The Great Sage

Ren Qushun said that among the "eight items," "rectifying the mind" and "cultivating oneself" are closely related to the Confucian Vast Righteous Qi.

The so-called "rectification of mind" is the foundation of cultivating virtue, and also the prerequisite and basis for cultivating Vast Righteous Qi and gaining wisdom and energy.

"Rectifying the mind" encompasses many meanings. In addition to the content introduced by Confucianism, it also includes eliminating greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and suspicion; establishing loyalty and filial piety; cultivating kindness and compassion; having courtesy and a desire to educate others; having equanimity in all things; and having a kind and harmonious heart towards all things, etc.

It also includes understanding and discerning things, and one must always maintain "right view," "right knowledge," and "right action."

At the same time, we must overcome biases (i. e., looking at problems from one perspective), subjective opinions, personal views (opinions based primarily on one's own knowledge), limited perspectives, and dogmatic approaches to problems.

Whether it's the Confucian method of cultivating qi or other forms of self-cultivation, it all emphasizes right view and upright intention.

If one's mind is misguided, demonic obstacles will arise during the cultivation process, which is what was mentioned earlier as going astray in cultivation.

Having made the initial aspiration, the next step is a quote from the Great Learning: "Knowing where to stop, one can then be resolute; being resolute, one can then be calm; being calm, one can then be at peace; being at peace, one can then deliberate; deliberating, one can then attain."

The six steps of cultivating Qi mentioned here—"stopping, settling, stillness, peace, contemplation, and attainment"—should be practiced in sequence.

First and foremost, one should "know when to stop." The so-called "stopping" refers to calming the mind, also known as regulating the mind to enter a state of tranquility.

Regulating the mind to enter a state of tranquility involves regulating the voice, body, and mind, in order to achieve a state where the voice, body, and mind cease.

The purpose of regulating the voice (also called regulating the breath) is to stop the sound, that is, to achieve even breathing, so that it is deep, long, continuous and without any sound.

The purpose of body adjustment is to achieve body stillness, which means relaxing the whole body without any tension in any part of the body. There should be no discomfort or discomfort throughout the body, and all meridians and acupoints should be relaxed without any throbbing or shaking.

The key to stillness of the body is relaxation. When the mind is calm to a certain degree, the body's Qi will move along the meridians.

If any part of the body is not relaxed, it will affect the flow of Qi and the circulation of internal Qi, causing bodily movement.

The purpose of regulating the mind is to achieve mental stillness. "Mental stillness" means stopping distracting thoughts and eliminating all mental activity.

The second stage is "concentration," which is the second stage or level of cultivation.

The Confucian concept of "stillness" is similar to the Buddhist concept of "tranquility," referring to a stable and sustained state of mind.

"Quietness" refers to the third stage or level of cultivation.

The Confucian concept of "stillness" is similar to the Buddhist concept of "concentration," which refers to the continuous cessation and concentration of the mind to a certain depth, reaching a state of complete forgetting of self and external things, and eliminating the thoughts of the past, present, and future.

"Peace" Freedom to a state of ease and harmony, a pleasant feeling that arises in the mind and body upon entering the fourth level of cultivation. The pleasant feeling in the heart is called "joy," and the pleasant feeling in the body is called "happiness" (at this time, the yin and Yin and Yang within the body combine to generate joy and happiness). The joy and happiness of the mind and body together are called "peace" or harmony (referring to the harmony of Yin and Yang within the body), which Buddhism calls "Freedom." The continuous deepening of this feeling of joy and happiness is called "great Great Ease," which Buddhism calls "Great Freedom," and this meditative state of mental and physical joy is called "joy and Joy and Bliss Born of Seclusion" and "Joy and Bliss Born of Concentration."

"Contemplation" is also the fifth stage or level of Confucian cultivation. As the depth of mental stillness increases, one reaches the state of "when the mind is extremely still, Qi moves; when Qi is extremely still, the spirit moves," and a white light envelops oneself, which is called "brightness." This forms a situation of "when stillness reaches its extreme, light penetrates; when silence illuminates, emptiness is contained." This process of light penetration is called "contemplation" in Confucianism, which means "bright light shines, contemplating the mind." Buddhism calls it "awakening" or "observation" (the arising of awakening when the mind is still is called observation).

"Attainment" refers to the development of spiritual power, thereby gaining an understanding of the essence of heaven and earth (i. e., virtue), and acquiring wisdom and energy that ordinary people do not possess. This is the ultimate goal of Confucian self-cultivation and qi cultivation, while Buddhism refers to this stage as "wisdom."

Ren Qushun spoke at length and with great care. Su Ziyang listened with great interest.

It's not hard to tell from Ren Qushun's words that Ren Qushun current level is at least at the awakened state.

If it weren't for this, it would be impossible to explain things so thoroughly.

"Xiao Su, Xiao Su, look what I've got for you!"

Mr. Mengfei suddenly appeared out of nowhere, carrying a black fur ball in his arms.

"Huh?" Mr. Mengfei was taken aback when he saw Ren Qushun's expression. "Great Sage, what are you doing?"

Haha, just chatting casually with these two kids.

Ren Qushun chuckled and gestured for Mr. Mengfei to sit down.

What's making you so happy?

"I found a double-barreled hunting dog for my apprentice."

Mr. Mengfei placed the fluffy ball in his arms into Su Ziyang's hands.

Su Ziyang took a look and saw that it was actually a puppy. Moreover, it was pure black, looking like a lump of Coal Briquette from a distance.

"Wow, so cute!"

Fairy Li took the whimpering puppy into her arms.

"Is this young friend your disciple?" Ren Qushun had no idea about Su Ziyang's relationship with him, only that he came from a Daoist temple on the mountain.

"Ah! Quickly, Su Ziyang, kowtow to the Great Sage! Don't miss this opportunity! He's the Great Sage of our time!"

Mr. Mengfei kept calling him a great sage, and Su Ziyang realized that the middle-aged man in front of him might have reached a level of cultivation that was beyond his imagination.

Su Ziyang listened attentively to his master's words. He stood up and kowtowed.

Ren Qushun startled.

"Oh, that's so honest. No, no, no, don't bump into it."

Ren Qushun dodged to the side.

"Hehe, you've even kowtowed. Great Sage, quickly teach my disciple a move or two. Show off your most treasured techniques."

Mr. Mengfei, with ill intentions, chuckled as he looked at Ren Qushun.

"I've basically finished teaching him everything. Your apprentice has a high level of comprehension. I'll pass on a gradual method to him."

When Mr. Mengfei heard that Su Ziyang was listening to the gradual method, his expression changed instantly.

"Huh? What's going on? Why didn't you choose a pause method?"

"I chose it myself, Master!"

Su Ziyang scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

"Very well. You only get one chance, so let it be a gradual approach. This is your fate! Great Sage, how about we go to the Daoist temple for a meal?"

Mr. Mengfei seemed quite regretful and invited Ren Qushun to dinner.

Ren Qushun naturally refused, because he still had to treat someone's illness later.

Having learned a great deal, he bowed deeply to Ren Qushun once more and then left with Mr. Mengfei.

"Master, this person was quite interesting today."

Su Ziyang said this while climbing the mountain.

"Hmm, that's interesting. It's rare to see someone who practices Confucianism, and his words also contain a lot of Buddhist principles. This person must be a practitioner of both Confucianism and Buddhism. That's why I call him the Great Sage."