Xie Xiyi's gaze fell on their clasped hands, and for the first time, a trace of worry surfaced.
As a genius who had long been designated the Anuttara Buddhist Sect's Future Buddha-son, he was naturally exceptionally gifted in the Buddhist path, quite apart from the prophecy that even the sect's venerables acknowledged.
He possessed an innate advantage in the nature of emptiness and nothingness.
He had been born with little curiosity. Though he appeared gentle and kind-a consequence of practicing the Xie Clan's cultivation method-he was cold within, indifferent to emptiness and nothingness, and thus had far fewer karmic ties and connections.
Those unburdened by karmic ties and connections were best suited to Buddhist cultivation. Without the convergence of karmic causes and conditions, there was less karmic sin, fewer heart demons, and clarity within the heart. The first was permanence, the second impermanence; Buddha-nature was neither permanent nor impermanent, and thus was unbroken, called nonduality. The first was good, the second not good; Buddha-nature was neither good nor not good, and this was called nonduality.[2]
This was his advantage in internal cultivation: he existed in an exceptionally subtle yet exceptionally balanced state, and thus cultivated the Anuttara method with extraordinary speed.
It was an innate state others could scarcely attain, yet he had possessed it from birth.
But after discerning the Love Threads within himself, he could likewise discern the harm they brought-
With affection came desire.
Desire meant wanting to obtain, wanting to possess, even wanting to possess and occupy forever, and from this arose the poison of greed.
The poison of greed would gradually spread into the five poisons of the heart: greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, and doubt.
This was the fundamental reason his cultivation realm was falling so rapidly.
Even when he entered Deep Meditation, the greed-poison