Suzanne answered with a smile, "It took you only six months to attain enlightenment. I think it will take Miss Ito two to three years at the most." Ashley gently shook her head and said, "I beg to differ. Nanako is more talented than me. It might take her less time than it did me. Maybe she can succeed within a month." "Really?" Suzanne gasped in surprise, "You think so highly of her." Ashley nodded. "She is more pure than most adults. The purer a person is, the easier it is for them to attain enlightenment." At this moment, Nanako had come to the futon in the hall and sat cross-legged. Then, she closed her eyes, skillfully mobilized her essential qi and divine sense, and entered the introspection realm. Since she had already mastered the entire process of introspection, she easily returned to the Sea of Consciousness. At this point, the Sea of Consciousness was still as calm as before, without any waves. Nanako pushed her divine sense upward. The higher she went, the far
Master Jeevika didn't think much of it when Nanako said she wanted to try again. Nodding in agreement, he suggested, "If you wish to successfully enter the unconscious realm, relinquishing the seven emotions and six desires is the most reliable approach." Nanako was silent for a moment, murmuring, "What's the point of living if one cuts off all emotions and desires?" Without hesitation, Master Jeevika replied, "Only by eliminating emotions and desires can one have the chance to become enlightened and better serve to guide and save others." Nanako shook her head and replied earnestly, "Forgive me for being blunt, but isn't single-minded devotion to Buddha also a form of attachment? And constantly thinking about saving others—isn't that another form of desire? There's certainly nothing wrong with wanting to guide others, but not everyone is dissatisfied with their current life. If someone lives happily and contentedly, what need is there for someone else to 'save' them?" She cont
At this point, a thought suddenly popped up in Nanako's mind. "The Sea of Consciousness is in my body, in my purple abode. So, it should understand me best that I can't give up the seven emotions and six desires. If it still requires me to give up the seven emotions and six desires in order to merge with it, then that itself becomes an insoluble paradox. "Does that mean that my divine sense has no chance of merging with it? If that's the case, I'll never be able to attain enlightenment ever." At that moment, Nanako's divine sense once again fell into the silent and picturesque Sea of Consciousness. The powerful impact smashed her divine sense into the depths of the sea and caused her divine sense to be severely damaged again. The entire sense had no power to resist. Then, the enormous pressure of the Sea of Consciousness swept over her once more and carried her divine sense to the surface of the sea. At this point, Nanako felt a touch of despair—not because two failed attempt
Originally, her divine sense was like a bubble that was pushed to the surface of the sea by buoyancy. Now, her divine sense was being madly squeezed by the Sea of Consciousness. The pressure and buoyancy reached a delicate equilibrium in the sea. Nanako's consciousness was almost completely lost, but at that moment, she still instinctively tried her best to continue diving. The original subtle balance was broken in an instant, and her divine sense began to slowly fall deeper as if it had lost all buoyancy. Her entire consciousness gradually disappeared, and the world fell into a dark silence. After an unknown amount of time, a small spot of light suddenly appeared in the dark Sea of Consciousness. As soon as this light spot appeared, it quickly sank to the bottom. Then, inexplicably, more light spots appeared in the sea. These specks of light began to gather at the bottom of the sea like small cells. Having lost all sense of self, Nanako's consciousness suddenly reawakened.
"It wasn't a hallucination?!" Master Jeevika was shocked. From the moment he had seen Nanako, he knew that she would definitely be able to attain enlightenment and would definitely be faster than he did because of her gifted talent. Among millions of people, there might not be one person who had the ability to attain enlightenment, and that kind of person would never be able to attain enlightenment. But those who had the talent for cognition were just waiting for an opportunity to attain enlightenment. However, since the process of attaining enlightenment was too mysterious and there were almost no rules to speak of, it was unknown when those talented few could obtain the chance to attain enlightenment. Master Jeevika assumed that Nanako should be able to attain enlightenment in a year or two after he informed her of the key to attaining enlightenment, but he didn't expect that Nanako could succeed after just two attempts. Suppressing his shock, he asked, "Miss, you said
Nanako didn't realize that Master Jeevika's Buddhist heart had already changed somewhat. She said seriously, "Perhaps you have a certain deviation in understanding the direction of enlightenment. Although both the purple abode and the Sea of Consciousness are described in Buddhist and Taoist texts, enlightenment is ultimately the realm of cultivators. The Buddhist thought is 'no self', while the Taoist thought is 'true self', which are fundamentally opposites. Therefore, using Buddhist theories to solve the problems of Taoism may itself be somewhat misguided or even misplaced." "If the Taoist thought is 'true self', perhaps it is about allowing the Sea of Consciousness to perceive the realm of 'true self' so that it can merge with my divine sense." "What... I..." Master Jeevika was stunned for a moment. After a while, he gasped in realization, "You have truly enlightened me! I have learned a lot!" "You're too kind, Master." Nanako said hastily, humbly, and respectfully, "I am ble
The blessing of the protective talisman involved the master personally chanting scriptures to imbue the talisman with so-called magical power. Of course, this magical power was not true magical power in the literal sense. It was more about the merits and good intentions associated with it. After Master Jeevika consecrated and blessed the amulet, he gave it back to Nanako and said, "Please keep this amulet. If you are interested, you can study more Buddhist teachings. With your talent, you will be able to understand many principles that modern people cannot comprehend." Nanako knew that Master Jeevika was very obsessed with studying Buddhism, so she nodded and promised, "Don't worry, I'll try to read more." Master Jeevika bowed slightly and thanked Nanako. Nanako bowed respectfully in return and said goodbye to Master Jeevika. Master Jeevika saw her to the door and opened the hall door himself. When the door was opened, several believers were already waiting on the stone st
Decorative lights and illuminants lit up the extravagant Wilson family mansion.Tonight was the 70th birthday banquet of Lady Wilson, the head of the Wilson family.Her grandchildren and their spouses gathered around her to hand her their luxurious gifts.“Grandma, I heard that you love the Chinese tea. I looked high and low for this century-old Pu’er tea worth half a million dollars to present it to you.”“Grandma, you are a devoted Buddhist. This Buddha statue is carved from the authentic Hetian jade, it is worth seven hundred thousand dollars…”Looking at the nicely wrapped gifts in front of her, Lady Wilson laughed heartily. The entire ambiance was harmonious and happy.Suddenly, Charlie Wade, Lady Wilson’s eldest grandson-in-law, spoke, “Grandma, could you lend me a million dollars, please? Mrs. Lewis from the welfare home is diagnosed with uremia and I need the money for her treatment…”The entire Wilson family gaped in extreme shock. Everyone stared at Charlie with bewi