identity? What status? I was stunned for a moment. In my mind, my master was just a lazy master who was willing to be mediocre despite his abilities. Could it be that he had some other identity
But even though I was only ten years old, and I was the kind of child who was not sensitive at all, when I saw Old Man Jiang talking about it so seriously, I still thought of some things, including the mysterious hotline my dad called, and the little boy in town. Regarding the courtyard, and the vigorous tomb relocation work, the township leaders actually promised to give me work points. Unfortunately, I thought that all of it would be borne by Old Man Jiang.
I had not thought about these things in detail at first, but now they suddenly came to my mind, and I really felt that my master was mysterious.
"Although I like Xianyun Yehe, I work for the country." Old Man Jiang said.
"Working for the country?" I looked at him doubtfully. The country's workers and farmers are just as lazy as him, and they are afraid that the country will not be able to build up. I really didn't see him doing anything serious.
"Strictly speaking, when the country wants me to take action, as long as it is a positive matter, I will take action. My condition at that time was that I would never do anything for anyone alone, and would only do things related to the national economy and people's livelihood. Take action." After all, I was just a kid, so Old Man Jiang explained to me as plainly as possible.
"But..." I couldn't turn my head. "But... didn't we destroy the four olds in the past few years?"
"Those who destroy the four old shackles are not people with real ability. There were too many liars in the past, which made the people ignorant, and people with real ability could not be cultivated. There was a mixed bag of good and bad people, and there were even some people with ulterior motives. These things It’s too complicated. Moreover, Taoist metaphysics is like a sharp knife. Do you think a sharp knife can be given to bad people to play with? Can it be given to children to play with? "
"Am I just a child?" That's not good. I'm about to become the target of breaking the four olds.
"This is a metaphor!" Old Man Jiang said angrily, "Just like many people are ignorant of worldly affairs, just like children who suddenly learn one or two moves, they can easily be instigated. Do you understand? And there are too many restrictions in metaphysics. Compared with science, it is not easy to transform into productivity. As long as a small number of people with real skills can help look after the country, and help handle some things, do not cause panic among the people, and let the people live a good life. Such."
I nodded in understanding and asked, "Master, your official position is very big?" Anyway, I saw that everyone in the courtyard was respectful to Master, and I also saw that the township leaders came forward.
"This... In fact, power in the world is useless to me. I will slowly tell you some things in the future, more details about my identity. You are still too young now, so just remember that I will do things for the country. ." Old Man Jiang thought about it for a long time before telling me this.
"Then Master, why do you want to help the country? Didn't you say you like to be free and easy?"
"Of course Taoists must follow the path and help those who attain the Dao. You have read the "Tao Te Ching" for so long and don't understand it? Besides, this is the order of your master. He has already said that in the future we will The place where disciples settle down and establish their lives is to help the current government, because they are those who have achieved the great truth in the world, and they also represent the country! Doing things for the family and the country is a great virtue and a great kindness." Old Man Jiang said it simply and stopped mentioning it. this topic.
And I only have a simple idea. My master values accumulation of virtue.
Since then, my daily homework has become even more arduous. I can no longer copy or read the Tao Te Ching. It took me three and a half years to read and write it. Even if I want to, I can’t forget it. As for being able to What you realize is your own business.
But I no longer read or copy the Tao Te Ching, but suddenly there are a lot of things for me to memorize. The first is the complicated formulas about drawing talismans. I used to think that the Tao Te Ching was extremely obscure and difficult to understand, but these formulas For me, it is the real 'Book of Heaven'.
Old Man Jiang would not let me write these formulas on paper. When he taught me, he also passed them on directly orally, down to each word. The formula for the entry-level talisman is relatively simple, usually only 4 sentences, but the How to pronounce it, what its specific meaning is, it can make people’s heads explode.
"Each type of talisman corresponds to a different formula. You have to understand its meaning deeply, and this is just an introduction. In addition to the formula for drawing the talisman, each type of talisman also corresponds to the formula for forming a talisman. Some of them are recited silently in the mind. Some words need to be recited, some words need to be read out loud, hey... please pay attention to the sentence segmentation and which word the key point of pronunciation is." This is how Old Man Jiang responded to my complaints. Usually the final result is me Be punished.
God knows how much I wanted to do the actual operation and draw a talisman myself to see the effect, but Old Man Jiang just glanced at me: "You silly boy with no skills, the drawing is just a piece of waste paper, give it to me Go practice."
Yes, practice!
From that day on, what I want to practice is no longer a simple self-cultivation method, but a real 'cultivation'. This cultivation is not the art of immortality that the world understands. Maybe it once was, but it is indeed far away now.
To put it simply, I started to practice real qigong. Old man Jiang once told me that those who have achieved great success in practicing qigong eat their breath. The breath has its own spirit, and the most advanced breathing method is the fetal breath method. technique.
I almost fainted when I heard it. First of all, I couldn't accept not eating, drinking only the northwest wind, and even if I was asked to act like a god, I wouldn't do it. Second, what is the technique of fetal breath? To put it bluntly, you don’t need to breathe through your mouth and nose, but use your body’s skin to breathe in the natural air, the vitality of heaven and earth. Internal Qi flows through the acupoints. As soon as I thought about it, I felt that it would kill me.
Faced with my emotions, Old Man Jiang found it very funny: "Gua Wa'er, you are thinking too much. This breath-taking Qi is the vitality of heaven and earth, but it is different from the Yin and Yang Qi of breathing through the mouth and nose. How far can you reach that level? If you can reach that level, I will cook for you every day. As for the art of fetal breath, occasionally you can reach that level for half an hour, which is good. You have perfected the art of turtle breath for me in this life, but you haven’t seen it. Do all tortoises live particularly long?"
"I have reached that level, and I still need you to cook for me? I drink air every day, no, no, the vitality of heaven and earth will be fine? Master, are you kidding me?" After a long-term battle of wits and courage with Old Man Jiang, I have concluded He has rich experience in struggle, and I knew the flaw in his words as soon as I heard it.
"That's right, then I'll make you angry." Old Man Jiang chuckled.
"How to make Qi? Can it be stir-fried? Can it be steamed? Can it be stewed with wild pigeons?" I said disdainfully.
"Why can't you do it? Why don't you just let me fart for you every day? Isn't fart just a breath of gas?" Old Man Jiang raised his head and said proudly.
I was about to meditate and practice Qigong, and I almost had a mouthful of blood from my throat. I endured it again and again, and my face turned red. Come on, come on, just treat it like I owed this cheap master in my previous life!
However, it was just fun, and when I actually practiced, Old Man Jiang was more nervous than anyone else. Although he had repeatedly explained to me the unique secrets of our lineage of Kung Fu, and explained them in detail. He also taught me his experience, but he was still nervous.
This qigong is not a joke. If you are not careful, you will practice it wrongly or even go crazy. It is understandable that Old Man Jiang is nervous. Therefore, Taoist discipleship is very important. Without the guidance of a master, unless you are very talented and powerful, ordinary people People must not try it lightly.
Just getting started with qigong is already very difficult. I spend a lot of time on it every day, but it is very slow to get started. The first level I have to pass is the sense of qi. The sense of qi is a very erratic thing. Before 'It', I could only rely on thinking to move Qi. This thinking is simple to say, but focusing all my mind on one thing is very energy-consuming. When I first started, I often couldn't do it for half an hour. You will feel dizzy and want to vomit.
Faced with this situation, Old Man Jiang often encouraged me: "Your talent is already high enough. When I first started, I would lose concentration after less than ten minutes of thinking. If I continued to do it forcefully, it would be even more nerve-wracking. Take your time, my apprentice is very powerful."
This encouragement contains deep friendship, and the feeling of protecting one's shortcomings is even stronger. I often sigh, in fact, my master is very good to me, and I am often very touched. Of course, at these times, I must try not to When I think of him being a naughty guy, like letting me eat his farts or something.