Duo'erna said:
"The first is to reduce your movements, reduce the contact between your Six Roots-eyes, ears, mouth, nose, tongue, and mind-and the outside world, and keep your heart steadfast, without a ripple within. Like a mystic tortoise, purify your mind and curb your desires, and you can attain longevity."
Hearing this method, Qu Zan thought of the old monks who had bestowed the [Lion-Headed Dakini] Empowerment upon him. They spent their days sitting upright in stone houses like burial chambers.
"What pleasure is there in living like that?" Qu Zan said. "Practicing like that is no different from withered wood and dead ashes."
"Pleasure? As a monk, aren't you afraid people will say your mind is restless if you think about pleasure?" Duo'erna teased, revealing an elegant, knowing smile.
"Of course not," Qu Zan said. "Buddha's teachings aren't meant for ascetic suffering.
A practitioner neither wallows in the mundane world, indulging in desire and pleasure, nor flees the mundane world, ravaging his body.
Live in everyday life, live in the present, and comprehend the great Way! That is an experience of happiness..."
Duo'erna paused at his words, then propped up her chin and said, "I only teased you a little, and you threw all those words at me. Which of us is the master here? Who's above whom? Are we listening to you or to me?"
The Jomo's peerlessly beautiful face wore the suggestion of a smile, her vivid red lips pursed in amusement.
"We're listening to you, of course, Master," Qu Zan hastily deferred. "Your knowledge surpasses mine a hundredfold. I was merely adding feet to a snake."
Duo'erna burst into laughter, suddenly like spring blossoms heaped with snow, her radiant beauty beyond description. "All right, enough joking with you. That was the first method.
The second, naturally,