Chapter 283: The Foolish Ego
After taking in the little snake snake, I didn’t even have the slightest desire to eat the meat of the Great Orochi Serpent. But I didn’t object to giving it to the Dragon King and the third son to eat. This was not an excessive or malicious act.
Just like whales, when they are alive, they eat other species, such as krill, squid, fish, crustaceans, plankton, feces, meat, sea turtles, and so on.
And when a whale’s lifespan ends, meaning after it dies, it forms an ecosystem in the deep sea during its descent.
After a whale dies naturally, due to its massive size, it cannot be quickly decomposed by other organisms and sinks to the seabed. Its body is primarily composed of protein and lipids, bringing a large amount of organic nutrients to the nutrient-scarce seabed. A whale’s corpse can supply the necessary nutrients for a recycling system dominated by decomposers for hundreds of years, generating nutrients that would take four thousand years to accumulate under specific conditions.
As the saying goes, one whale falls, all things are born; one whale lives, all things fall.
While alive, it is nourished by all things; upon departure, it nourishes all things.
In fact, all species are the same in this regard. For example, for mortals, throughout their lives, whether they eat meat or vegetables, or even just breathe, countless microorganisms enter their bodies and provide nourishment.
Conversely, when a mortal departs, their physical body, regardless of how it perishes—naturally, cremation, or otherwise—will also reciprocate to this world. It is no different from other animals.
The only difference is in the form. After cremation, according to the law of conservation of energy, the original physical energy is merely transformed into another form. This is how the material world describes it.
In the cultivation world, the explanation is that one discards acquired things. These acquired things refer to the carriers that allow us to exist in this world, and the discernment that allows us to cognize this world, also called the ego.
At the same time, there is another artistic conception; for example, the ego, this thing, is the self-perception and desires generated by the acquired environment and education. Some cultivators, upon the end of their lifespan, will refine and discard it all.
While others will incorporate the acquired ego into the innate, taking it with them.
In their profound depths, there is actually no difference between the two. One, although seemingly discarded, is stored in the Alaya Consciousness, which is the Eighth Consciousness. The other is also stored, but one is aware of it, similar to a lucid dream.
This is like knowing you are yourself, but not the same you as before, but a you carrying some memories from the past.
Third son, prepare the side dishes. I asked the third son to get me some other food. I won’t eat the Great Orochi Serpent meat. The key is that I don’t really have preferences about what I eat. I just like to eat things with negative energy attributes, then absorb and refine them, purifying the negative energy into positive through myself. Then, through my connection with this world, I scatter it back into the world.
For other people, eating negative energy items affects the change in their internal energy attributes, making it easier for them to generate various emotions.
But I don’t. Therefore, not only will eating it not cause me any harm, but I will also purify these negatives. This is because I am not controlled by any of my own thoughts or emotions; instead, I exert counter-control.
If we were to relate this cultivation to life:
For example, once a person encounters a quarreler, this quarreler will not think of themselves as a quarreler; instead, they believe they are making a valid point. They will use their own shallow understanding to try to entangle you and make you agree with their viewpoint.
This is actually because you are more capable than them, and they cannot accept it, leading to subconscious behavior.
Ordinary people are often dragged in and entangled by them. It’s like if a normal person is forcefully dragged into a conversation by a big fool, how could you possibly have a coherent conversation? After contradictory dialogues, both parties will become emotional, leading to endless entanglement. You are also pulled down to a low-frequency state by the fool, debating irrelevant issues and wasting time.
Whether a person is foolish or not, you don’t need anything else to differentiate; just see if they try to demand that you act according to their own thoughts and beliefs, or if they treat you as they perceive you in their mind. That’s how you can tell.
Anyone who speaks while controlled by the ego is not acting intelligently. But acting unintelligently and being genuinely foolish are two different things. An unintelligent person can reflect, while a genuinely foolish person not only cannot reflect but will insist on your approval. Heeheehee, hahahaha.
Why are these people called foolish? Clearly, everyone’s ego’s thoughts, or rather, their cognitions, are different. Yet, they insist on judging right and wrong from their own perspective and cannot reflect. Isn’t that foolish?
If you believe it’s right, then just act according to your own beliefs. Why relentlessly demand it from others? Even demanding others to do what you yourself cannot achieve. They are incredibly foolish. If everyone thought as you do, wouldn’t everyone in the world become you? This is a metaphor for ordinary people living in a dream.
Some parents, out of love for their children, also often make this kind of mistake, but this is foolishness born of love, not the kind of foolishness a fool has.
For example, if a child’s grades drop, they will ask the child, “Oh dear son, why didn’t you do well this time? What’s the reason? Are you too fond of playing?”
But they won’t consider the reverse: if your commission decreased this month, would you also want your child to ask you, “Oh dear Father and Mother, why did your commission decrease so much this month? Have you not been working hard?”
Conversely, would you still care if your child didn’t do well this time? If you did care, could you accept your child asking you about your reduced commission in the same way?
Let’s reverse it again. If a child asks their parents why they can’t buy them the same expensive clothes or nice shoes that other children’s parents buy for them.
Then, should the parents ask you, “Look at that child, from a young age they knew how to earn money to buy what they liked. Every day after school, after finishing their homework, they used their playtime to collect bottles, and then saved enough money to buy what they wanted.” As a child, could you accept that?
Don’t speak from your own position and tell others what to do. This is a very foolish behavior, confused and lacking understanding.
Those who can provide guidance in life are necessarily not controlled by the ego. They can understand your viewpoint while also showing you another perspective, allowing you to make your own decision, rather than demanding you act according to their viewpoint. This is from a life perspective.
From a cultivation perspective, it is the opposite of life. When a person cultivates with a master, they must strictly follow the master’s instructions. Otherwise, they may go astray and be led by the ego into rambling thoughts. This is because cultivation is indeed against human nature, not following it.
The old saying is: act according to human nature, cultivate yourself against human nature.
This “against” is specifically against the dualistic opposition of the ego. First, learn reverse thinking, then step out of dualistic opposition, and naturally you will achieve non-discrimination, standing on the line in the middle of the Tai Chi symbol to alter the direction of events.
As for acting according to human nature, it means acting according to what those in dualistic opposition consider right and wrong, good and bad. However, this conformity can also be considered a kind of reversal in the eyes of ordinary people, but no one explicitly says it.
