Book 14 Chapter 3

Psychic (心眼)

"Do you know what it takes to have the eye of the beholder?"

The boy shook his head again.

"You can only see so far if you fly high. That's why you need the wings of the Great Wall!"

The memories come flooding back. Again the master speaks.

"I will give you those wings. Soar! You cannot see the next world unless you can get over the mountain that stands in your way, and you cannot see the world above it unless you have strong wings to pierce the clouds. Be winged by the wings of the Great Ocean, and have eyes that see and embrace all things, for that is the pathway and the shortcut to the Hallowed Realm!"

I knew there was another step after that, and I felt murderous, but I knew I wasn't capable, so I gave up. It is very difficult to give yourself a fair assessment of yourself. But in order to see others, you must first be able to see and understand yourself. You have to have eyes to see yourself.

He was learning well from the start. Not a bad start, an excellent student. Maybe.

"Are you asleep?"

"Oh, no. I don't think so."

The boy replied, wiping the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. It was a very natural gesture.

"Hmmm…, Ryuyeon!"

"What?"

"When you talk shit, put your ears back and listen!"

The master smiled and said softly.

"There are steps to seeing."

He told me to never forget it.

Step One: Steady eye.

Correct.

It is the first step in opening the eyes that have been blinded by the world. You will be able to see things correctly without being swayed by false public opinion. It is the stage when you stop relying on others to judge your value and have your own unbiased standards. You will have an impartial view of others and yourself.

This step is called Wide-eyed.

Take a wide view.

You'll have a broader view of the world that isn't swayed by preconceived notions or ideas. It also allows you to take in and organize a lot of information at once. You will be able to hold a lot of things in your field of vision.

Respect diversity and recognize that the world is a big place, so don't jump to conclusions or make assumptions.

Three levels of depth perception.

Look deep.

Seeing the essence of things down to their very core. You don't miss a single detail. You'll also be able to pick up on the subtleties of the other person's unconscious movements without losing sight of what they mean. You begin to recognize that feeling is more important information than thinking. Insights begin to sprout.

Only after you've gotten through these three steps will you be able to say that you've entered the world of mindfulness.

Four steps to see through.

Penetrate.

Seeing the essence of something in a split second. Also known as insight. Organizing and solving a lot of information at once. The ability to grasp key information, such as a gemstone crystal, in an instant.

I'm convinced that feeling is more important information than thinking. This is because you can feel it accurately and know that it is always correct. The most difficult part of this process is to clearly distinguish between pure feeling and fake feeling.

This is where you start to see the mote in the perpetrator's eye.

Between the third and fourth stages, you will be able to roughly (but not completely) read the flow of chi. And when you fully enter the fourth stage, the Tuan stage, you will be able to read the flow of chi inherent in everything that surrounds the universe. Once you have access to this incredible arcane knowledge, you can apply it to predict your opponent's movements!

However, if the vessel is small, even a small amount of this information can cause a human to explode. This broken vessel is often referred to as "insanity". This is why it's so important to cultivate your own vessel first.

Five stages of Wengong'an.

Jump through space.

You become fully aware of everything within your line of sight. This is also the first step to dominating a space.

Sixth Stage: Time Traveling Eye.

Go beyond time.

It is said to be the stage where you literally jump through time and gain foresight. It's a stage that's only passed down in secret.

The five stages are sometimes referred to collectively as space-time vision. However, a state of slowing down the speed of things that is not true space-time vision can also occur between the third and fourth stages. It is up to the fourth stage that martial artists usually consider the ultimate stage. However, it is said that a small number of martial artists have attained this state.

Those who reach the sixth and seventh stages are said to have transcended life and death and have the ability to interfere in the affairs of the universe.

Shin-an, the seventh stage of the Ultimate.

I see God.

The stage at which one encounters the divine within oneself. The stage when the inner and outer universes are united, when the part becomes the whole and the whole becomes the part. Through the non-righteousness of the unity of all things, there is no separation in the world.

When you reach this stage, it is said that you can see everything in the world, grasp the essence of everything, and have the answers to all your questions. This is why it is sometimes called the Eye of Truth.

The final stage that can only be reached by attaining ultimate enlightenment. This is the stage of the Deification Sutra where one reaches the state of divine unity, where one becomes a god. It is not the realization of the Tao, but rather the realization of unity with the Tao. It is said that if one attains these eyes, one will soon be freed from the samsara of the world and enter the realms of liberation and nirvana. And in the end, one becomes a deity.

"…this is the infinitely profound world that lies behind the act you have simply labeled 'seeing'."

Unconcerned about his student's level of understanding, the master continued.

"It sounds simple, but the first step is actually very difficult. Seeing correctly is not dependent on common sense, public opinion, opinions, rituals, or notions, but is simply an act of getting close to the essence of things. It is said that if you don't have a right mind, you can't see rightly. This is very difficult for humans who have to live for a long time and are constantly influenced by the environment. Basically, when people shout at you that you are right, you nod your head in agreement, regardless of what your own mind thinks. It's hard to believe that anyone would look to other people's standards for their own judgments. Does that make them feed you? Sometimes there are people who don't even distinguish between shit and miso if it's given to them, and eat it all up. They live their lives as if they're walking through life while sleeping. Do you want to be one of them?"

"No! Are you crazy?"

To be such a banal human being was creepy and terrifying, she replied honestly.

The master nodded.

"The amazing thing is that when you go out into the world, you'll find them all over the place. You may happen to have the same judgment as everyone else. It doesn't matter. But it's a different matter when you use other people's judgment as your own without any thought process. There are some people who do the latter and claim to have done the former, and you know what characterizes them?"

She shook her head.

"Very weak on authority."

"Authority?"

"Yes, authority! Such people worship authority, and if it gets out of hand, they'll happily lick the backside of anyone with authority. They think that if someone with authority is right, they're right, and they'll burn anyone who disagrees with them, because they want the authority figure to think for them. How can they stand idly by when others have insulted their comfort zone of thinking and judging for them? Fueled by patriotic loyalty, they rush to destroy those who challenge their authority-often mistakenly so."

"Isn't that silly?"

Bi Ryuyeon said with an incredulous expression.

"That's right. Stupid!"

Master agreed.

"I'd rather work on setting the right standards in my own mind than participate in such a puppet show. It's much more profitable that way."

His words were not without merit.

"Are there really that many stupid people in the world? A little thought would tell you that, wouldn't it?"

It just didn't make sense to his mindset.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, did I not just tell you that they are buried in the backwoods, and that such people don't need to think at all, because they have people who think for them!"

"Oh, yeah, I did."

It was like a flashback.

"Did you remember?"

"Yes, I remembered!"

"Onya, then let's move on!"

The difficulty of the first step, Sifu explained, is why it's so hard to attain mindfulness.

"The most important thing is to have the courage to break your own preconceived notions and the willingness to see the truth. However, in order to humanize our non-reciprocal statements, we need to start with at least three steps. Otherwise, we will not be able to keep up with the complexity and movement of the biryodo."

He was still asking for too much. Perhaps it was because of that twist that he could read her mind like a ghost.

The master looked straight into Bi Ryuyeon's eyes. It was as if her gaze had become a spear of light, piercing his mind. Then, in a serious voice, he asked.

"How far can you go?"