Black Myth: Starting from the Destined One
Chapter 218 - 179: Eliminate the Inner Demon, Face the Destiny!_2

Chapter 218: Chapter 179: Eliminate the Inner Demon, Face the Destiny!_2

"Alright..."

Li Ping’an then patiently concentrated on looking, carefully and slowly flipping through each page.

Just as he was about to finish, a certain page in the Book of the Earth suddenly became like a mirror, reflecting Li Ping’an’s appearance; in other words, the Book showed Li Ping’an inside it.

What made Li Ping’an click his tongue in wonder was that his reflection in the Book of the Earth alternated between his own face and that of a monkey, switching back and forth ceaselessly, exactly like the situation he had encountered before when he and Zixia went to the Five Fingers Mountain and stayed in Supreme Treasure’s room.

However, Mahaparinirvana, the Monk Who Broke Precepts, standing beside him, and the Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk in front couldn’t see this scene; only Li Ping’an himself could see it.

The Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk, seeing the changes in Li Ping’an’s expression, asked curiously,

"Little benefactor, what do you see?"

"I seem to see myself..."

Li Ping’an spoke truthfully,

"And also a monkey’s face. My face and the monkey’s face keep switching back and forth. I’ve encountered this situation before, but I never expected to see it in the Book of the Earth too. It’s indeed strange!"

"Is that so?"

Defrocked Monk Maha, stroking his shiny bald head, interjected,

"How come I can’t see anything?"

"Excellent, excellent, if you can see yourself in the Book of the Earth, it means that this book is fated for you!"

The Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk continued,

"Human beings live in this world, and according to different identities, backgrounds, and origins, they live out different realms, which are: Seeing Oneself, Seeing the World, Seeing All Beings, and then Seeing Oneself again."

"You have just reached the Realm of Seeing Oneself, and this ’self’ has the concepts of the id, the ego, and the superego. Your current self is the ego; what you’re seeing is the id. If you can see through the red dust and worldly affairs, you will achieve the superego, and by then, nothing in the world can hinder you!"

Li Ping’an couldn’t understand these profound and mysterious words, but he was not one to feign understanding, so he immediately asked again,

"May I ask, Emperor Tathagata, what are Seeing Oneself, Seeing the World, Seeing All Beings, and Seeing Oneself again?"

"Well asked!"

The Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk nodded in approval at Li Ping’an and explained,

"Seeing Oneself is to face one’s true heart, to see the real self, to know what one wants, and to have only oneself in one’s heart."

"Seeing the World means to realize the vastness of heaven and earth, the breadth of the Three Realms, to understand one’s own position, capability, and strength within heaven and earth, and the Three Realms, not to act rashly—in essence, after seeing one’s true heart, to find one’s place between heaven and earth, and to live and act according to the laws of nature."

"And the law of nature is the Dao, is God. At this step, one becomes divine!"

"Seeing All Beings means that after seeing one’s true heart and finding one’s place between heaven and earth, one’s heart is filled with all beings. All beings are me, and I am all beings. There is me among all beings, and I am also part of all beings."

"Just as it is said, ’Though knowing the cosmos is vast, one still cherishes the greenery of plants and trees.’ After understanding the greatness of the world and seeing the most powerful beings in heaven and earth, if you can still care for all beings and love all beings, that is benevolence, which is Seeing All Beings."

"Seeing Oneself again means that after binding oneself with all beings, to separate oneself from among them, and in the teeming masses and the swirling dust of the world, to see the self that has not forgotten its original intentions!"

"Buddhism speaks of three realms in human life that correspond to the four great realms of being, and the first realm of Buddhist life is ’seeing the mountain as a mountain, seeing the water as water,’ referring to ordinary people seeing things for what they appear to be on the surface."

"The second realm is ’seeing the mountain not as a mountain, seeing the water not as water,’ denoting a person beginning to ponder the inner meanings behind the surface."

"The third realm is ’seeing the mountain still as a mountain, seeing the water still as water,’ which symbolizes enlightenment in life, a thorough realization and understanding of the intrinsic value and beauty of nature."

"All things in the world stem from the heart. What you face, if you say it is a mountain, then it becomes a mountain; if you say it is not a mountain, then it is not a mountain."

"The same reasoning applies to water; you could also call a mountain water, and water a mountain!"

"Buddhism also states, ’All things in the world arise from the heart.’ Whatever your true heart is, that’s what you see!"

"But for someone as unique as you, you need to breakthrough these three realms of Buddhist life and eventually face yourself, face your destiny!"

"That is the fourth great realm in life, Seeing Oneself again!"

Li Ping’an and Maha, the Defrocked Monk, listened and gained some insight, nodding silently.

"Emperor Tathagata, what are ’id,’ ’ego,’ and ’superego’?"

Li Ping’an asked again.

"It looks like you’re here to test this old monk, hahaha!"

After laughing heartily, Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk spoke gently:

"Now that you and I have bonded through karma, let this old monk personally settle this segment of our karma."

"Thank you, Master, for patiently guiding me!"

Li Ping’an bowed respectfully to Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk, who then continued to explain:

"The ’id’ is the driving force; the ’ego’ is the controlling power; the ’superego’ is the guiding force."

"Combined, it means that the rational ’ego’ steers the desires of the ’id’ within the world rules allowed by the ’superego,’ seeking pleasure for the ’id,’ which is to satisfy its desires."

"However, in the face of events, especially extreme ones, the highest authority can be contested. An extreme ’id’ may choose to eat people to survive, while an extreme ’superego’ is willing to die for a cause worth dying for."

"The disciple understands..."

Li Ping’an suddenly thought of his recent actions and had an epiphany:

"Emperor Tathagata, although I am crafty, lustful, greedy, and afraid of death, I ask myself, and my true heart is very kind. But after entering Chang’an City, faced with many injustices, I actually harbored thoughts of murder, thinking about killing people like Pei Yuanjing who opposed me. And when I was about to kill Pei Yuanjing, my heart was so fervent, as if a monkey was wildly galloping across a vast grassland!"

"When I considered killing someone or was about to kill Pei Yuanjing or anyone else, my ’id’ was completely externalized, taking precedence over the highest authority, pursuing pleasure as the principle and dismissing all other principles, leading to the collapse of the ’superego,’ the fall of the ’ego,’ and the revelry of the ’id’!"

"So, does that mean I’ve turned into a demon?"

Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk nodded approvingly:

"Little benefactor, you’re correct. Your comprehension is high, it’s just a pity you’re a disciple of the Taoist sect. If you were part of our Buddhist community, you’d surely achieve remarkable fruition!"

"But I don’t want to kill people, not even demons and ghosts!"

Li Ping’an’s expression became somewhat pained:

"I just want to live peacefully as myself, but it seems like the ways of the world are forcing me to kill, and I have a feeling that I will kill even more people in the future! The more I kill, the heavier my inner demon grows!"

Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk shook his head and sighed:

"Oh, child, the world is good; it’s the people who are bad, and it’s the people who are evil; as the saying goes, good and evil, Buddha and demon, are all in a single thought! You just go ahead and be yourself; don’t let the conventions of this world restrain you!"

"Emperor Tathagata, are you suggesting that I be kind when I meet kindness and reciprocate evil when facing evil, without discerning between good and evil any longer, just confronting my true nature, and instantly there will be no demon in my heart? Is that it?"

"Exactly so!"

Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk then looked up at the sky and said:

"Now in the Three Realms, good and evil are indistinguishable; the Way of the Gods is in disarray, and to kill is the way to save oneself!"

"What a notion, that killing is the way to save oneself!"

Li Ping’an looked expectantly at Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk and asked:

"Then in this world, are there more good people or bad people?"

Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk replied with a mournful face:

"Of course, there are more good people."

Li Ping’an asked further:

"Then why has the world never been at peace, and why do evil people always run amok with impunity?"

"Because indiscriminate kindness is not goodness; it’s an accomplice to evil."

Emperor Tathagata Dragon Tree Divine Monk then looked directly at Li Ping’an and instructed:

"To show a Bodhisattva’s compassion with thunderous methods, that is your destiny!"