Qin Shi: I went astray in the Heavenly Sect

Chapter 19 Enlightenment: Things Have No Value

"Uncle Master, what's wrong?"

On the back of Mount Taiyi, Chisongzi saw Beimingzi suddenly stand up with a somewhat solemn expression and couldn't help but ask.

"It's still a bit too fast."

Bei Mingzi looked towards the foot of the mountain, his expression slightly complicated.

Upon hearing this, Chisongzi felt a strange sensation. Although Beimingzi's words were irrelevant, he had a feeling that Beimingzi was talking about his junior brother Qingxu.

"Is that Junior Brother Qingxu?"

Bei Mingzi nodded, then he took a step forward, his figure swayed slightly, and then disappeared from the spot.

Upon witnessing this scene, Chisongzi stroked his beard and sighed.

"I didn't expect that my martial uncle's cultivation level has improved again."

"And Qingxu, slow is fast, and fast is slow. This is the first time I've heard this principle from my uncle."

"The younger generation is truly formidable!"

At the foot of the mountain, on a wooden covered bridge, Bei Mingzi suddenly appeared. Standing on the bridge, he looked at Qingxu from afar.

Qingxu was sitting cross-legged on a blue stone by the stream, looking peaceful, as if he were fast asleep, with a wisp of water flowing around him.

The stream flows gently, its sound like the music of nature, soothing the mind and calming the soul.

But the next moment, Bei Mingzi's brows suddenly furrowed. He was somewhat surprised to find that the current of the water here seemed to be the same as the current of the water surrounding Qingxu.

"Is it imitation?"

Bei Mingzi was not quite sure. Although Wan Chuan Qiu Shui and Xin Ruo Zhi Shui were related to water, their core was not imitation.

Within the illusion, Chen Xiuyuan moved with the person's gaze. As time passed, he traversed mountains and rivers, and traveled through the mortal world, his heart fluctuating accordingly.

The path to enlightenment is a complex process, a transformation of one's mind and spirit. The principles are simple and easy to understand for everyone, but very few can actually apply them in practice.

It is said that lessons from other mountains can be used to improve oneself, but in reality, very few people can apply what they have learned to other situations. This is because without personal experience, the principle may remain just a principle, rather than a practical action.

Some say that enlightenment is a process; if we can take things up, we can certainly put them down.

If you let go, you will attain enlightenment.

Pick up and put down – four simple words, spoken lightly, but when a person actually picks it up, how difficult it is to put it down.

If the Dao were so easy to obtain, there would be no such lament as "Seeking the Dao is difficult, more difficult than ascending to heaven."

"What is Tao?"

It seemed like a murmur, and the world changed again. Chen Xiuyuan turned his gaze, and all the worldly affairs became past clouds and smoke. Looking back, the river was still there in front of him.

"From the perspective of the Dao, are things without value or baseness? Are people without value or baseness?"

This is a quote from Zhuangzi. Upon browsing through the Tianzong Collection of Books, Chen Xiuyuan almost instantly recalled the source, but it differed from the content of the book.

However, the book seems to only mention "things have no inherent value" and not "people have no inherent value".

Thoughts churned in my mind, and images flashed through my mind: the myriad aspects of human life. We were all children, yet some fished by the stream, some chatted with learned scholars, some wielded swords to kill, and some lay dead in the wilderness. Are people truly without distinction of rank?

From an ordinary person's perspective, it seems that everyone's future achievements are determined at birth. In this era, the sons of feudal lords were destined to become kings, while the children of commoners seemed destined to remain commoners, with no possibility of rising in rank. An invisible class system divided people into different classes. For example, the rites advocated in the Zhou Dynasty distinguished the chariots used by kings, feudal lords, and officials, as well as the number of horses pulling them. Even the dances performed in welcoming ceremonies differed.

People in this era seem to accept this set of rules: people are divided into noble and lowly classes.

But what if we look at it from the perspective of Tao?
Whether one becomes a king, a renowned minister, or simply a commoner tilling the fields, it makes no difference in terms of attaining enlightenment.

Everyone has their own path. A king has his own path, a famous minister has his own path, and a commoner also has his own path. Their identities are different, but the paths they achieve are different.

If a ruler wants to achieve his ideals, he may need to lead his subordinates to expand the territory, dedicate himself to reform, and make the country prosperous and the people strong.

To achieve one's goals, a renowned minister might need to bring peace and stability to the country, offer advice and strategies, and ensure that the people under his jurisdiction live in peace and prosperity.

The way of the common people is even simpler: plant seeds, harvest grains, support parents and raise children, and have enough to eat and wear.

Some might say that the monarch's position is high and mighty, and that a single word can determine life and death. The paths to enlightenment achieved by countless different identities are not equal, and there are distinctions of superiority and inferiority.

But the Way is the Way. When the common people plant seeds and harvest grain, they have already attained the Way. When famous ministers realize their ambitions, they also achieve their own Way. As for the king, even if there are millions of corpses, what does it matter? If he has not attained the Way, he will never attain the Way.

Looking at the small to see the big, compared to attaining immortality, does the way of a ruler seem insignificant? Compared to living forever and looking down upon the world, is the way of a ruler also so trivial?

Things have no inherent value, and so do people.

With this thought in mind, Chen Xiuyuan looked at the turbulent river again, but his gaze was no longer the same as before. If viewed from the perspective of the Dao, water is water, seawater is water, river water is water, stream water is water, water is just water, there is nothing different about it.

Outside, Chen Xiuyuan's aura suddenly changed, as if he had the intention of embracing all rivers and returning to the sea.

Bei Mingzi's gaze sharpened slightly. He had naturally practiced Wan Chuan Qiu Shui, the top internal skill of the Heavenly Sect, but he had never seen or heard of such a state of mind.

The person was still the same person, and the stream was still the same stream, but at this moment, Bei Mingzi felt that things were different now compared to before.

The spring water gurgles and flows, as if time has stood still; the mountain breeze rustles the leaves, bringing another kind of harmony.

Just then, Bei Mingzi's heart skipped a beat.

"From the perspective of the Tao, things have no inherent value. I am like flowing water, or a river, or even the sea. In a year, I can ascend to heaven in a single step. How admirable and lamentable!"

Bei Mingzi looked at the stream of water beside Qingxu. The water flowed steadily and calmly, without any change due to the mountain wind.

The same applies to the flow of streams.

But one thing is certain: the mountain wind is an external force, so how could the stream not change?
At first, the water around Qingxu did indeed resemble the flow of a stream.

But at some point, the stream no longer flowed with the heavens and earth, but changed according to the changes in the water flow beside Qingxu.

The water beside Qingxu was no longer just a trickle of water; it was more like the confluence of countless rivers, or perhaps Qingxu himself had become that vast ocean.

Nothing is inherently valuable or worthless; water is water. A stream of water is water, and a vast ocean is also water. A stream of water can naturally also be a vast ocean.

"Do you understand it?"

In the illusion, Chen Xiuyuan suddenly heard these words and subconsciously looked up, only to see that the Taoist was looking at him.

His heart tightened, but then he shook his head.

"Disciple has learned."

(End of this chapter)