"Greetings, dear friends," Master Zhen's voice rippled through the stillness of the temple courtyard, soft yet resonant, like the murmur of a hidden stream. His words hung in the air, light as jasmine fragrance, weaving through the silence, touching each listener's heart with a quiet warmth.
At the center of the circle, Zhen stood poised, a subtle smile at the corners of his lips as if he held the secrets of the universe. Deep and unblinking, his ancient eyes seemed to gaze not at his seekers but through them, into a boundless realm where time and form dissolved into the seamless flow of oneness.
He spoke softly yet firmly, "All appearances are an illusion." The words floated through the air like a gentle melody, their resonance touching something deep within each listener, unraveling ancient truths and stirring a quiet awakening that reached far beyond the surface of their minds.
"Do you see the world as it truly is, or do you only see the shadows your mind casts upon it?"
At that moment, the courtyard seemed to hold its breath. The air was thick with the promise of revelation, and the seekers sat poised on the edge of something vast and unknowable.
“What are these appearances you cling to?” he asked. “And I say, look up. What do you see?”
One of the younger seekers, a bright-eyed boy named Jon, raised his hand. "I see the sky, Master. It is blue, vast, endless."
Zhen smiled gently, his eyes glimmering with a knowing that seemed to stretch beyond the limits of time. He turned his gaze to the expanse above, where the sky bloomed in hues of azure and pale gold. “Ah, yes. You see the blue sky. But tell me,” he said, his voice soft but carrying a depth that made the air feel thicker, more alive, “if you travel upward—further than your eyes can follow, higher than your breath can reach—what will you find?”
He paused, allowing the question to unfold like a delicate flower in the moment's quiet. Then, with the faintest exhale, he continued. “There is no blue sky. There is no sky at all. Only the scattered fragments of sunlight race through the formless, boundless expanse of the atmosphere.
The blue you see is not out there but here,” he touched his temple lightly, a playful glint in his eyes. “It is a creation of your mind. A projection, a dance of light and thought. You call it 'blue,' and so, in your world, it appears as blue. But does the atmosphere know it is blue? Does the atmosphere need your word to exist?”
He leaned back, his gaze drifting over the horizon as if seeing something invisible to others. “You see, the world does not ask for your labels. The mountains do not need to be called mountains to be what they are. The ocean does not need your word ‘blue’ to ripple with its pulse. The truth of things is not bound to your ideas about them. It simply is, regardless of what you choose to name it.”
Zhen let the silence settle between you like a quiet lake, his voice taking on a deeper resonance. “What if all we see and know reflects what we believe? And what if, in shedding our beliefs, we could see the world as it truly is—not as we think it is, not as we name it to be, but simply as it is?”
The master continued, his voice becoming a soft murmur as he deepened the mystery. "Imagine you are walking down a dark road at night. The shadows play tricks on your mind, and in the distance, you see what appears to be a snake lying in the path. You freeze. Your heart races with fear. You believe you are in danger, and your body responds to the image. But as you get closer, you find it is only a stick—your imagination has created the snake, and you, in your fear, believe it to be true. And yet, your body reacted as though it were real."
He let that image linger in the air, letting the disciples feel its total weight. "This is how you live, day after day. You believe in the appearances your mind creates, and in doing so, you experience the world as you think it is. But the world is not as you see it. It is a projection—a reflection of your beliefs, fears, and desires. The truth lies beyond these illusions."
The circle was rustling as Zhen's words settled deeply in listeners' hearts. The air around them felt heavier, charged with a strange new energy. Sensing the shift in the group, Zhen stepped forward, his presence more powerful now, as though he were drawing them further into the depths of the illusion.
"Let me show you something," he said, his voice a whisper, yet it carried the weight of mountains. “Imagine this: Under hypnosis, if I place a pebble on your arm and tell you that it is a piece of hot charcoal, what will happen?”
The seekers looked at one another, wondering where Zhen was leading them. "Under hypnosis, if your conscious reason is not available to dispute it," he continued, "the arm will respond as though it is truly being burned by hot charcoal. The skin will redden, and in some cases, a burn mark will appear—yet it is only a pebble, a simple stone."
He paused, his eyes meeting each seeker's gaze, ensuring they felt the weight of his words. “But the subconscious mind believes the story. It believes the pebble is charcoal, so the body expresses what the subconscious believes. It does not question the reality of what it is told, for the belief becomes the truth at that moment. Your body and experience reflect your belief, even though it is not based on what is truly there.”
The group was silent now, absorbed in the profound realization of what Zhen was showing them. Zhen’s voice took on a gentler tone as if guiding them into the heart of the mystery.
"This is the nature of your existence," he said softly. "You are constantly hypnotized by your beliefs, thoughts, and conditioning. The world you see is no more accurate than that pebble disguised as hot charcoal.
You experience it as though it is genuine, but only an appearance. You believe the world is solid, permanent, and unchanging—so it appears to be. But just like the pebble, only your belief makes it so."
Zhen closed his eyes momentarily as if drawing from an inner well of wisdom. When he spoke again, the air shifted and deepened.
"You are not the body. You are not the mind. You are the witness that watches the body, that watches the mind. All you perceive—this world, thoughts, and emotions—are illusions. They are the projections of your beliefs, conditioning, and past experiences. They are the pebbles you mistake for hot charcoal."
He opened his eyes, and the depth of his gaze was like the ocean, vast and unknowable. "But the truth," he continued, "is that you are the witness. You are the awareness that sees the illusions, the stories, the projections. And when you realize this and see beyond the appearance, you awaken to the true nature of existence."
The seekers sat in silence, each touched by the profound realization of what Zhen had shown them. It was as if the veil had been lifted, and for the first time, they could see the world for what it was—a dream, a creation of the mind, a fleeting reflection in the endless sea of consciousness.
Zhen smiled gently, his eyes sparkling with the understanding that they were beginning to touch the truth. “So, my dear friends, you must ask yourself: What is real? The pebble or the burn? The snake or the stick? The blue sky or the atmosphere? The answer is the same. None of it is real. Only the witness—the awareness that watches all things—is the truth that transcends the illusion.”
With that, the master fell into a deep silence, leaving his disciples to contemplate the nature of their existence. In that silence, they, too, could begin to glimpse the vastness of their actual being—the awareness that witnesses all yet is untouched by the illusion.
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