Thank you to "Happy Luoba", "Drunk Moon Autumn Chill", and "Phantom Dragon Soul" for the donations! I am very grateful for your continued support despite the slow update schedule.
Thank you so much "Drunken Moon in Autumn Chill" for becoming the leader! You're so kind!
To be honest, eye pain really affects my mood. I have that fear of death or disability that most people have, and with this achievement, it's even worse. And to be honest again, the support of my friends is the only motivation that keeps me writing. My ability to keep going is actually a result of encouragement from kind friends, haha.
I want to learn from Lin Yao's "worldly engagement"—who cares about the rules? I'll write whatever I want, as long as I've separated it with lines. If it annoys me, it's none of my business.
My eyes are much better, and they don't hurt today, but I still need to be careful. So I don't plan to increase the update speed to over 9,000 words; I'll try to keep it at 6,000. Time is precious, and I have to squeeze in some time. I know you guys won't mind too much, since there are so many books on Qidian, haha.
Lately, I've been listening to music the most; "Ailifu and Sanam" is a good song.
Have fun, everyone!
For the latest and fastest chapters, please visit <NieShu Novel Network www.NieS>. Reading is a pleasure, and we suggest you bookmark it.
Chapter 163 Entering the World
Please remember our website domain name <www.NieS>, or search for "NieShu Novel Network" on Baidu.
“To cultivate oneself without personal desires, whether for the sake of the Way of Heaven or the Way of Humanity, and to immerse oneself in the turmoil of the mortal world, is to enter the world.” Xiaocao’s voice spoke gently. “Cultivating oneself, nurturing virtue, and helping the world are the standards for entering the world. Only in this way can one improve one’s state of mind, become closer to the universe, and enhance one’s skills.”
Lin Yao listened attentively, and when he saw that Xiao Cao stopped after saying a few words and didn't continue, he couldn't help but ask, "What else?"
"That's all, that's all." Little Grass uttered the words that surprised Lin Yao, and was somewhat annoyed by her words.
After a while, Lin Yao replied with some complaint, "It was too insightful, I didn't understand much of it."
"That's all I know. I don't need to cultivate like you. It's already good enough that I can hear some of it." Xiaocao's voice was a little aggrieved, which made people feel sorry for her. "Anyway, the first stage is to feel, to feel the mortal world, and to act according to one's nature."
"Oh." Lin Yaoxin thought to himself, "That's more like it. That's how you guide cultivation. The previous sentence was too vague; it was just padding out the word count. So, what about the second stage?"
“I also know about the second stage, but you don’t need to know it now. Knowing the standards beforehand will not help your cultivation.” Xiaocao said in a teacher’s tone, “After I tell you how to do the second stage, you may be eager to achieve quick results and act rashly. I will tell you about it later. I’m going to rest for a while now.”
It turns out that my increased power is a result of my recent impulsive behavior. Revealing my identity as an angel to Gan Mei, undermining Shen Ruohua's power, and today's attack on organized crime and assault—these actions are very different from my previous compromising attitude and way of doing things. Perhaps it is precisely because of this that I have unconsciously come into line with the mindset of the first stage of entering the world, which has led to a breakthrough in my cultivation.
"Alright." Lin Yao thought to himself, "You go and rest, I'll search online, okay? If I need anything, I'll ask Baidu. It's much nicer than you, old man." "You're going into seclusion?"
"It's not seclusion. Now that I've reached a certain level of integration with the spirit stone, I don't need to go into seclusion so often. It's just that integrating with Timo takes more time," Xiaocao revealed her ultimate goal.
"Timu? You ate it?" Lin Yao suddenly realized that he hadn't felt the Earth Mother's aura recently, so he asked this question.
“This…” Xiaocao’s voice hesitated, “Don’t use the word ‘eat,’ use ‘integrate.’”
“But it won’t exist after fusion, so it’s the same as eating it.” Lin Yao said casually, thinking that even Xiao Cao couldn’t escape the same fate. The attitude that stealing books is not stealing can also be reflected in her. It seems that any intelligent creature will have a natural sense of guilt for stealing other people’s things and will always find a reason to comfort itself.
It was still early before dawn, so Lin Yao simply started playing on his computer. He needed to contact the "light bulb" (a nickname for a hacker) to see what this top Chinese hacker wanted. It was impossible not to be curious about such a leading figure in the industry.
Lin Yao did not use the internet access service provided by the hotel. He felt it was better to use an anonymous wireless network card. For hackers, the IP address used to access the internet can expose a lot of information, especially since he was about to face China's number one hacker.
I downloaded a file shredder online and shredded all my personal files on my HP laptop. Then I used the system recovery disc provided by the manufacturer to restore the laptop to its factory settings. Only then did I temporarily apply for a free 163 email account and send an email to the light bulb, without caring that the time was not the agreed 10 o'clock.
Baidu, what does "joining the WTO" mean?
Entering the world means taking the grudges, conflicts, gains and losses, interests, relationships, successes and failures, right and wrong in real life as the basic principles for acting and dealing with people.
When a person becomes too deeply involved in worldly affairs, over time, they become blinded by their own involvement, getting bogged down in the trivialities of life, placing too much emphasis on practical benefits, focusing on reality, and being bound by prejudices. They find it difficult to transcend and view problems calmly and comprehensively, thus hindering their ability to achieve great things. At this point, a sense of detachment from worldly affairs is needed.
To be detached from worldly affairs means to respect life and objective laws, to give one's all while also going with the flow, to treat people with a peaceful mind and to approach tasks without demanding perfection. It means to have a broader perspective, a longer view, and a more detached view of certain things. Only in this way can one eliminate selfish thoughts and distractions, and by using this detached spirit to engage in worldly affairs, one will achieve twice the results with half the effort.
On the other hand, if a person lives in this world only by remaining detached from it, only by observing coldly, only by being intolerant, only by being aloof, only by being detached from worldly affairs, and only by being unwilling to do anything practical or engaging with the world, in the end, they will only "waste their youth in vain." This is just like trying to lift oneself off the earth by pulling on one's own hair.
Lin Yao's search for "entering the world" yielded a large amount of information, which also brought up the concept of "leaving the world," because he considered himself to be a Taoist practitioner, and therefore paid special attention to the Taoist views on entering and leaving the world.
It's often said that Confucianism advocates engagement with the world, while Buddhism and Taoism advocate detachment, but this isn't entirely true. Taoism also promotes engagement with the world; only through negation can one achieve true affirmation, and only by discarding trivial matters can one concentrate on truly valuable endeavors. The heart of a Taoist practitioner is cold because it has already reached a state of intense passion. To truly understand the world, one must first transcend it—this is the essence of Taoism.
Among the most prevalent and widespread Buddhist ideas in China, "transcendence" refers to entering a monastery, purifying one's mind and reducing desires, and seeing all worldly affairs as empty; while "entering the world" refers to stepping into the troubled world, propagating Buddhism, and promoting culture.
Theravada Buddhism emphasizes transcendence, which seeks to escape the troubles and temptations of the mundane world, find a quiet and secluded place, and cultivate oneself to reach a higher state. Transcendence requires practitioners to eliminate all distracting thoughts, abandon external possessions, forget the self and the external world, realize that there is no self outside the self, and that the self is not the self. The ultimate goal of transcendence is to liberate oneself, that is, to pursue one's own liberation.
In contrast to Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism emphasizes engagement with the world, teaching and guiding the masses to attain enlightenment through worldly practice.
The main reason why Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism are so different is due to their disagreement on the question of whether human nature is good or evil.
Theravada Buddhism believes that human nature is inherently evil, and only a few people can "enlighten" themselves. It argues that only by leaving the sinful world and practicing spiritual cultivation can one eradicate evil roots and achieve good results. This is a pessimistic and negative attitude.
Mahayana Buddhism believes that human nature is inherently good, but the world is full of suffering, causing people to lose sight of their true nature. It suggests that through guidance and persuasion, people can be freed from suffering. The sea of suffering is boundless, but turning back is the shore; through hardship, one can attain enlightenment. The idea that all sentient beings possess Buddha-nature and can all become Buddhas represents an optimistic and positive attitude. One could say that transcending the world is about saving oneself, while engaging in worldly affairs is about helping others.
Seeing this, Lin Yao finally had a basic understanding of what Xiao Cao meant by "entering the world." Although the era Xiao Cao lived in was very ancient, thousands of years different from the present, as long as Shennong lived in the mortal world, he would inevitably experience the hustle and bustle of human society. Perhaps Xiao Cao acquired the concept of entering the world at that time.
Lin Yao also believes that human nature is inherently good. Although this issue is hotly debated in modern society, and there is a saying that "it takes a lifetime to learn goodness, but only a minute to learn badness," he insists that the root of goodness exists in human nature. It is only those who have been influenced by worldly affairs and become utterly wicked, or those who are extremely selfish, who have extinguished their last vestige of goodness. Lin Yao no longer cares about the life or death of these people, which is why he has become increasingly outspoken and intolerant of bad people and bad deeds recently.
"Let's cultivate like this: punish evil and promote good, help the vast majority of ordinary people. Consider it a selfish idea for my own cultivation. In this way, I can balance being involved in the world and being detached from it." Lin Yao understood this point and suddenly felt his mind clear. The confusion, resentment, and sense of helplessness he had felt about some things in the past disappeared.
At this moment, Lin Yao seemed like a god above all living beings, coldly observing the world, yet still concerned about the good and evil in the mortal world, retaining his last vestige of humanity.
This feeling was strange and mysterious, and it gave him a sense of enlightenment.
He didn't know how much time had passed when a photo suddenly flashed on the screen, interrupting his reverie.
"From now on, I'll just do whatever I want, regardless of whether it's reasonable or not. Anyway, I'm not a bad person, and I won't do anything harmful." Lin Yao concluded, withdrawing his somewhat scattered gaze and returning to reality.
What is this?! Lin Yao's gaze sharpened, and he was suddenly shocked, feeling a sense of panic.
A photograph suddenly appeared on the screen, and the person in it was himself! And it was himself at this very moment!
The image opened with the system's built-in Paint tool showed a large, slightly distorted face that was very close to the viewer, but the facial features and background indicated that it was Lin Yao, who was sitting in front of the laptop at that moment.
These pictures were taken using the laptop's built-in webcam; the computer has been hacked!