Questions of the Spirit Path

The other party suddenly shifted from small talk to the main topic, which caught Li Qi off guard for a moment, but he immediately realized that all the previous stories were just a prelude.

Ultimately, Lingdao has encountered the same problem as Li Qi did back then.

Wang Dun continued, "The Demon Race of the far north live in a bitterly cold land and cannot obtain enough material sustenance year-round. Therefore, the most common way for them to get through the winter is to gather together and listen to the elders of their tribe preach. This has also led them to develop a characteristic of not caring about material enjoyment but focusing more on spiritual enjoyment."

"However, after separating from the body for the first time, they encountered a problem: although the spirit can exist on its own, it cannot perceive itself. To be precise... the spirit can only perceive itself. Li Qi, do you understand?" Wang Dun looked at Li Qi and asked.

"Of course I understand. I've thought about this question before." Li Qi smiled.

This is indeed a problem. The spirit can only perceive and exist on its own, but it cannot confirm the existence of other spirits. This is also the basis for the birth of the demonic path.

The demonic path focuses on self-perception and self-existence, to the point of completely ignoring the existence of other spiritual entities. This is why the demonic path always does incredibly absurd things, because they don't care about the feelings of other spirits.

All of this is because the mind only has the ability to perceive itself, not the ability to perceive the outside world; only matter has the ability to perceive the outside world.

Each of us can intuitively perceive, from a first-person perspective, that we have spiritual experiences.

However, when the self looks at others, it's like Li Qi looking at Wang Dun. Li Qi can only see Wang Dun's body and confirm his existence materially, but he cannot feel Wang Dun's inner experience or confirm Wang Dun's spiritual existence.

This is what is known as the asymmetry of mental perception, one of the essential attributes of the mind.

In the past, the Daoist True Man Nanhua discovered this point, which led to the assertion, "You are not a fish, how do you know the joy of fish?" and the question, "Was it Zhuangzi dreaming of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of being Zhuangzi?"

Each of us is necessarily someone else, and therefore inevitably incapable of perceiving anything other than ourselves, which is an immense difficulty for the pure spirit.

"This almost caused the Spirit Path to completely merge with the Demon Path, nearly leading to a major disaster. Fortunately, the Spirit Path eventually found a way to observe other minds, which is now the 'Dao Rule Reader'."

"With the 'Dao Rule Reader,' the Spirit Path can clearly perceive the existence of other spirits and the existence of the material world. Thus, this thing becomes the eyes, ears, and other senses of people in the Spirit Path, as well as evidence of the existence of others, in order to maintain the stability of the Spirit Path."

"As for those of us with physical bodies and senses, we don't need this thing, and it's meaningless to us; it's just an unnecessary waste," Wang Dun said, shrugging.

At this point, Wang Dun immediately asked, "So, Li Qi, can you tell me why you possess the Dao Rule Reader? You're using this to replace your physical senses. Why is that? It doesn't seem to fit your identity as Shaman at all."

But Li Qi did not answer the question. Instead, he said, "We'll talk about that later. May I ask, Brother Wang, how does this Dao Rule Reader work? How can it confirm the existence of the outside world?"

"You already have the Dao Rule Reader, don't you know that yourself? Of course, it's through verifying the Dao," Wang Dun said matter-of-factly.

"In the mind, only pure thought and logic can exist, but these things that reside in pure logic can have a wonderful correspondence with the real material world, which is enough to prove the strange connection between mind and matter, isn't it?"

Li Qi nodded in agreement.

Pure logic can indeed miraculously reflect the material world, such as mathematics.

In mathematics, things that are a priori can always be reflected in the material world; anything that is true in mathematics can basically be true in the material world.

This is the mapping relationship between logic and the world. Ultimately, the world follows logic, even if logic itself is not perfect.

Seeing that Li Qi understood this point, Wang Dun continued to explain, "So, it's very simple. If logic can map to reality, then you only need to understand logic and then map it to reality to understand the essence of the real material world. This is the Dao Rule Reader. The reason it's called this is because the Lingdao believes that the Dao is logic, and logic is the Dao."

"If the world operates according to logic, such as the existence of causality, then logic is undoubtedly a priori and guiding. If such a thing cannot be called the Tao, then what can be called the Tao?"

"If such a thing can be called the Tao, then it must conform to the rules of logic. As long as it is verified and communicated logically, it is natural to observe the minds of others and confirm their existence, isn't that right?"

Wang Dun said this.

Li Qi then fell into deep thought.

After thinking for a while, he suddenly realized and then clapped and cheered!

I see!

That's wonderful, absolutely wonderful!

The principles of Tao can be likened to language.

A language must conform to certain rules in order to be understood. If it is a so-called private language, that is, a purely subjective feeling, without any rules, you will not be able to understand it even after a while. Therefore, such a thing is incomprehensible and cannot be communicated.

Once a language has rules, those rules must be public. If you can understand it yourself, it can in principle be understood by others, so it is not a private language.

This method of proof by contradiction proves that the so-called private language does not exist; it is impossible for a language to exist that, in principle, can only be known by myself and cannot be known by others.

In other words, there cannot be a 'Tao' that only I can understand and that others cannot understand.

When we use language, or something else like mathematics and principles, to express our inner feelings, it must adhere to a set of linguistic rules. It must be public and understandable to others. Otherwise, if a language cannot be understood by others, we ourselves will not understand it either.

The significance of this language, or the principles of communication, lies not in its reflection of our hidden inner beliefs, but in its being an activity, a practice. The meaning of language lies in its usage in practice.

This kind of communication based on principles is a manifestation of behavior. We use language to report and describe, and language is always a manifestation of action, an activity, and a practice.

All activities and practices must be implemented in a practical manner, and there is no room for doubt.

Therefore, questioning whether other people's minds exist is not an object of cognition or a subject of theoretical discussion.

It's pointless to raise such questions.

For example, if you put forward the skeptical argument that other people don't actually have a mind, then who do you expect to listen to this skeptical argument?

You say that other people may not have a soul, that they are all puppets, or that they are all reflections of your own inner self. So when you ask other people this question, are you expecting these puppets to listen and explain it to you?

If that's your expectation, then aren't you already subjectively assuming that others have the ability to answer questions and think critically?

Or, from someone else's perspective, you are a puppet who may not have a mind. So, to me, this question is posed by a puppet, a puppet saying that we are puppets.

Therefore, this is not worth paying attention to.

Such skepticism renders all communication between people meaningless.

Therefore, we can trust others through 'language' or, in other words, the Dao, and use others to guarantee the objective reality of this world. Although the inaccessibility of the other's inner world cannot be eliminated, an absolute a priori self is not the entirety of the objective world, because this has been proven by the logic of the Dao.

Li Qi suddenly realized and exclaimed, "Wonderful!"

This exchange deepened Li Qi's understanding of the information flow perspective by a significant level.

So that's how it is.

This single conversation gave Li Qi a new understanding that he could certainly apply next time!

Traveling really does broaden your horizons!

"Alright, alright, let's go back and digest this slowly later. Li Qi, let's talk about why you have the Dao Rule Reader. This thing can't be made using Shaman Path." Wang Dun smiled and calmed Li Qi down, then asked the question again, this time with added emphasis.

Clearly, he was starting to have doubts about Li Qi's previous attempts to get away with things.

"Haha, now that my doubts have been resolved, I might as well tell Brother Wang that this Dao Rule Reader also came from a similar predicament," Li Qi said with a smile, feeling very pleased.

He obtained a second weapon to fight against the Heavenly Demon!

The Heavenly Demon is the ultimate solipsist, which is also the essence of the demonic path. "Everything in the world is a projection of my spirit, and everything in the world has no meaning except for me."

The Heavenly Demons used this to create the 'Desire Realm,' an existence that encompasses all of reality.

Now, the Spirit Path has provided an answer that confirms the existence of other spirits. Although the Heavenly Demon may have a thousand ways to refute this answer, it doesn't matter. As long as Li Qi has this answer in his heart, that's enough.

"A similar predicament? What do you mean?" Wang Dun asked, puzzled.

"It is like this, I once had a strange encounter, and was accidentally stained by a drop of Five Aggregates Demonic Blood..." Li Qi began to tell his story.

"Contaminated with the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood? How can you still be alive?!" Wang Dun was shocked!

He survived after being tainted by the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood; what kind of formidable person is he?

Do you know what kind of existence the Five Aggregates Demon is?

The Four Demons of the Demonic Path.

The leader is naturally the Mara of Self-Transformation, who can manifest all sorts of terrifying and strange forms to terrify practitioners at night. He may also display the five exquisite desires to disturb bodhisattvas, or he may transform the hearts of worldly people into great offerings. If practitioners become attached to these offerings, they will lose their Dao heart. He is a demon of illusion.

The other three demons are, in order:

The Affliction Demon the 180 kinds of afflictions in the body, which can disturb the minds of sentient beings, steal their wisdom and life, and prevent them from achieving enlightenment.

The Death Demon, which takes away people's lives and causes death, can cause all beings to lose their four elements and perish prematurely, thus preventing practitioners from continuing their wisdom life.

Five Aggregates Demon five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness are the accumulation of the suffering of birth and death. This cycle of birth and death can rob sentient beings of their wisdom and cause them to suffer various obstacles.

The Four Demons are the nightmare of countless cultivators, destroying the Dao heart of countless people. They are all true giants in the demonic path, wandering the heavens, spreading demonic thoughts, and countless worlds have fallen into their hands, unable to extricate themselves.

If a drop of blood from the Five Aggregates Demon were to fall on a seventh-rank person, it should dissolve them completely, causing their body and mind to fall into ruin and never be able to be reborn. How could they possibly stand up and laugh with people like that?

Let alone the seventh rank, even the fourth or fifth rank wouldn't be able to find a way to survive.

"Brother Wang, you flatter me. That is not the real Five Aggregates Demonic Blood, but purified Five Aggregates Demonic Blood that has lost its activity. Although it is still dangerous, its power has been greatly reduced," Li Qi quickly explained.

Black Heaven holds Kapala Bowl containing the blood of the Four Demons. He often drinks this blood from the bowl, symbolizing his power as Guardian Spirit of Buddhism to suppress demons.

What Li Qi came into contact with was a drop of blood that had spilled from this bowl.

"Purified? Impossible! What powerful being has the ability to purify the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood? That's the Five Aggregates Demon! Who could have such an ability?" Wang Dun didn't believe it.

Li Qi uttered three words:

"Black Heaven".

Upon hearing the words "Black Heaven," Wang Dun was speechless, unsure of what to say next.

Finally, he could only bow and say, "Brother Li's extraordinary experience is truly admirable."

"Getting back to the point, anyway, after I came into contact with that drop of Five Aggregates Demonic Blood, my Five Elements were clouded, and I lost all perception and the ability to observe matter," Li Qi said.

"I can understand, but... how did you manage to survive such a desperate situation? Did you develop this Dao Rule Reader from scratch yourself, or did you accidentally receive its inheritance?" Wang Dun asked curiously.

He has fully understood.

Li Qi had also come into contact with pure spirit, and even created the Dao Rule Reader himself.

"It's not like I'm starting from scratch. I had some ideas about pure spirit before, and that time it just forced me to do research in that area again," Li Qi said modestly.

Wang Dun was filled with respect. "To think that you really started from scratch, Brother Li is truly amazing. With such talent, would you do me the honor of coming to my association and telling us fellow practitioners how you did it back then? Don't worry, my association is located in East Isle, and Brother Li will certainly be rewarded!"

"I have already benefited greatly from my conversation with Brother Wang today. If we can truly exchange ideas, what harm is there in sharing a bit more? No payment is required. I should be preparing boats on East Isle for the next few days. I am available whenever you are free." Li Qi readily agreed.

The two chatted happily, as if they had known each other for a long time. Neither of them suspected the other of lying. They made an appointment for their next meeting and then said goodbye.

However, as soon as he turned around, Li Qi's expression darkened.