After Jueguang left, Simon sat in meditation peacefully; he had his own views on martial arts.
Ever since he detached himself from the desire realm and entered the form realm, he had developed doubts about the existence of his own form.
He felt that he had a higher level of existence, and that his mundane body was merely a projection of that higher level; his essence was not his current physical body, nor was it some soul, but rather a more advanced system.
He felt that he was an object condensed from primordial qi, brought to life through the hands of time and space, manifesting vigorous vitality.
Heaven has three treasures: the sun, moon, and stars; man has three treasures: essence, qi, and spirit; but in Simon's view, these three treasures were equivalent.
The sun, moon, and stars are all celestial bodies, the matter of the universe. According to the theory of Earth science, matter and energy are two sides of the same thing and can transform into each other. In this way, these infinite stars, the elements that compose them, and the countless planets, asteroids, etc., as well as the elements that compose them, life and non-life, those that have existed or will exist, are all forms of energy, all ripples of the universe, with the same origin, only the sequence of time and the speed of evolution led to differences.
Thus, essence, qi, and spirit are also different manifestations of the same "thing."
Simon could perceive this "thing," but he did not know how to name it.
Laozi, a Daoist, once said, "There was something undifferentiated and yet complete, which existed before heaven and earth. Silent and boundless, it stands alone and does not change. It can be regarded as the mother of heaven and earth. I do not know its name, so I call it the Dao." This was a sage's understanding and grasp of the universe as a whole, calling the evolutionary system of the universe the Dao.
In Buddhism, there is the concept of the Three Bodies, namely the Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya (respondent body). The Dharmakaya is the truth of the Dharma, and also the eternal Buddha-nature in the human heart, being the aggregation of principle and Dharma; the Sambhogakaya is the fruit of cultivating the Dharma, perfect and solemn, being the aggregation of wisdom and Dharma; the Nirmanakaya is the transformed body manifested externally to teach sentient beings, being the aggregation of meritorious Dharma.
This makes things much clearer. In Simon's view, the higher-level "thing" he sensed was probably his Sambhogakaya, while his physical form was gradually becoming the Nirmanakaya.
Sakyamuni once said, "I am an accomplished Buddha, and you are not yet a Buddha, but if you have such faith, the precepts are already complete."
Everyone has Buddha-nature, everyone is a Buddha.
So this Sambhogakaya already exists, and the Dharmakaya is the bridge that leads people to the Sambhogakaya.
Simon suspected that there was an even more profound principle above the Sambhogakaya, but he could not yet touch it.
He sat in profound meditation until before noon, when Mr. Xu came again to lecture, and only then did he slowly awaken.
Xu Ranxue walked in, pushed open the door of the side room, nodded to the children, squinted his eyes, and pulled out a copy of "Records for Elementary Learning" from his sleeve. This was already the twentieth volume. The complete set of "Records for Elementary Learning" was only twenty-four volumes (this differs from reality), and it would be finished in a few days.
"The 'Leakage Clock Sutra' of the Liang Dynasty says: The creation of the leakage clock originated in the time of Xuanyuan, and was propagated during the Xia and Shang Dynasties…" He shook his head and swayed, looking utterly engrossed, but Simon still felt that this "Records for Elementary Learning" was a bit too profound for beginners.
Especially for young children, listening to such content, which lacks musicality and entertainment, can easily lead to boredom.
Therefore, these children had completely stopped paying attention to what Xu Ranxue said ten days ago. Their favorite thing to do now was to gather around Simon and entertain themselves.
Usually it was fine; these children at least had a few who would follow along and learn a few phrases, interacting with Xu Ranxue. But today, even the most curious child had completely lost interest in "Records for Elementary Learning."
This somewhat displeased Xu Ranxue. He closed his mouth, and on his young face appeared an expression that was half anger, half embarrassment. He paced around the room. After a while, he hesitated, then rushed out.
He was gone for half a day.
When he reappeared, it was already the hour of Wei, around three in the afternoon.
Mr. Xu ran over, panting, and several old nannies were startled, "Oh my! Mr. Xu, why are you just arriving now?"
"This humble scholar went to my residence to fetch a book, but I am a bit late." His home was in Jianchuan Town, and although it was at the foot of Mount Song, the mountain roads were steep and difficult to travel. For a scholar like him, going back and forth was a very tiring task.
Ordinarily, even though he always arrived at the detached courtyard at noon, he actually set off early in the morning after eating, and it took him two hours to walk leisurely, so the entire morning was gone.
Although Xu Ranxue was so tired he was almost out of breath, his posture remained proper. Standing in front of the side room, he finally caught his breath, then pulled out a piece of cloth from his bosom to wipe his sweat, and adjusted the square scarf on his head. After everything was in order, he held his head high, pushed the door open, and entered.
After he went inside, the old nannies outside began to snicker, finding him too scholarly.
Inside the room, the monk who had been chanting scriptures had just finished reciting the diamond sutra once. He respectfully bowed to Simon, then smiled at Xu Ranxue, and went out.
Xu Ranxue saw the children lying haphazardly on the couch and clapped his hands to get their attention.
"Alright, from today onwards, this humble teacher shall impart to you little children some principles regarding poetry!" Xu Ranxue looked very solemn, and this infected the giggling, playful children. They all opened their innocent eyes wide and sat up properly.
Simon looked at the beads of sweat that wouldn't stop forming on Mr. Xu's forehead and grinned mischievously. This made Xu Ranxue very uncomfortable, and he turned his back to secretly wipe his sweat again.
"Today, I will teach you about 'Li Weng's Rhyme Match.' You must study hard." Xu Ranxue seemed completely unaware that this group of children lacked basic comprehension skills, and asking them to study hard was merely wishful thinking.
"Heaven matches earth, rain matches wind. Continent matches vast sky…"
As soon as these rhythmic phrases were uttered, the children immediately giggled and began to imitate each other.
Mr. Xu read with increasing joy, his voice becoming more and more resonant, full of emotion, to the point of self-intoxication. Layers of sweat seeped through his clothes, soaking the green robe on his back, but he himself was oblivious. The window of the side room was open, and a slight breeze entered. He quickly began to shiver.
"…The north window facing the wind, the summer fan is put away… So cold…"
Xu Ranxue sneezed heavily several times.
Simon could tell at a glance that he had caught a slight cold, and he would inevitably cough for a period of time after returning home.
"Uh… the teacher is feeling a bit unwell, let's stop here for today." He mumbled something, intending to leave.
"Teacher, please wait." Simon suddenly spoke, which startled Xu Ranxue. He had no idea this child could talk.
"Are you calling me?" he asked hesitantly.
"Of course the Buddha Child is calling you!" A bald head poked through the window, grinning with a mouthful of white teeth. It was one of the eighteen Arhats.
Simon said, "Teacher, if you go back like this, I fear you will catch a cold. Please come over."
Xu Ranxue frowned, then smiled, "So I heard gossip from the neighbors that Shaolin has a Buddha Child. I thought it was an exaggeration, but now it seems, you, little child, are indeed extraordinary." He walked up to Simon and examined him carefully, becoming more and more surprised the more he looked.
"Truly a wondrous appearance."
The Bald Donkey outside the window shouted, "You scholar are too ignorant! You've been with the Buddha Child for so many days, and only now do you see the true Bodhisattva before your eyes?"
Xu Ranxue retorted loudly, "A sage has no name. You can say this child is extraordinary, but to say he is a Bodhisattva is not entirely accurate."
Simon raised an eyebrow. Using Daoist theories to refute Buddhist scriptures, this scholar was truly interesting!
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