Meditation

The booklet's contents were simple: only a few diagrams for entering meditation and regulating one's breath, along with several pages of annotations on the mental method. They briefly explained how to regulate one's breath, still it, enter meditation, cast aside distracting thoughts, and enter a meditative state where self and world were forgotten alike.

After looking through the thin booklet with its few diagrams and lines of text, Mo Hua seemed to want to speak, yet held back.

"Do you think it's too simple?"

Mo Hua nodded, then asked, "Mr. Zhuang, is this only a basic Meditation Method?"

"No." Mr. Zhuang shook his head. "Everything there is to know about the Meditation Method, all its cultivation methods, is contained in this little booklet."

Seeing Mo Hua's confusion, Mr. Zhuang explained further:

"The Meditation Method is simple, yet exceedingly difficult. Its simplicity lies in the fact that every key point of this method is contained in this diagram and these few pages of insights, plain to see at a glance. Its difficulty lies in the elusive nature of the human mind. It is not something you can enter merely because you wish to enter meditation, nor can you forget self and world merely because you wish to."

Mo Hua fell into thought, and Mr. Zhuang continued:

"Take the countless desires of the world. One may claim to see through them, but how many truly can? Some principles seem simple. Those who understand can grasp them with a single glance, while those who do not may spend their entire lives unable to comprehend them. And those who do not understand are often the very ones who believe they do."

"The Meditation Method is the same. If you can truly enter meditation and cast away distracting thoughts, you will naturally learn it quickly. But if your mind is burdened with worries and tangled in stray thoughts, then no matter how you study, you will never learn it."

Understanding dawned on Mo Hua, but then he frowned. "Then if I can't cast aside distracting thoughts, does that mean I won't be able to learn it?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled. "It isn't as difficult as you think. I have used this Meditation Method for many years and have distilled the simplest insight for entering meditation into just one sentence..."

"Let your heart follow nature, and do not deceive yourself."

"Let your heart follow nature, and do not deceive yourself..." Mo Hua murmured quietly.

"Everything in the world is what it is, and so are the thoughts in your own heart. Whether you are restless or calm, violent or despondent, upright or vile—no matter how unbearable it may be, you must accept it frankly. Do not lie to yourself."

"If you can achieve these two things, with a heart like still water and a clear mirror, then you will be able to enter meditation to some extent."

Mo Hua seemed to gain some understanding. He began flipping through the Meditation Method, but after reading for a while, he suddenly asked curiously, "Mr. Zhuang, when the Meditation Method is cultivated to a profound level, does it have any special uses?"

"No. From beginning to end, the Meditation Method can only help you enter meditation and restore Divine Consciousness. At a profound level, it merely lets you enter meditation and restore Divine Consciousness more quickly. And the longer you study it, the better you may not necessarily become."

Mo Hua froze. "You can actually get worse the more you learn?"

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua meaningfully. "You are still a child. What you see and hear, think and feel, is relatively simple. You have few distracting thoughts, so entering meditation may come more easily. But when you grow up, see more of the world's myriad affairs, and accumulate more stray thoughts and worldly desires, entering meditation again may not be so simple."

Mo Hua understood.

Then he thought that his own experiences were not actually so few, considering he retained memories from another life.

But on careful thought, he had only lived into his twenties in that other life, without much worldly experience. In this life, he had lived only ten years. Even the ages of both lives combined were far less than Mr. Zhuang's, and his experience and knowledge were even less comparable. Calling him a "child" was not wrong.

Mo Hua asked curiously, "Then how is your Meditation Method now compared to before?"

Mr. Zhuang pondered briefly. "I began around the age of ten. Once I had memorized the theories of all kinds of Array Techniques and learned nearly all first-grade Array Techniques, I began studying the Meditation Method. I learned quickly at first, and throughout my youth, I only grew more proficient. Often, after drawing an array, I only needed to meditate for the time it took to drink a cup of tea for my Divine Consciousness to become full again."

"When I was young and reckless, my mind was unsettled, so the Meditation Method ceased to improve. Then came the changes and hardships of life, and my state of mind became rugged and uneven. I never truly settled my heart, so this method not only failed to advance, but regressed instead."

"Now that I have grown indifferent to many things, this Meditation Method has become unnecessary as well..."

Mr. Zhuang sounded somewhat wistful. When he came back to himself, he realized he had unwittingly said too much. Seeing Mo Hua still listening as though engrossed in a story, he tapped Mo Hua on the forehead. "Study properly."

"Oh." Only then did Mo Hua gather his thoughts, calm his heart, and slowly begin studying the Meditation Method.

The key to the Meditation Method lay chiefly in casting aside distracting thoughts, clearing the mind, and entering a realm where self and world were forgotten alike.

Following the method described in the Meditation Method, Mo Hua sat cross-legged and calmed his mind, thinking of nothing. Gradually, he entered a meditative state as well.

Once he entered meditation, he truly felt his entire body relax, as though he had broken free from the cage of flesh. His mind opened wide, and the Divine Consciousness he had expended drawing arrays slowly returned, recovering much faster than before.

However, Mo Hua's meditative state was very shallow. Before even the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed, the slightest stir in his thoughts caused him to withdraw from it.

Mr. Zhuang, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them at the sight.

"For your first time, being able to enter meditation to this extent is not bad. Once you become proficient in the future, you need only meditate after drawing arrays, and you will naturally achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhuang!"

Mo Hua was overjoyed. Previously, he could only practice Array Techniques on the stele within his Sea of Consciousness, while his daytime progress in practicing arrays had been slow. Now that he had learned meditation, his Divine Consciousness could recover quickly. Even if his foundation could not compare with those disciples of great clans, diligence could make up for clumsiness. In the future, he might not be much worse than others.

Then Mo Hua asked, "Mr. Zhuang, I understand the Meditation Method now, but what is the Visualization Method you mentioned before?"

Mr. Zhuang reclined leisurely in his bamboo chair. "Take a guess. What is the Visualization Method used for?"

Mo Hua thought for a moment. "The Meditation Method restores Divine Consciousness. Then is the Visualization Method used to strengthen Divine Consciousness?"

"Correct." Mr. Zhuang nodded. "There are no cultivation methods in the cultivation world for cultivating Divine Consciousness. Thus, the great cultivators of ancient times created the Visualization Method to strengthen Divine Consciousness."

"Is the Visualization Method different from cultivation methods?"

"The Visualization Method is a simplified and unstable means of increasing Divine Consciousness, but it is not a cultivation method for Divine Consciousness," Mr. Zhuang said.

"Lingli can be observed and perceived. It can activate Spirit Artifacts and be used to wield Dao Methods, and its pathways can be traced. But Divine Consciousness is different. The Sea of Consciousness has no meridians through which one can observe the paths of Divine Consciousness in motion. Therefore, there is no stable method for cultivating Divine Consciousness."

"The only way to rapidly increase Divine Consciousness is visualization. By contemplating images, words, or ancient objects that contain the rules of the Heavenly Dao or powerful Divine Consciousness, one can assimilate with them to a certain extent and gradually strengthen one's Divine Consciousness."

"But this Visualization Method varies from person to person, and its effects differ for each individual. Visualization Diagrams suitable for cultivation are exceedingly scarce, even among great clans. Therefore, it has not spread widely through the cultivation world and cannot be broadly promoted like cultivation methods as a stable means of cultivation."

"The Visualization Method..." Mo Hua murmured.

Mr. Zhuang hesitated, his expression turning somewhat grave.

"Although the Visualization Method can strengthen Divine Consciousness, it is best that you do not use it. Even if you do, keep your guard up and never rely on it completely."

Mo Hua asked in confusion, "Is it because my talent isn't enough, so I suffered a backlash?"

Mr. Zhuang shook his head. "It has nothing to do with talent. A Visualization Diagram reflects another person's Divine Consciousness, as well as that person's understanding of the Heavenly Dao. In other words, what you visualize is someone else's 'Dao'—or perhaps the 'Dao' of certain nonhuman things. Once Divine Consciousness becomes immersed in it, the consequences are often exceedingly terrifying."

Mo Hua's heart turned solemn.

Mr. Zhuang waved a hand. "It's still too early to tell you these things. You only need to focus on learning Array Techniques. Things like Visualization Diagrams—you may not even encounter them in the future."

Afterward, Mr. Zhuang had Mo Hua practice the Meditation Method a few more times. When the sky gradually darkened, he let Mo Hua return home.