a glance. However, the difficulty lies in the elusive nature of human thought; you cannot simply decide to ditate and forget yourself and the world around you."
Mo Hua pondered thoughtfully as Mr. Zhuang continued:
"For instance, the myriad desires of the world—people claim they can see through them, but how many truly can? So truths seem simple, those who understand can grasp them instantly, while those who don’t might never understand in their entire life, and often, those who don’t understand think they do."
"This ditation technique is the sa. If you truly can ditate, casting aside miscellaneous thoughts, then naturally, you will learn quickly. But if you are burdened with heavy thoughts and cluttered with distractions, no matter how much you learn, you will not grasp it."
Mo Hua seed to understand, then frowned and said, "So if I can't cast aside my miscellaneous thoughts, does that an I won't be able to learn it?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled, "It's not as difficult as you think. I have used this ditation technique for many years and have distilled it down to a simple piece of wisdom—'Follow nature without deceiving yourself.'"
"Follow nature without deceiving yourself..." Mo Hua murmured to himself.
"Everything in the world is what it is, as is your own mind, whether it’s restless or calm, cruel or depressed, righteous or despicable, even if it’s unbearable, you should accept it frankly without deceiving yourself."
"If you can achieve this, your mind will be as still as water and as clear as a mirror, and you will more or less be able to ditate."
Mo Hua, enlightened, started browsing through the "ditation Technique." After a while, out of curiosity, he asked:
"Sir, does the ditation technique have any special use when mastered to a high level?"
"There isn’t," Mr. Zhuang replied, "The ditation technique from beginning to end only enables you to ditate and recover spiritual awareness. Even when mastered to a high degree, it rely speeds up the ditation and recovery of spiritual awareness. Moreover, the longer you practice, it doesn’t necessarily an you’ll get better at it."
Mo Hua was stunned, "Can it actually get worse with more practice?"
Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua aningfully, "You're still a child now, your experiences and thoughts are relatively simple, and you have fewer distractions, so perhaps you can ditate more quickly. As you grow older and see more of the world, you’ll have more distractions and desires, and then ditation won’t be so simple."
Mo Hua nodded in realization.
He thought about his own experiences, which weren't few, considering he had mories from another life.
But thinking about it, he was only in his twenties in his previous life, and not very experienced. This lifeti was just a decade more. Even combined, he was much younger than Mr. Zhuang, and his experiences couldn't compare. Being called a "child" wasn't wrong.
Mo Hua, curious, asked again, "Then sir, how is your ditation technique now compared to before?"
Mr. Zhuang thought for a mont, "I probably started when I was over ten years old, had learned various array theories, and was quite proficient in high-grade arrays. I then began learning the ditation technique, and initially, I learned it very quickly. During my youth, the technique continued to improve, often after drawing an array, a re tea-ti ditation would suffice to replenish my spiritual awareness."
"When I was young and impetuous, my thoughts were unsettled, so my progress in the ditation technique stalled. Later, through many upheavals and a troubled state of mind, I didn't settle down to ditate, and my proficiency regressed."
"Now, many things seem less important, and I hardly need the ditation technique anymore…"
Mr. Zhuang felt nostalgic, but realizing he had been talking too much, and seeing Mo Hua still engrossed as if listening to a story, tapped Mo Hua on the forehead and said, "
Study hard."
"Oh," Mo Hua then cald his mind, focusing on studying the ditation technique.
The essence of the ditation technique was to cast aside miscellaneous thoughts, to clear the mind, and to enter a state of self-forgetfulness.
Mo Hua followed the thods described in the "ditation Technique," sitting quietly and thinking of nothing, slowly entering a state of ditation.
After entering the state, he truly felt relaxed, as if he had escaped the physical constraints of the body, his mind suddenly felt broad and open, and the spiritual awareness he had used up drawing arrays was gradually recovering, faster than before.
However, Mo Hua's ditative state was shallow; not even lasting the ti it takes to drink a cup of tea, his thoughts drifted slightly, and he exited the ditative state.
Mr. Zhuang, who had been ditating with his eyes closed, noticed this and opened his eyes, saying:
"For your first ti reaching this level, it's quite good. Once you master it, after drawing arrays, just ditate and you'll accomplish much more with less effort."
"Thank you, sir!"
Mo Hua was thrilled, previously he could only practice arrays on the stele in his sea of consciousness, and his progress during the day was slow. Now that he had learned to ditate, he could recover his spiritual awareness quickly, and even if he didn’t have the background of those noble family disciples, his diligence could make up for it, and he might not be inferior to others in the future.
Mo Hua then asked, "Sir, I understand the ditation technique now, but what about the visualization technique you ntioned earlier?"
Mr. Zhuang, lying leisurely in a bamboo chair, said, "Guess, what is the visualization technique used for?"
Mo Hua thought for a mont and said, "The ditation technique is for recovering spiritual awareness, so is the visualization technique used to enhance spiritual awareness?"
"Exactly," Mr. Zhuang nodded, "In the cultivation world, there are no techniques for cultivating spiritual awareness. Ancient cultivators created the visualization technique to strengthen spiritual awareness."
"Is the visualization technique different from other techniques?"
"The visualization technique is a simplified, unstable thod that can enhance spiritual awareness, but it is not a cultivation technique for spiritual awareness," Mr. Zhuang explained.
"Spiritual power is tangible and can be used to activate spiritual weapons and practice techniques, it follows ridians, but spiritual awareness is different, there are no ridians in the sea of consciousness, and there is no stable way to cultivate spiritual awareness."
"The only way to quickly enhance spiritual awareness is through contemplation. Contemplation involves patterns, text, or ancient objects containing the rules of Dao or powerful spiritual awareness. To so extent, you can assimilate with them and gradually strengthen your spiritual awareness."
"However, the effects of the visualization technique vary from person to person, and the diagrams used for practicing the technique, even in those large noble families, are extrely rare, so it has not spread widely in the cultivation world and cannot be promoted as a stable cultivation thod like other techniques."
"Visualization technique…" Mo Hua murmured.
Mr. Zhuang hesitated for a mont, his expression slightly serious:
"Although the visualization technique can enhance spiritual awareness, you better not use it, even if you do, be cautious and not completely rely on it."
Mo Hua asked, puzzled, "Is it because my talent is insufficient, so it might backfire?"
Mr. Zhuang shook his head, "It has nothing to do with talent. The visualization images reflect others' spiritual awareness and their understanding of the Dao. In other words, what you visualize is soone else's 'Dao', or perhaps, a non-human 'Dao'. Once your spiritual awareness becos imrsed in it, it can lead to very dire consequences."
Mo Hua felt a chill in his heart.
Mr. Zhuang waved his hand, "These things are still too early for you to worry about. You just need to focus on studying arrays. You might not even co across such diagrams in the future."
After that, Mr. Zhuang had Mo Hua practice the ditation technique a few more tis, and as the evening approached, he let Mo Hua go ho.
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