Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul.

Chapter 14 The Old Celestial Master's Guidance

Lu Jin took out a Nokia high-end mobile phone, which was the most popular at the time.

I opened the Penguin app, which had only recently launched its mobile version.

I clicked on a cartoon old man image and started typing.

Old man, there's something I need to ask you...

The line of text had just been typed out when Lu Jin deleted it.

When you need someone's help, you have to be polite, otherwise this old man will take advantage of you.

Li Chang'an stared blankly at Lu Jin, who was rapidly pressing the nine-key keypad. He never expected that someone of his age could be so adept at using these novel gadgets.

This phone, which is practically an antique compared to later generations, might not be as easy for him to operate as Lu Jin.

After Lu Jin typed out the situation,

The other end sent a message, first affirming Lu Jin's words, and then saying that he preferred speaking to typing.

"That big mouth..." Lu Jin thought to himself, then dialed a number.

Soon, a gentle, calm, and slow-paced voice came from inside:

“Little guy, your idea is very bold, but it is indeed correct. You have already grasped the core secret of cultivating both body and mind, which is to use the body to govern the mind.”

“To shape the false self in the outside world according to one’s own self is called ‘borrowing the false to cultivate the true’ or ‘transforming consciousness into wisdom’ in spiritual practice.”

"This is a truth that only those who have walked a long way in the path of life and death can understand and put into practice."

"For someone so young to have grasped this point is truly remarkable. You are a promising young talent."

"Old Celestial Master..." Upon hearing this voice, Li Chang'an immediately knew who was on the other end, but instead of greeting the Old Celestial Master, he respectfully said:

"Thank you for your guidance, senior. Although I just said that I would shape myself according to my true nature, I am really at a loss when it comes to actually doing it."

The old master said, “It’s normal to be clueless, because although you have realized your true nature, it is actually like what an infant sees—incomplete. Your experience of your true self is fragmented and discordant.”

"You only know the person in the mirror, not the real you, but you can't understand what your complete, real self is really like?"

"Without relying on external mirrors, one can gradually uncover one's true self. This is why Taoism refers to cultivation as 'cultivating truth'."

"Then may I ask, senior, how does one cultivate immortality?" Li Chang'an asked.

The old master smiled and said, "Don't seek externally. Seeking externally is the false self, while seeking internally is the true self. The key lies in the word 'seek'."

"Many practitioners regard the outside world as a raging flood or a ferocious beast, so they like to retreat from the world to cultivate themselves, but this actually falls into another kind of delusion."

"You fear that worldly desires will shape you, but isn't that a form of shaping yourself in itself?"

"Therefore, my advice to you is to stand on the shoulders of our ancestors to cultivate immortality."

"Our ancestors left us, their unfilial descendants, with many wonderful things, the most precious of which are their thoughts."

"You can use the thoughts they left behind to see yourself in the light."

"If you feel that something aligns with your true self, then absorb and keep it; if it doesn't, then discard it."

"Human nature is similar, but habits differ. Human nature is similar. Even if you can't distinguish between your true self and your false self, you can still guess correctly by following the natural instincts cultivated by our ancestors.

"The more you are confused, the more genuine you become. The more genuine you are, the more you can see of yourself. Gradually, you will repair and reveal more of your true self."

Li Chang'an listened attentively to the cultivation texts written by other Taoists. The texts were full of esoteric theories about the primordial spirit, the conscious spirit, the three souls, the seven spirits, nature, and life. But when the old Celestial Master spoke, it was very simple and straightforward, and he could understand it immediately.

Immediately, he thought of the Shangqing School of Maoshan. He remembered that the story said that Maoshan's illustrious reputation was mostly not earned by legitimate Maoshan Taoists, but by unorthodox Maoshan people.

The proper high-ranking Taoist priests of Maoshan are extremely low-key and self-disciplined, even rigid. They do not like to study all kinds of magic tricks, but prefer to study the classics and cultivate their character.

Are these high-ranking Taoist priests of Maoshan, just as the Old Celestial Master said, building their true selves on the shoulders of their ancestors?

The old master continued, "If you cultivate this true self completely and thoroughly, in Buddhist terms, that is cultivating your true nature; in Confucian terms, that is utmost sincerity; and in Taoist terms, I prefer to call it your ancestral nature."

Upon hearing this, Li Chang'an had a sudden thought and said, "Senior, I saw a line in Lu Zu's 'Song of Knocking on the Divination Lines' that says, 'If you only cultivate your ancestral nature and not your elixir, your Yin spirit will find it difficult to become a saint even after countless eons.' Is this the ancestral nature you're referring to?"

The old master laughed and said, "Young people are so clever, that's right, it's their ancestral nature."

“Lu Zu’s definition of ancestral nature is: ancestral nature is the innate spark of spiritual light, the face before birth.”

"It is not a state of being; it is simply your truest self, a clear mirror without any pollution."

"In the words of a monk, it is neither born nor dies, neither defiled nor pure, neither increases nor decreases."

"Wouldn't cultivation progress be incredibly rapid under such conditions?" Li Chang'an asked.

The old master laughed loudly: "In this state, even without cultivation, one will make rapid progress every day."

"To travel a thousand miles a day without cultivation..." Li Chang'an's heart stirred. Traveling a thousand miles a day without cultivation—isn't that just like Feng Baobao?

Moreover, her childlike state of being without self, good or evil, beauty or ugliness, right or wrong, corresponds precisely to the characteristics of one's ancestral nature "before birth."

So this is what it's like after cultivating one's ancestral nature...

However, Feng Baobao's ancestral nature was not something she cultivated; it was something she passively acquired, and she couldn't control it well.

Besides Feng Baobao, are there other people who have cultivated their ancestral nature?

Li Chang'an looked at his phone. If there was one, it should be the old Celestial Master, who was as shrewd and reserved as Feng Baobao.

With his cultivation goal suddenly grounded in reality, Li Chang'an's mind, which had been floating in the air, also settled down.

He bowed to his phone and said, "Thank you for your guidance, senior. I will always remember your kindness."

“Little one, given the relationship between your great-grandfather and me, I’m just being polite. Let me remind you, while understanding can be sudden, practice must be gradual. Everything needs to be done step by step, otherwise it’s easy to go astray.”

"I will certainly remember this!"

The old master exclaimed, "Old Lu, you've been searching for decades, and you've finally found a good prospect! Most importantly, he's started on the right path. His future achievements will be something you can brag about!"

Chapter 15 The Old Celestial Master's Principles

Lu Jin said irritably, "Do you think I'm like you, always bragging?"

"I never brag; I always tell the truth."

The old master chuckled, "Little fellow, you don't know about your great-grandfather yet, do you? Let me tell you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Lu Jin hung up the phone. She couldn't let this big mouth talk about her dirty secrets in front of her precious great-grandson.

Lu Jin was furious when she thought about her own scandals.

Gossip and scandals in the industry change every few years, and nobody remembers them at all.

However, his past misdeeds, which occurred eighty or ninety years ago, are still brought up from time to time, ruining his lifelong reputation.

Ultimately, it's because Zhang Zhiwei has such a big mouth; he always says something new and never gets old.

Li Chang'an stared at the scene with a blank expression, then asked, feigning ignorance:

"Grandpa, what did that old senior want to say?"

"That old man always talks nonsense, who knows what he's trying to say?"

Lu Jin put away her phone and reminded him, "You can trust this old man when he's being reasonable, but don't believe a single punctuation mark in his nonsense."

…………

…………

On the other side, Longhu Mountain.

The Celestial Master's Mansion, inside the Celestial Master's private residence.

This is a simply furnished quiet room. On the wall hangs a painting of Lao Tzu leaving the pass, with light and simple brushstrokes. Under the window sits an old wooden desk with several scrolls of scriptures on it. Several futons are spread on the floor, and there is nothing else.

A tall, elderly man sat cross-legged on a prayer mat. His hair and beard were all white, his face was thin, and there was a vertical line between his eyebrows. He wore a gray-blue Taoist robe and had a calm gaze.

This is Zhang Zhiwei, the 65th Celestial Master of the Celestial Master's Mansion.

"That old Lu..."

The old master reluctantly put away his phone. "Would hanging up have been useful? We'll see about that later."

"Master, who were you talking to on the phone just now?" A white-haired boy sat on the futon next to him.

The young man was fair-skinned with a head of white hair tied back, and had delicate features. He wore a Taoist robe that looked somewhat loose, sat upright, placed his hands neatly on his knees, and looked at the old Celestial Master with a serious expression.

“Lingyu, you’ve met Lu Jin before,” the old Celestial Master said.

"Is that the senior who was beaten to tears by the master?"

“It’s him,” the old Celestial Master laughed. “He took on a disciple who has some insights into enlightenment and some extremely bold ideas. But this old fellow doesn’t practice his cultivation properly and comes to me when he has problems.”

The old master sighed, "However, this old fellow is truly an honest and kind man. Even when faced with the sudden whims of a junior, he takes them seriously."

“To understand one’s true nature,” Zhang Lingyu said. “Master, I often observe my mind when I meditate.”

The old master smiled and said, "The mind that calms the mind and observes the mind is not the same as the mind that understands the mind and sees the nature of the mind."

Zhang Lingyu was taken aback: "Is there a difference?"

The old master said, “When we sit in meditation and observe our mind, this mind is not the mind of enlightenment. This mind represents thoughts and troubling ideas.”

"When this idea comes to mind, it's like this: Fatty Zhao from the company is going to inspect the work this afternoon, and I'm going to invite him to dinner."

"But after thinking about it, I felt that Fatty Zhao had a big appetite, so it wasn't worth it to treat him to a meal. It would be better to just buy him a cup of tea."

"After thinking about it again, drinking tea is too much trouble. It would be best if this fat guy didn't come."

"These thoughts jump around one after another; that's how the mind is."

"And we need to see clearly that when one thought runs away and the next thought hasn't come yet, there is a void in between."

"Maintaining this emptiness in the middle is called entering into meditation and observing the mind, and this is the first step to realizing one's true nature."

"The purpose of observing the mind is to prepare for action. When you are practicing, you observe these thoughts without trying to suppress them or doing any special effort. Just observe them quietly."

"Slowly, one thought goes and another hasn't come yet. This middle period is what we call tranquility and non-action. In tranquility and non-action, it is easiest to see one's true nature."

The old celestial master smiled and said, "Lingyu, cultivating and entering a meditative state is actually a very simple matter."

Tranquility and inaction are states that all cultivators dream of. Master actually said it was so simple. Master is indeed a master... Zhang Lingyu listened attentively on the surface, but sighed inwardly.

After recounting Versailles' words, the old master realized what he meant and added:

"It's such a simple thing, but some people always overcomplicate it and can't stop overthinking, so our ancestors invented a method."

"That is to recite scriptures when you are in meditation. When you recite scriptures, you don't have time to think randomly, and you become more peaceful. But even so, it's still not quite right."

After saying that, the old master looked at Zhang Lingyu, whose face was serious: "Lingyu, did you understand what your master said?"

"Master, I understand!" Zhang Lingyu came to her senses and nodded her little head repeatedly.

"Did you really understand?" the old master asked again.

"I really understand," Zhang Lingyu replied earnestly.

The old master smiled and said nothing more.

Then Zhang Lingyu asked, "If that's what the mind is, then what is nature?"

You're asking about sex?

The old master laughed and said, "If we're just talking about sex, we now call relationships between men and women sex. But Lingyu, you must remember, this sex doesn't mean you should have relationships with men and women, but rather the sex of self-cultivation."

"Master, I remember, I will definitely not have any romantic relationships." Zhang Lingyu nodded solemnly with a serious expression.

"Hey, Lingyu, your master was just saying that casually. You don't have to be so serious. We're all from the same sect, so there's nothing wrong with having romantic relationships."

“Master, I understand!” Zhang Lingyu nodded solemnly again.

The old master smiled helplessly and said, "When we talked about nature, we cultivators, no matter which method we use—whether it's chanting scriptures, reciting mantras, or meditating—are all taking the most basic path of cultivating our nature. But many people still can't cultivate their nature well!"

"To cultivate one's character, one must first understand one's nature. People often say that someone has a bad personality, but what exactly is the nature of personality?"

There are two interpretations. One is that this person's acquired habits are bad, just like a flower that needs bad soil.

"You could also say that your innate habits are bad, which is malicious, meaning that you are inherently evil."

"The nature of enlightenment is actually seeing one's innate habits. Only by finding these previous habits can one cultivate one's nature."

"Many people fail to cultivate their sexuality because they have misunderstood the root cause. Innate sexuality is the root, while acquired sexuality is the soil. If you ignore the root and only focus on the soil, frantically watering and fertilizing it, you won't even realize that the root is being rotten."

After speaking, the old Celestial Master looked at Zhang Lingyu:

"Lingyu, did you understand?"