What does 'refining qi and transforming spirits' mean?
Let me share an experience of a friend. The content is for reference only, so please consider it rationally.
A while ago, I had a young Taoist friend who was solely dedicated to the spiritual practice! Whenever he had even a little bit of money, he would visit renowned masters everywhere.
He visited both folk and formal Buddhist temples and Taoist temple! Honestly, his experiences sounded quite pitiful to me.
This Taoist friend of mine began his journey into Taoism in his teens, wholeheartedly focused on practicing spiritual skills. And he was quite handsome with a somewhat delicate and attractive appearance, like the basketball player from an old anime.
Initially, he had some family wealth, which he used entirely to visit these masters.
Once, he found a middle-aged master in an unknown temple. When he went there, he was only given chores to do and wasn't taught any real skills at all. Moreover, the most disturbing part was that this master would knock on his door in the middle of the night. Frightened, he left in a hurry.
Later, he found a folk lineage master, also a middle-aged man.
I've noticed that people tend to have a filter for middle-aged men, often assuming that age correlates with ability.
So this young man went there, and the master didn't teach him much, which he thought was normal. Because, a master, if truly skilled, certainly has a bit of an extraordinary temperament as well.
As a result, after staying in a hotel for a month and treating this master to lavish meals every day, my friend's wallet was almost empty.
Eventually, he discovered this master had nothing substantial to teach him and was even borrowing money from him to get by.
Disheartened, he left!
Later on, he encountered many strange people! When he first met me, he asked if I knew any spells or magic.
I said I didn't know anything.
He claimed his masters were powerful, able to do supernatural things late at night, like spiritual transformations and such.
I just smiled and didn't say anything. And I asked him how those people were doing now?
He said now he realizes many of them who progressed further in their practices ended up with poor health. Either they went crazy or fell seriously ill and couldn't recover!
So, I've been telling many people early on, in spiritual practice, don't get fixated on anything. Instead, trust your own eyes and judgment!
It's okay to try and fail, at least when you encounter something genuine, you'll have the discernment and cherish it!
Because he had seen so much, he eventually realized the value of the true path when he truly began his real spiritual practice. He understood the importance of not randomly seeking without discernment!
Overall, whether you can transform spirits or not isn't important. Even whether or not one can manifest supernatural powers becomes unimportant.
Because many of these powers are given by 'big friends.'(big friends/friends means ghosts, demons, monsters, devils)
If you're fixated on these, you'll surely deviate and waste your life force. It's not worth it!
Don't think someone is amazing just because they claim to have supernatural abilities or have seen extraordinary things or places.
If one lacks the true essence of spiritual practice, they should be concerned about whether their energy and mental resilience can withstand the demands.
In spiritual practice, anyone who talks about supernatural powers is false! Unless they can truly achieve the state of harmony between heaven and humanity. |
